Jake Evans makes some surprising revelations about Sean Monahan

I've been part of his training group for the past three summers. We see each other at the gym every day for at least a few hours and we skate together a lot too. Sean is a good guy. It's fun to be around her and he's a very good player with a lot of experience in the league. He always does his best in the gym and gives it his all. When you talk to him, you notice right away that he's always adding something new to his routine, he always has two or three more things on his schedule every day. It could be one more rehabilitation exercise or one more workout. He's always doing things to improve and it's cool to see. I remember our first workout after he was acquired, we just laughed when we saw each other because we couldn't believe what just happened. I'm used to not seeing him for six or seven months and now we're going to spend the season together. I know he's really looking forward to coming to Montreal and enjoying the city. It's nice to have a close friend join the team too.

I don't know if my goals change, but I'm still trying to get better at everything I've worked on the last few years. The only thing that changes is getting experience in the league and getting more games under my belt. You start to know what you need to work on and what's really going to work in the NHL and what won't. It's really reflected in your workouts and skating over the summer. There are certain things you don't try because you know they probably won't work for you. At the same time, you may want to work on some key things because you see other guys doing them successfully during games. I've been focusing on little things on the ice, like shooting the puck faster and harder, and getting better at the little plays that I think will work well in the NHL.

I'm really trying to put on mass and get a little bit bigger, so I'm eating a lot really. That's my goal. My whole summer has been about training, skating sessions, and then meal planning. I've tried to gain weight in the past, but it wasn't as rigorous. I talked to our nutrition counsellor, Renee Racine, and for me, the only way to gain weight is to eat every three hours. I just tried to eat as much as I could. It's healthy stuff, obviously. I just cook what I feel like. My girlfriend, Emily, has helped me a lot. We talk about it and plan for the week. I go shopping and we cook something. I wouldn't say it's five-star cooking, but it's still good. Our favourite dish is the stir-fry. She's a vegetarian, so it's tofu for her and chicken for me. We change the sauce every now and then to keep things interesting, but we are getting pretty good at making this dish.