1-On-1: with Travis Barron

Roadrunners Forward Travis Barron joined Adrian Denny and returning Co-Host Jonathon Schaffer on this week’s Insider Podcast while on his way to a weekend wedding. They discuss his return to Tucson on a new contract and his personal goals for 2024-25. To hear more on all of that and Travis’ favorite concert that he’s attended this summer and the 6 degrees of separation that it has to the Roadrunners, download the full show below.

Listen to “Catching Barron Before The Reception And Johnny's Return” on Spreaker.

Tell us about coming here for your first season in Tucson and now being back for the fourth-straight year.

Coming here four years ago, I did not really have any expectations to be honest with you. I did not know what was going to happen and then you fast forward to where I am at today. It is pretty special because of the strides I took, the friendships I have made over the years and meeting all the fans. Seeing how loyal the Tucson faithful are to us is special; I think they are one-of-a-kind and the best in the American League. It’s crazy coming to Tucson not knowing much about it and now here I am, thinking it’s home. It’s been a good four years.

How about the signature moment of getting the “A” on your jersey and becoming an Alternate Captain for the team?

That meant a lot, over the years I have worked hard and put my blood, sweat and tears into the organization. To be rewarded like that on some games was pretty special.

Roadrunners Rapid Fire Questions: Travis described the below in one word or one sentence:

It’s another offseason where we’re bringing back our core group: you, Ryan McGregor and Cameron Hebig among several others. Management clearly sees something in the identity of the group that we have. What do you think they see when we go into June and July and they have boxes to check when it comes to picking up where we left off?

That speaks volumes, guys like Greggy (McGregor) and Biggy (Hebig) work so hard and are such great people. They are the guys you want on your team, so I think management sees that pretty clearly and they have been here so long for a reason. It’s pretty amazing how they keep earning jobs and helping the team night and day with such a good attitude and hard work. Props to them and hopefully many more years to come.

Two other guys we’re bringing back are Curtis Douglas and Hunter Drew; who with you, became one of the hottest lines to end the season. How does it feel to be potentially paired with them once again for 2024-25?

We meshed pretty well as the “Juggernaut Line” and we had some fun. We just kind of built off of each other and it starts with relationships off the ice: we’re all really tight and good buddies so it makes it easier to have fun when playing games with those guys. That was the big thing for us.

What do you think came together last season? From that first series in Texas to the final series 72 games later?

We just had such a great group of guys; it is a lot more fun coming to the rink every day when you get to have fun and everybody works hard while being loose. We worked really hard as a group; I think we worked harder than most teams on the ice and even off the ice. That goes a long way for the group.

Not only are we bringing back the core guys, but we’re also bringing in additional prospects and other veteran players. What will the story be for the 2024-25 season?

We have high expectations; I think as a group we came up shorter than we all expected and that does not sit well with the returning guys. We’re going to be hungry but we have a good group coming back. On paper, it all looks good so let’s just mesh it together and we’ll see where we’re at. It will be another fun year.