Schneider plans on being an active shooter on the Thrashers' power play.

Mathieu Schneider has scored 212 goals and 702 points in just under 2000 games in the NHL over the last 19 seasons and has suited up for some of the most storied teams in the NHL including four of the Original Six- the Canadiens, the Maple Leafs, the Ranger and the Red Wings. He has one Stanley Cup to his name (1992-93 in Montreal), has played in two All-Star Games and has played for Team USA twice at the Olympic Games. One of the most consistently high-scoring defensemen in the league, Schneider has averaged just under 50 points per season over the last five seasons. Now he's ready to take to the ice with the Thrashers after an arduous summer during which he knew he was going to be traded. With that  uncertainty behind him he's ready to help the Thrashers get to the next level as both a leader and a mentor for the Thrashers' young and suddenly improved blueline.

Schneider took some time this week to sit down with atlantathrashers.com to talk about his arrival in Atlanta and his impressions of the team so far.

Atlantathrashers.com: With the Ducks being up against the cap you knew you were going to be traded, but what was your reaction when you found out you were coming to Atlanta?

Schneider: "I was pretty surprised mainly because Atlanta was a team that never came up during the whole process when Brian was trying to move me. It was going on for most of the summer. At the draft he thought he had a deal done but the longer it went on it seemed that it was pretty much narrowed down to three teams and Atlanta wasn't one of them. So I was pretty surprised. My first thought obviously was that I was coming here and my brother lives here, so I was excited about that. I wasn't really that familiar with the team aside from Ilya and Kozzy, but I'm really looking forward to working with the young guys here on defense. Toby and Zach, and Ron Hainsey is a great player who I've played against the last couple of years, so I like our defense for sure."

Atlantathrashers.com: It must help to know a couple of players coming in. What can you tell fans about Jason Williams who was your teammate in Detroit?
 
Schneider: "Jason has tremendous ability. He's a guy that's played center and wing. He's played point on the power play. Just a lot of skill and I think he's going to bring a lot to this team."

Atlantathrashers.com: Do you think he could catch people off guard?

Schneider: "Absolutely. I think in Detroit he wasn't on the top two lines all the time so he didn't have the numbers that he could have had and I think last year he went through some injury problems in Chicago. Now that he's healthy I think he has the chance to put up some really good numbers. He's one of the best guys in the league in the shootout too. I don't think I've seen him miss too many in practice."

Atlantathrashers.com: I hear you also knew Brett Sterling before you got here.

Schneider: "We played on a summer hockey team one year. He was the best scorer on that team too. He's a great kid. He obviously had a tremendous college career. I've only seen him play here for a couple of days but he looks like he's playing really well."

Atlantathrashers.com: You've said recently that you enjoy being a mentor to younger defensemen and that you filled that role in Anaheim and Detroit. What do you try to pass on to those younger players?

Mathieu Schneider as a Montreal Canadien in 1994.

Schneider: "Defensemen take a lot longer to mature than forwards and just watching Zach the last couple of days and Toby, they seem to have a really good sense of how to play defense, which I didn't have coming into this league. I was fortunate enough to have a coach, Jacques Laperriere, who was a great defenseman when he played and he essentially taught me how to play defense. When I came up playing junior and at the college level too, they just let defensemen like me go on the offense and the defense, no one really worried about too much. But to be able to play at this level you need to be able to play at both ends and that's going to be the key. If they can stay steady and not run around too much they'll be okay. That's the biggest thing- poise. You learn it as you get older, but it takes time but if you have a couple of veterans who are able to help you it makes a big difference."

Atlantathrashers.com: What have you noticed about the defensemen here in Atlanta so far?

Schneider: "Toby moves the puck so well. He's tremendously smooth out there. Zach seems to be able to do an awful lot. He's a big kid. He's strong. You can see he wants to be physical, and he will be. He skates extremely well for a big guy. Ron Hainsey has been around for a long time. I think he's going to surprise a lot of people too. I played against him a lot when I was with Detroit and he's just a really good solid player that moves the puck well and can play the point on the power play. He kills penalties- he can do everything out there. Then Niclas Havelid has been a steady guy in this league for years. I really like our back end for sure and I think that's going to help the offense, if we can get the puck out of our end quickly."

Atlantathrashers.com: You spent the first half of your career in the Eastern Conference and the second half up to this point in the West. Does your style of play suit one conference better than the other?

Schneider: "It's funny because pretty much from the time I was in the East it was tight-checking and clutch-and-grab. Then I went to the West and the West kind of became the East. They've reversed roles over the last couple of years, especially since the lockout. The East seems to be a lot more wide open style of play than the West. I don't know if it's the coaches or the travel schedule or what. I don't know that one suits me better than the other. I've kind of fit into a role on the teams I've played on and I pride myself on being able to play at both ends of the ice. I consider myself a shooter and that's the one thing I'm going to do on the power play is shoot a lot of pucks. So I try to play the same no matter what system I'm in, no matter what team I'm on or who is coaching me."

Atlantathrashers.com: Now you're back east living in the same city as your brother. What was his reaction when he found out you were coming to Atlanta?

Schneider: "I called my him and said I got traded and he said sarcastically, "Atlanta, right?" and I said "Yup". There was silence on the other end and he said "Really?". I told him I got traded to Atlanta and he was thrilled obviously. He's two and a half years younger than me and he coaches the junior Knights. He's been wanting me to come to Atlanta for a long time so he's excited."

Atlantathrashers.com: Now you're here and you're going to be wearing #18. Is there any significance to that number for you?

Schneider: "My son Micah picked that number. It was actually the first number I had when I came in the league. I was number 18 in Montreal for one season until Denis Savard came to our team and I gave him 18. It's also the Chai, or 'good luck' in Hebrew as well. But I was given number 18 in Montreal. I didn't pick it but it was a good number for me. I gave my kids four choices and Micah was the one that really liked 18, so he won out."

Atlantathrashers.com: I'm sure Thrashers fans would be thrilled if you were able to start your career wearing 18 and end it in 18 if it meant you were staying here in Atlanta.

Schneider: "That would be tremendous. I would love to see that happen."