Get To Know: Heartlanders forward Timmy Kent

Forward Timmy Kent and the Heartlanders are close to completing a road trip and return to Xtream Arena against Fort Wayne on Fri., March 21^st at 7:00 p.m. to begin a ten-game homestand to finish off the season. Friday, Saturday and Sunday all feature $15 tickets in the seating bowl, including glass seats, when you purchase at the link below!

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The rookie sat down with Director of Communications David Fine, to talk about the team, settling into the ECHL, and the SoFlo Hockey League Kent founded with friend and teammate Nico Blachman.

David Fine (DF): You came in midseason. What do you think about this group, how this team has gelled together, even with a lot of new pieces joining, especially over these last few weeks?

Timmy Kent (TK): Yeah, well, it's definitely the closest team I've been a part of. I mean, it's been awesome, and obviously we've strung together a lot of wins.The culture is great, and everybody plays the right way and plays the system.

DF: This is your rookie year, you’re coming from Curry College. In college, you're around those guys for four years. When you say this may be the closest group you've been a part of- what do you see that makes this team just as close, if not even closer, than a college team?

TK: Just the way guys bond around the rink and hang out in the locker room after and before and kind of talk about different stuff. Away from the rink too, everyone's kind of got each other's backs and are always talking about things. All that little stuff. On the road we're always hanging out together. It's just awesome when you have a team like that. You really look forward to going to the rink and just seeing the guys.

DF: You joined the team when the Heartlanders were playing Bloomington. You had your first goal that weekend. How do you feel about where you're sitting at? 

TK: I feel good personally. I’m playing a different style than I've played in the past. I've embraced it. I want to do anything that I can to stay and contribute to the team however I can. I’ve gotten a ton better at the defensive aspect of the game. I honestly love it and embracing it. I love being here and want to be here.

So, yeah, just doing anything that I can to contribute and to the team any way possible. I’m grateful for the opportunity and want to make the most of it.

DF: Let's talk about where you're from, Florida. How'd you get into playing hockey, being from Sunrise?

TK: Originally Sunrise, but Parkland now.

Sunrise is where the Panthers rink is. My dad played hockey, and my brother started playing when he was about 6. I got into it shortly after.  My dad was a hockey player, and he was pretty good too.

I got into it from him. I got into hockey  at 3 or 4 years old and fell in love with it. I would just follow my brother around wherever he was playing. 

It turned out all my friends from Florida, they're all hockey players that are up north too somewhere. It’s just how it worked out.

I went up north at 14 to prep school to play hockey. Hockey's growing a lot in South Florida actually, and it's awesome, and awesome for kids down there. 

DF: When's the first time you met Nico Blachman? Another Floridian, that's why I'm asking.

TK: I've known Nico since I was nine years old. Florida's a small world, hockey-wise. I've known Nico forever.

We've been close since we were about 13 or 14. I've known his mom and his dad forever, and he's known mine. He's only a year older than me. We played the same tournaments up north.

He'd come up with my family or vice versa. And, yeah, he's always been a pretty close friend of mine.

DF: What was Nico like 15 years ago?

TK: Well, he's always really respectful, like around parents. Yeah, for sure. Always extremely respectful.

He's the same as he is now, the guy that you want in the locker room.

The guy you want to be around at a party. He's the same guy he was then, always the best guy. 

DF: Tell us about the SoFlo Summer Hockey League back home in Florida.

TK: Me, Nico, and two of our other best friends, Cole Kodsi and Mark Cheremeta, started it probably six years ago. At the time, there wasn’t a place to play against each other in an organized scrimmage. Everyone was on their own doing skills, renting ice.

We started a 3v3 league that kind of grew into what it is now. There's probably 20 NHL players and a lot of AHL and ECHL guys, even some good college and junior players. There's six teams, we have sponsors.

 We all started it together, and we work on it together.

It's our pride and joy over the summer. It's a great time, and even better, it's great for our training. It kills two birds with one stone for us. We don't pay for ice because we run the league. The players are great. It makes us better because we're playing against high-end guys.

DF:  How important is it to have real games for your development and not just conditioning exercises over the summer?

TK: It’s huge.  You improve a lot over the summer from playing against guys that are playing at higher levels than you are. You might play like 20 games over the summer against these guys and it helps you stay sharp.

I couldn’t play this past summer because I was recovering from ACL surgery. I noticed at the start of the season, that it took me around a month to just get in-sync. Those games are huge.  It's the three-on-three, so it's a small rink. It forces you to think fast, and use your mental tools to beat people