BRENDAN WITT

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

INKED: What was your first tattoo?

WITT: My first one, I got when I was 16. Typical hockey player, I got the Tasmanian Devil over my shoulder blade, which I have since somewhat covered up. I looked 18, so they didn't bother me. I remember my father going, "Why did you do that? Does that come off?" He was really disappointed. I had come back for the summer, and then I went back to Seattle to play junior hockey and every year I would go to Seattle, I would come back with new ink. I got my ankle done with a flame kind of design and then my chest with a panther. I just got tattooed yesterday, a killer portrait of my wife on my arm. It was this West Palm artist called Deth Gunz. He did a really good job.

Sounds like you got started early getting work done in junior hockey.

The next one I got in Everett [Washington]. Everett's a big port for the Navy. They have a huge naval station there, so there are five tattoo shops on this one stretch. When I lived in Maryland, I found a really good artist who worked out of Annapolis but came to my house. He was cool. He would set up shot in my bathroom and sit for five hours and just work. I got spoiled.

You're Canadian, but you've lived in Florida for a few years now. How do you like the change?

Pretty good. We've been here five years and been through four hurricanes. Compared to Canada, I'd rather deal with hurricanes than snow. You don't have to shovel it.

Do you consider yourself a Florida guy now?

I'm still a Canadian at heart, but I just love the warm weather and the fishing here. I love to spear fish. You just snorkel with fins and go down into the water. It's pretty cool. I find it's more of a challenge, depending on what you want to catch.

Does that offseason spear fishing help you at all when it comes time to flatten guys in the boards during the hockey season?

Nah, not really. It's just fun.