WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — In Wesley Chapel, many young hockey players say they are excited to see Sunday’s NHL Stadium Series match-up between the Lightning and Bruins, an outdoor game set to be played inside Raymond James Stadium.
Blake Bzibziak plays for the Tampa Bay Crunch.
“We are doing tournaments in Jacksonville, and we just travel all around trying to win. We won our championship in Jacksonville,” he said.
Bzibziak started playing hockey when he was 3 years old.
“I got into hockey because my dad played all through high school, and he got me into hockey.”
The Crunch is one of dozens of teams in the Tampa Bay area where USA Hockey has seen a nearly 60% increase in registered players over the past eight years.
Coach Sasha Sevo grew up in hockey-loving Canada and said he now sees the sport growing rapidly in Florida.
“It’s getting harder and harder to find spots with limited ice. I think it could grow even more if there were more rinks in the area,” said Sevo.
Sevo said the increased popularity can be traced back to Florida’s NHL teams.
“I would suspect that the success of the Lightning and Panthers kind of grows the game internally with kids seeing it on TV, and I want to play that sport, it looks cool,” he said.
The players have watched the Lightning win the Stanley Cup, and now another signature event has captured their attention.
Sunday’s Stadium Series game is expected to draw tens of thousands of fans and showcase hockey in Florida on a national stage.
“It’s amazing. This is the first time playing outdoors in Tampa. It’s going to be a beautiful night outside. This is history,” said Bzibziak.
Some of the young players plan to attend the game after finishing their own matchup earlier in the day.
“I’m excited. We have a game before, so I won’t be able to do the whole event. But I’m really excited for the game,” said Blake Cripe.
“I’m going with my friend Kai because he bought tickets for me and him to go,” said Bzibziak.
“We will try and get the kids out as quick as we can. I know there are several kids going to it. Probably in the teams that we are playing as well. I’m not going, but I’ll watch it at home. It’s a lot cheaper,” said Sevo.
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