King of travel
VALENCIA — Will King is on the move — again.
The 22-year-old Valencia resident and professional hockey goaltender spent last season playing for Kallinge/Ronnebyif (KRIF) in Sweden before being loaned to another team in the league late last season.
Next season, King will be playing for Tyringe, his third team in the third-tier of pro hockey leagues in Sweden.
“All of the contracts over there are pretty much one-year deals,” King said. “The team I played for last year had a struggling financial situation.
“My goal is to get into one of the top two leagues in Sweden. There’s only 16 teams in each of those leagues and the competition is very stiff. From there, I could get a chance at getting a pro contract over here (in the U.S.).”
With KRIF last season, King posted an 8-6-2 record with a 2.60 goals against average. His save percentage was .910.
The top league in Sweden is the Sweden Hockey League. The next tier is the All About Sweden league, followed by the Division 1 league that King plays in.
The rinks in Sweden are 15 feet wider “which present different angles for a goaltender,” King said. “The skating over there is excellent. Those guys are pros for a reason.
“It was a huge step for me in terms of caliber of play.”
King played in approximately 30 games between his two teams last season. The regular season is 60 games long. The top four teams in the lower-tiered leagues move up to the next level of league the following year.
“That’s what everybody strives to do. It’s what the playoffs are about,” King said.
Twice last season, King was named the No. 1 star of the game. Those awardees receive a gift for such efforts.
“I got a stove-top cooker and 60 premium sausages,” King said, smiling. “One guy got a four-day package at a spa. You can get some pretty unique stuff.”
King is trying to take a unique path to the NHL. Because he was paid money to play in a league in Canada at age 17, his college eligibility in terms of hockey was nullified.
When the opportunity arose to play in Sweden, he jumped on it.
“Some of the best goaltenders in the world come from that country,” he said. “NHL scouts are at the games on a regular basis. There are three or four goalies in the NHL right now who came from these leagues.
“Communicating with my teammates was an issue at first. That’s something I never thought of when I decided to go over there. Telling my defensemen to get back or some teammates that I can’t see because of their positioning ... I didn’t know how to do that. But I’m good enough with the language now and we’re fine.”
King describes the style of play in Sweden as “like soccer on ice,” indicating there is less hitting and more finesse.
His mother used to work for the Detroit Red Wings and King has been skating since age 2. Getting to the NHL has been his dream for a long time.
King does yoga and ballet workouts to sharpen his skills. He is taking a couple of summer classes at Penn State and will attend a clinic in Montreal in July with his goaltender coach before returning to Sweden in August for training camp.
“When teams are no longer interested in me, I’ll see that and I’ll give it up,” he said. “Hopefully, that doesn’t happen for a long time yet.”
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