Woodland third-graders get to know Wolves forward

The third-graders at the Woodland Intermediate School in Gurnee were treated to a little cold steel on ice Thursday when Chicago Wolves forward Paul Cotter visited as part of the Read To Succeed Program.

Some 190 students attended the hourlong question-and-answer session to learn everything they could about the young hockey star - from his favorite book to how he got started playing the game.

"A lot of books must be read," Cotter said of his pre-hockey college days before signing a contract with the Wolves. "They helped me grow as a person and as a player."

He said his favorite thing to do when he was younger was to go Barnes & Noble, grab a bagel and read graphic novels.

Cotter said he discovered street hockey one day after he got home from church at the young age of 3.

"My dad and mom were the biggest advocates of it, telling me to keep going" in hockey, he said.