Kings In The Community: Local Rink Tours

“I think it’s great for the players to get involved inside of that. I think there’s a lot of love for this team in the community, so for the players to give back and go to the rinks, I think that’s really important. You make a lot of kids pretty happy when Adrian Kempe shows up at a rink or Drew Doughty shows up at a rink. It’s really impactful, it’s something that helps kids continue to love the game, maybe remember for the rest of their lives. We don’t always realize how important that is, but it’s a big deal.”

That was Head Coach Peter Laviolette, speaking on the LA Kings Rink Tours annual outing, as the team went out in the community on Sunday to give back a little bit to those who support them on the ice.

Even when things aren’t going well in terms of wins and losses, it’s important that the Kings continue to contribute off the ice.

Every healthy player on the team was involved, out in the community, at one of seven different youth hockey rinks in the region. The Kings were split up among several different groups, working with youth-hockey players around the community, ranging from those who are just learning how to skate to players in the 10 – 12 year-old range, who are beginning to play at a more competitive level. The appearances ranged everywhere from the team’s home base in El Segundo to a couple of different rinks in Valley, where the organization continues to make investments in the game, including at the newly opened LA Kings Ice Reseda.

Those appearances, whether you are 16-0 or 0-16, are important. Being involved is important. For young players, those are the moments you remember for the rest of your lives. The Kings know it, because they once were those players.

Take Scott Laughton, who still remembers Toronto Maple Leafs legend Tie Domi coming out to one of his practices when he was growing up. For Kings defenseman Cody Ceci, his family grew up close with former NHL player Jason York’s family and he remembered skating with him as a youth player and the impressions that made. Things were different for forward Alex Turcotte, who had his family involved in the game at a professional level, but the Chicago Blackhawks would often practice at the rink he grew up playing at and those moments with NHL players, getting autographs and memories, are still vivid.

For Turcotte, over the weekend, he was out in Reseda, playing ball hockey with local youth players who are just getting into the game. Maybe not all of them are even skating yet, but they’re eager and passionate about the game, trying to learn more about hockey, perhaps getting into the game at a later point. To be involved in that was important to him. 

“That was a lot of fun, we were outside playing street hockey with the kids [in Reseda], it’s cool hanging out with them,” Turcotte said. “They’re so happy and they just want to learn how to play. It makes us smile and we have fun, they’re so innocent. It’s cool to be able to do that.”

Laughton and Ceci were among the players who skated at Toyota Sports Performance Center, with two groups set up on the different ice sheets at the Kings practice facility.

“I think as a kid, we had opportunities to skate with [professional players] whether it was Toronto or Ottawa,” Ceci said. “For me, those are memories that you have for a long time, and then it kind of sets that goal for yourself of trying to make to the NHL.”

Ultimately, getting out in those situations is for the youth players, first and foremost. It’s about the NHL players giving back to those younger players, supporting them as they fall in love with the game themselves. It's rewarding to the players to be in those situations and rewarding to see how much it means to them when they're in the mix. 

“I think just being out there brings up very good memories of skating and just being out there and feeling a little bit free, I guess,” Laughton said. “It was awesome. You see it in the kids how happy they are and that makes you happy too.”

For players like Laughton and Ceci, part of the added bonus is being fathers themselves and thinking about it through that lens.

Both players have children and get it better than maybe they did even earlier in their careers. Artemi Panarin's family wason the ice with the group that Laughton and Ceci skated with and having one of their teammate's kids out there was really cool for both to take part in. 

"Yeah, for sure, I mean, Panarin's two kids were out there, so it's really cool when you get to that age where you have have kids of your own and yeah, I think you appreciate a little bit more."

Laughton was quick to agree.

"That's exactly it," he added. "I think seeing it through the kids' lens and I think we'll be there at some point, so it's awesome to be able to do this."