Every day, after his father was done with work, Trevor Lewis and his dad would walk across the street to the Cottonwood Heights Recreation Center and go ice skating. This tradition started when Lewis was two-years-old, and three years later, he started playing hockey. However, hockey wasn’t the most common winter sport in Utah which made it less accessible.
“When I was growing up, there weren’t many rinks,” Lewis recounted. “Luckily my parents bought a house right across the street from Cottonwood Ice Rink. So, my dad would take me ice skating like every day since I was two years old, after work. I grew up skating and then playing here, there weren’t a lot of players, there weren’t many rinks.”
Lewis started his youth hockey career in Utah, sometimes playing on a team with 12 total players. However, to keep advancing in the sport, he had to move out of his home state to pursue his career. After going to Colorado to play 18U AAA hockey, Lewis made stops in the USHL and OHL to continue his junior hockey career.
After years of hard work, the Los Angeles Kings drafted Lewis with their 17th overall pick at the 2006 NHL Draft. On Dec. 19, 2008, Lewis made his NHL debut and became one of the first Utah born players to make it to the league. Over the next 17 seasons Lewis played 1034 games, won two Stanley Cups, and picked up a pair of international bronze medals. It was a storied career for any player, especially one from a non-traditional hockey state.
Following his playing career, Lewis took some time to be a dad and focus on his family. However, when it was time for a new chapter in his career, home was calling. Lewis has joined the Utah Mammoth as a Video Scout and Youth and Amateur Hockey Ambassador. It’s an opportunity for Lewis to join an organization that has ignited the hockey community in his home state.
“Just being from Utah and seeing the impact the Mammoth had on the youth community and the hockey community in Utah was something really special to me,” Lewis shared. “Never in my life did I think there would be an NHL team in Utah. I’m from here, my kids love it here, and my wife grew up here too. So, it’s very important to me to be a part of it. Ryan and Ashley Smith have done such an incredible job and it’s such a first class organization, that it was a no-brainer for me to try to get in and help the team and help grow the game as much as I could.”
Lewis has seen how much Utah has embraced hockey with the Mammoth in town. Whether it’s through his son starting to play the sport, or the buzz around the community, it’s special for Lewis to see the growth.
“It’s unbelievable,” Lewis shared. “I think about when I was growing up compared to now. My son’s starting to get into hockey a little bit, and we had him in a learn to play program and I started running that when I took a year off to just be a dad for a little bit. Just to see the amount of kids that are into it, the Mammoth stickers on the cars, it’s everywhere.
“At my son’s school I went in, and we played street hockey at recess with all the kids,” Lewis continued. “It’s different than I thought it would be and it’s amazing to see. I’m very proud to be a part of it.”
With his new role, Lewis will bring his extensive experience to the front office as the Mammoth push for the Stanley Cup. He will also help grow the game through the organization’s youth hockey department. Years after he learned to play, Lewis will have the opportunity to help the next wave of players in the same rinks from his childhood.
“I think I’m just excited to get going,” Lewis said. “There’s a lot of things for me to learn being on this side of it now, with the scouting and all that kind of stuff. But, I’m excited to help in any way I can, help this team and community reach the ultimate goal.”
