Meet Tobias Rieder: LA Kings Newest Right Winger

The idea of his home country winning a Silver Medal in Men's Ice Hockey at the Winter Olympic Games seemed like a far-fetched idea for a young Tobias Rieder, who began playing hockey in his hometown of Landshut, Germany some 22 years ago. But that was then, and this is now.
The 25-year-old Rieder watched as much of this year's Olympic hockey tournament as the LA Kings' schedule permitted, and was delighted with Germany's silver medal win. Especially, since it necessitated an ousting of Canada in order to advance to the gold medal matchup with the Olympic Athletes from Russia.

Although soccer is the more popular sport in Germany, Rieder grew up in a hockey family. His father, Manfred, was a professional ice hockey goalie in Germany, and watching his dad's games was something Tobi did as a toddler, eventually lacing up skates of his own at the age of three. There wasn't much NHL on television in Germany at that time, so an hour or two of weekly NHL highlights had to suffice to keep up with his favorite team, the San Jose Sharks.
Rieder followed the NHL career of fellow countryman and former King, Marco Sturm, who played for the Sharks for a large part of his career.
"He's from my hometown and that's where he started his career. I always looked up to him because I knew him personally and not too many German players make it to the NHL," said Rieder of Sturm, who knew Tobi's parents. "Later on in my career, he helped me out with coming overseas to play Junior hockey, so that's pretty much how the whole relationship started."
Today, Rieder is following in the footsteps of Sturm and helping to inspire young German players who want to make it to the NHL. Rieder was drafted in the fourth round, 114th overall, in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers. After playing with the Kitchener Rangers in the OHL, Rieder was traded to the Arizona Coyotes in 2013. He played just under four seasons with the Arizona Coyotes organization before being traded to the Kings on February 21.
"It was obviously shocking, and kind of exciting; joining a new organization, you get a new start. It goes really quick, all of a sudden the next day I'm here, playing at the STAPLES Center with a new jersey, so that was really exciting," said Rieder of his first real NHL trade.

Coming over from Arizona, the only new teammate Rieder was already familiar with was Anze Kopitar, from their time playing for Team Europe in the 2016 World Cup. That said, there are plenty of things Los Angeles has to offer that are quickly growing on the right winger.
Instagram from @tobi\_rieder: What a great time at the World Cup of Hockey!! Best tournament I've ever played in #wch2016 #teameurope
"I think everything," said Rieder, when asked what he enjoys about his new city. "Obviously, it's a great spot to live. The beach is really nice, this practice facility is amazing, playing at STAPLES Center is really cool. I think all around it's really cool."
While Rieder is still maintaining residence in a hotel, he is at least hoping to upgrade to a hotel with a kitchen, before deciding if he wants to put down roots this season. During the summer, he will, as he typically does, head back to Germany for a couple of months to see family and friends.
Playing soccer is also something he indulges in during the summer, something he did seriously as a kid. At the age of 13, Rieder had to choose whether to pursue hockey or soccer. The rest is history.

"I had a feeling I was a little better at hockey, and it was just more fun to me," said Rieder, who conceded that if not hockey, he would be playing professional soccer.
While he can't play soccer during the NHL season, he does get his fix via Xbox, as FIFA is his game of choice. Rieder also loves the television show 'Game of Thrones,' and his favorite movie is 'Step Brothers,' which he has admittedly seen "a million times." When it comes to music, there wasn't much of an adjustment across continents, as American music is what's popular in Germany - the same artists, genres, everything.
While music tastes may have transcended continental boundaries, hockey, for Rieder, did not, which makes his road to the NHL that much more impressive. Always having dreamt of making it to the NHL one day, the idea that it could become a reality didn't settle in Rieder's mind until it actually happened.
"Playing in Germany, I didn't really know what else was out there. Playing in the Under-16 World Championships and those tournaments, you see a lot of really good players, so you think it's going to be really hard to make it to the NHL," Rieder said. "Then I got drafted, played in the AHL and had a good year, then all of a sudden, I got called up, played my first NHL game, and that's pretty much the first time I realized it."
Having played no less than 72 games in each of his first three NHL seasons, Rieder seems to have found his way in the most elite hockey league in the world - which didn't come without overcoming his own share of challenges.
"I feel like everything is a challenge," said Rieder. "My dream was so big to make it to the NHL, that challenge, to finally make it there after leaving home, being in the junior hockey league for three years, then the American League, it took some time, but then you really feel like you achieved something as soon as you get to the NHL."
Rieder admits that leaving home at the age of 16 to come to North America without his parents helped him mature a lot.
"I'm almost able to anything by myself," said Rieder, laughing.
While the recent rise of hockey in Germany and the country's first ever silver medal in Men's Olympic Ice Hockey are making the NHL path for today's German hockey players much different than Rieder's, he feels that his advice to kids in his home country that have NHL aspirations remains the same: "Work harder than the other players do and always have fun doing it. Every time you're out there, try your best."

Having the support of his family, even from across the pond, is something that Rieder also attributes to his success. His parents watch every single one of his games on Apple TV, even though most of the games come on around 4:00 a.m. and his dad usually has to work.
"They get up for every game. My mom is worse, my dad has to go to work at some point, but my mom does not miss a game. They're pretty excited when hockey season is over so they can finally get some sleep," said Rieder.
Does Dad, a former hockey player himself, ever have pointers for his son?
"He does [critique my play], but if it gets too much I just tell him 'hey, you were a goalie.' Typical parent. He tries to tell me what to do," said Rieder with a chuckle.
Typical parenting aside, Rieder revealed that it is his parents that have inspired him the most.
"My dad because he played the game and he helped me out a lot throughout my career to get me where I am today, and my mom for pretty much doing everything for me when I was little, driving me to soccer practice, driving me to hockey practice, doing all that stuff, so I really have to give them a lot of credit," said Rieder.
On whether or not he has ever expressed his gratitude towards his parents: "Well, I probably have, but I should probably tell them that more often."
Hopefully, somewhere in Germany, they're reading this.