Escape to sharksahl.com to get away from the summer heat! The fans aren’t the only ones missing the hockey season, so the Worcester Sharks have decided to check in weekly in order to keep in touch. Sharksahl.com has decided to check in on some of our favorite players from our favorite AHL team to see what they have been up to since the season ended.

Each week we will be checking in with a different player! Each player will be writing a blog to their fans to tell everyone what each player has been up to. The blog will also describe what their typical day in the off season consists of and what they have planned until the season finally starts up again.

Don’t forget to take a look at the pictures that each player is sending along with their blog! This check in with the players will be a great way to get excited for the upcoming season, so don’t forget to check in each week to see what the players have been up to. While the long, hot days of summer continue on, let the Worcester Sharks get you ready for the Worcester Sharks’ 2008-2009 season!

This week forward, Ashton Rome, wrote in to his fans. Pictures have also been posted, enjoy!

Hey Sharks Fans,

Ashton Rome here, checking in with you from good old New Hampshire. It's been a while since we've been able to catch up so here’s an update on what’s been going on since the season concluded.

About a week after our last game, (and oh what a great victory it was), I decided to take a weeks vacation with my girlfriend, brother (who plays in the NHL for the Columbus Blue Jackets), and his girlfriend. The four of us vacationed in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We went at a perfect time! While we were there, I proposed to my girlfriend, Mackenzie (former Boston Celtics and New England Surge cheerleader). Luckily she said yes! Haha. The weather was hot and sunny

everyday unlike where I'm from, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada (a good 30 hour drive).

With that being said, after our return to Worcester, Massachusetts, I moved in with my now fiancée in her home town, Salem, New Hampshire. It's a lot closer to where I'm training in Winchester.

Speaking of Training, it's great to get back into workout mode to get into shape while preparing for camp!

An upside to staying in the states is that I get to see and train with some of the guys, Dan Spang, Mike Morris, and TJ Fox. I'm only here until July, then off to Canada it is! I just bought a house back in Brandon, so I have a lot of work in store for me (painting, landscaping, more painting....) Let me tell you a little bit more about my day to day routine. I wake up at about 7am and eat my Wheaties! I can't function without my breakfast! Then I usually take my dog for a walk, and then off to the training gym it is. I work out from about 8 until 10:30, go home and have a few hour nap. After I wake up, I eat my lunch and head out to the backyard to shoot some hockey pucks.

Mackenzie put up a hockey net but forgot to put down a back drop in case I hit the cross bar. I'm sure her neighbors aren't too thrilled about finding random hockey pucks on their roofs, decks, backyards! Haha!

If I have some extra free time, I'll go golfing with Josh Prudden or Patty Traverse. I'm on a spring hockey league with Josh Prudden that’s one night a week just to stay in shape and keep my game on.

Next Season can't come soon enough and I'm anxious to go to training camp. I'm sure you, as well as I, having been keeping up with the Stanley Cup playoffs even though we're both wishing San Jose were there! Hey, maybe next year! Well I'm just heading off to the gym, but I have attached some off season photos for ya! I hope you enjoyed my update. Until next time, take care and enjoy your summer! Ashton Rome -