18 May – Despite a national athlete's packed schedule, there is always time for a good movie or two – as evident by national hockey player Joel Samuel Van Huizen's presence at yesterday's premiere of "X-Men: Apocalypse". "I've watched all the "X-Men" movies," said the hockey player to Cinema Online as he professes himself a fan of superhero movies. When asked which X-Men he would choose to be if he had the chance to be one, he answered with a grin, "Professor Xavier. I mean his ability to read people's mind and project images in people's mind, I think it's pretty cool." "If you're Professor Xavier, you can read what the opponent's going to do," the young athlete added, applying it to his profession as a hockey player. "It makes it a whole lot easier, you know when he's going to pass, when he's going to dribble, how he's going to dribble (laughs)."
Being the third generation in a family of national hockey players, Joel admitted that he does feel the pressure to measure up to the success of his father (national hockey coach Steven Van Huizen), grandfather (former national hockey coach Lawrence Van Huizen) and even grand-uncle (the late Peter Van Huizen). "But it's something to be proud of, the pressure is there but it's something that I cherish," said Joel. However, one thing the midfielder won't be doing anytime soon is appearing on the big screen, saying that he wouldn't know what to do in front of the camera. Looks like we won't be seeing the national athlete playing the part of a localised version of Professor X anytime soon. But we can still catch the real deal in "X-Men: Apocalypse", hitting cinemas this 19 May.