During the NHL All-Star break, the Ice Crew members and I had a couple of weeks off from our regular-season duties. Without hesitation, I booked a round-trip ticket to one of the best places in all of America — Maine. I know what you're thinking: Who goes on a vacation to Maine DURING the winter? I must be crazy leaving California's summer-like weather and In-N-Out behind.
So why did I take a trip from the sunny California beaches to Scarborough, Maine, in one of the coldest seasons for the state? To visit my hometown, see family, eat doorstep-delivery lobster, make snowmen, enjoy life by a cozy fireplace, shovel snow and play some good, old-fashioned pond hockey.
Having lived in Southern California for the past five years, my days of outdoor hockey playing have been limited. Not that I mind 72-degree winters, it's just that I crave a little snow and ice every now and again.
(Interesting fact: Kings mascot Bailey wears No. 72 because, well, it's always 72 degrees in LA! And if there were a mascot for a pro hockey team in Maine, I bet it would wear No. 13 — the average temperature in January.)
I had a hockey-filled trip from start to finish, to say the least. I got to watch my little brother, Jordan, who was named captain this year, play for his high school team, the Scarborough Red Storm. If you want to see some fast-paced, high-intensity, rough-and-crazy hockey, go watch an East Coast high school team. Seriously!
I made sure to watch the one thing that granted me this break in the first place — the NHL All-Star Skills Competition and All-Star Game. I watched it with great company in the comfort of my childhood home while my mom cooked dinner. Man, do I miss her home-cooked meals.
Getting to watch my brother do his linesman duties for the AHL's Portland Pirates was a real treat, too. I'd shout out and cheer — not for either team but for him. Offsides and icing calls were never so exciting.
If that wasn't enough hockey for one trip, on numerous occasions I rolled out of bed bright and early to lace up my skates and hit the pond. It felt good to carve into far-from-zabonied ice again after having been deprived all winter. Like a lot of NHL players, some of my earliest hockey memories started on the pond, and it felt ever-so-nostalgic being able to play a game of Shinny at home.
Hopefully someday soon, we can see our Kings play outdoors in the Winter Classic — in SoCal. I can confidently say I'm not alone in that statement. Shall we start a petition, anyone?
