Get to Know LA Kings Rookie Blake Lizotte

If there's any question about how much Blake Lizotte loves the sport of hockey, the fact that he watches the movie "Miracle" 15 times each year should clear that up.
Lizotte, in his first full season with the LA Kings, considers the flick, which is based on the 1980 U.S. Men's Olympic Ice Hockey Team, his favorite of all time. He's even had an opportunity to meet Mike Eruzione, who captained that team and scored the famous 'Miracle on Ice' goal.

In addition to "Miracle," Lizotte watches "The Office," "Game of Thrones," "Breaking Bad," and a variety of sports, particularly tennis, which he also played at one point.
He will listen to just about any kind of music, Luke Combs and Country being his go-to in the summer, but Pop and artists Billie Eilish and Twenty One Pilots, are also prevalent on his playlists.
The 22-year-old loves anything outdoors, particularly golf and watersports. This should make sunny Southern California an ideal location, and the forward hasn't wasted any time getting out to play at Trump National Golf Club, as well as some of the other courses in Rancho Palos Verdes.
Instagram from @blizotte46: ✈️✈️✈️💯 @thomas\_gillach
While he enjoys wakesurfing in the summer back in Minnesota, he is looking forward to taking a shot at surfing the waves along the SoCal coast sometime soon. Hiking in and around LA is also on his to-do list.
Anyone planning to dine with Lizotte should be forewarned that one of his pet peeves is people who are loud eaters.
"That drives me nuts when it's quiet and you can hear them chomping on, I can't handle that, it drives me crazy," affirms Lizotte, who says that he will call an offender out if he knows them well enough.
The one thing Lizotte himself was called out for the most as a kid was his sweet tooth. He had an affinity for sweets and his favorite indulgence was powdered sugar, which he would put on everything, including hot dogs and macaroni and cheese. It could be argued that he needed the energy, having been given his first pair of ice skates at the age of two.
"When I was about 2-years-old my parents got me a pair of skates and I always wanted to be like my older brothers and play with them and their friends. I started really young and ever since then I fell in love with it," says Lizotte, the youngest of three boys.
Instagram from @blizotte46: Socks, no shoes...bold move @nbarrett8
Hailing from the town of Lindstrom, just 35 miles northeast of Minneapolis, Blake and his older brothers, Brett and Brock, had a pond in their backyard.
"We lived and died out there in the Minnesota winters, it was freezing, I didn't care, minus-5, minus-10, I was out there all day," remembers Lizotte, who cheered for the Minnesota Wild as a kid.
Lizotte became a big fan of Sidney Crosby when he came into the NHL in 2005 and has been studying his game ever since.
"I was a person that focused on details when I watched hockey, and I think Crosby exemplifies what it means to be a detailed player and play 200 feet, so I always admired his game and always wanted to play like him," concedes Lizotte, who was disappointed when Crosby was out with injury during the Kings trip to Pittsburgh earlier this season.
After going undrafted, Lizotte played two years at St. Cloud State before signing a three-year entry level contract with the Kings on April 2, 2019. He joined the team immediately and made his NHL debut in the Kings' season finale against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Despite the fact that he didn't know anyone in the organization prior, he has had a fairly easy move, and lives with Ontario Reign defenseman Mikey Anderson, who signed his entry-level contract shortly after Lizotte signed his.
Anderson and Lizotte grew up about 30 minutes apart and played each other a lot as kids and in the same conference in college, but never on the same team.
"I've probably played Mikey 25 times in the last three years, so we've gotten to know each other pretty well and we get along great, so it's been a really good transition," explains Lizotte.
Although it took a little longer than he would have wanted, Lizotte netted his first NHL goal in a game earlier this season against the Canadiens in Montreal.
"To do it in a building like that with that much history, against Carey Price, a guy that I've watched the last ten years and admired, and seen him on the Olympic teams and at All Star games, a world-class goaltender, so to score it on him was something really special," shares Lizotte, who has the puck hanging on his wall.

Though his love for hockey and dedication to his craft are apparent, Lizotte is the first one to admit that hockey has taught him there is more to life than sports.
"People think that life is so focused on what you're doing whether that's hockey or a real job, whether you're a business owner or an accountant, that's not who you are. To me I don't find my comfort in hockey, I live for a greater purpose and that's to glorify God. I'm a pretty big faith person," says Lizotte, a devout Christian who attends the Evangelical Free Church in his hometown.
Lizotte's father, who passed away when Blake was only 14, would regularly use the phrase "live like that," meaning to live as Jesus did, and not for oneself. Lizotte now has these words on a bracelet that he hasn't taken off his wrist in five years. The family had the bracelets made and an identical bracelet is worn by many people in Lizotte's hometown.
Lizotte uses the recent passing of former Los Angeles Lakers star, Kobe Bryant, as an example:
"You hear more of the stories about the dad he was and how he treated others and his family. I think playing hockey at this level really emphasizes how important it is to be a human - how you treat others - and it's not just how you play the game. It's more about the person you are and not just the athlete you are."
Instagram from @blizotte46: #Mambaforever 🐍
While his hockey career is only just beginning, Lizotte does have a plan for life after hockey, and that is to be an Athletic Director, which is what he was going to school for at St. Cloud State. He has about a year-and-a-half left to go to earn his degree, and it is important for him to finish but he told himself he'd take his first year of professional hockey off from his education before going back to complete the necessary courses. It shouldn't be too hard.
He may just have to watch "Miracle" a few less times.