Ahead of the first preseason game of the 2016-17 season tonight at 7:00 p.m., 18-year old rookie defenseman and 2016 first-round pick Lucas Johansen sat down to talk with CSN about his eating habits which are those of an absolute maniac.

To put on much-needed muscle and weight, seeing as he is 6′ 1″ and 174 lbs, Johansen has to eat.

And eat and eat and eat.

Johansen tells CSN:

“Well it’s funny, in the summers I have a 5,000-6,000 calorie diet that I try to take every day but it’s still pretty tough.”

“It’s usually pretty good, clean food. Just every two hours you’re eating a meal and you sneak in the odd protein shake and things like that, trying to get as many calories as you can. It’s so different at the pros, everything is at a different level.”

CSN’s Jill Sorenson asked about specific foods that Johansen eats to keep up with the calorie count. Maybe avocados? He replied:

“I’m not an avocado guy, but I’ll throw in a shake and I can live with it. I don’t know I just can’t eat it, it’s weird for me.”

Overall, the diet does seem to take some getting used to:

“It’s funny, the first week you’re like ‘why am I eating?’ and you’re shoving food in your face all day and you don’t know why. After a while you need it, you get into a routine and you want to eat like that and you want to gain.”

“Why am I eating” is a question I ask myself often, so it’s nice to share this feeling with someone else.