PARK CITY, Utah — On Friday night, two-time Stanley Cup champion and Utah native Trevor Lewis met fans and signed autographs ahead of the Park City Pioneers home opener.
“Just to come back now and kind of give back to the community and come out here and enjoy things like this and see the kids that have grown up, it's been pretty special,” Lewis said.
Lewis grew up in Salt Lake City and is one of six Utahns to play in the National Hockey League. Utah has quickly embraced hockey following the arrival of the NHL and the Utah Mammoth in 2024.
“I think all it takes is going to one hockey game, and you're kind of hooked, so I'm not surprised,” he said.
When asked what first drew him to the sport, Lewis explained, “My dad's Canadian, and I was either gonna hate life or love hockey, so luckily I loved hockey, and we grew up across the street from an ice rink and just kind of picked it up from there and loved it ever since.”
Youth hockey in Utah has surged since the Mammoth’s arrival — growth Lewis believes will shape the sport’s future.
“My son's in the learn to play hockey now and to see how many kids are out and attempting hockey, and we've done it as his school. It's awesome to see how many kids are picking it up since the Mammoth came and how involved the Mammoth are in the youth organizations here, and it's pretty cool to see,” Lewis said.
While he’s not officially coaching his son’s team yet, Lewis says that could soon change.
“He's just kind of in learn to play right now, so I go out and help out, but he will definitely want me to coach when he starts playing for a team, so we'll see what happens.”
After playing last season with the Los Angeles Kings, the 2006 NHL first-round draft pick is taking a pause before deciding what’s next.
“Being a dad right now and getting to do all the things that I kind of missed out on traveling and being with the kids at all their events and stuff, it's been pretty cool to be able to do that. Just kinda taking a year off, and we'll see what happens after that.”
