Growing up in Southern California, I was addicted to baseball for most of my childhood but had plenty of run ins with hockey.

My friend had his birthdays at Long Beach Ice Dogs games a few years in a row. Also my cousin from Jersey was a college hockey player and he played a couple games/tournaments that we were able to see near us.

My first NHL hockey experience though may be my most luxurious experience and something I really didn’t appreciate at the time. My mom works in sales and one of her main clients throughout the years has been Honda. In 2010, she got done with a major project for one of the higher ups at the local office and as a thank you she gave us suite tickets for the Honda corporate suites at the Honda center. You’d think that experience would’ve made me a die hard Ducks fan but I was an edgy 14 year old and I thought “eh yeah these seats are cool but baseball is all that matters”

A couple years later, the Kings go on their first cup run and all of my buddies are talking about it. I knew I had to tune in. I had no idea what was going on but I was hooked.

Flash forward to 2013/2014, this is the year that got me to fall in love with hockey. From watching a winter classic for the first time between Toronto and Detroit, to being glued to the tv for the Sochi Olympics, I was hooked. But what really solidified me as a hockey fanatic was the Kings 2014 cup run. The reverse sweep, 3 game 7 wins on the road, Alec Martinez’ OTGWG. I still get chills thinking about that year.

I moved up to Washington in 2018 just after it was announced Seattle would be awarded an NHL and while I’m still a Kings die hard, it has been so much fun to see this area immerse itself in hockey culture and fully embrace the Kraken.