After losing his last ever youth hockey game by five goals, Tobin Fix headed into the locker room for the final time as a Los Angeles Jr. King.
The locker room was emotional after the game as Fix and some of his teammates sat in their gear for half an hour following the loss. Fix described the last moments as a team as heartbreaking. He would be leaving teammates he had spent the last 10 years with, making memories on and off the ice.
“After playing with a certain group for so many years, you form a special bond with them, and it’s obviously a place I never wanted to leave because they were always fun to play with and I just grew really close to them,” Fix said.
After playing within the Jr. Kings organization his entire youth hockey career, Fix recognizes the unbreakable bonds and relationships he built along the way. It was emotional for him to separate from that group. Fix has now begun the next chapter in his hockey career, playing for the Ducks and being introduced to a new family on the ice.
Last season tightly bonded Fix to his Jr. Kings teammates. With the COVID-19 restrictions in California, their season was up in the air, leaving them wondering where they would play.
The team ended up playing up a league, which proved to be quite challenging. Without much team success on the ice, Fix describes his off-ice experience as some of the most fun he’s ever had.
“We just knew it was our last year together as a group, and we wanted to make the most of it,” Fix’s ex-teammate Chase Granger said. “Whatever happened on the ice happened, but off the ice we were having the time of our lives.”
That year, Fix’s team had to travel to Las Vegas for their state playoffs since they weren’t allowed to play in California due to COVID-19 restrictions. With a long road trip ahead, one of the player’s dads rented a big Ford Transit van for the excursion.
“We had like six guys piled in the back, playing games, playing cards in the back, just having a good time,” Fix said. “It was definitely a special moment for me.”
As the season and Fix’s Jr. Kings’ career came to a close, emotions ran high through the core group that had been playing together for so long in the locker room following their last game.
“We all just hugged each other,” Fix said. “Because those are my best friends and knowing that I will never get to do that again was awful.”
Fix had a decision to make as he completed youth hockey –– whether he wanted to keep playing or not.
After reaching out to head coach Rylee Orr and meeting him, Fix was set on what the Oregon hockey program was selling and decided to take his talents to Eugene.
The transition was intimidating at first for Fix — going to play somewhere without knowing anyone on the team as one of the youngest guys.
On Fix’s second day in Eugene, the Ducks hockey squad had a team building day with paintball. Fix admits that shooting people in the face with paintball guns was an interesting way to say hello, but proved to be effective; everyone on the team got to know each other better.
“I met everyone, and we were playing paintball and it was such a cool moment to see everyone welcome me in,” Fix said. “Being one of the younger guys here, it was definitely a struggle.”
Since that first team bonding day, Fix has grown incredibly close to his new teammates. For how difficult it was for Fix to leave his teammates on the Jr. Kings, his next transition has found him a new brotherhood right here in Oregon.
“It’s kind of crazy for me to think that a couple months ago I had no idea who these guys were,” Fix said. “I’ve formed incredible bonds already, and I’m just looking forward to seeing what comes next.”
Fix’s journey through hockey shows how off-ice experiences and relationships can be the most important things in a career. Saying goodbye to those youth hockey teammates was brutal, but those bonds through hockey are unbreakable for Fix. Now at Oregon, his new chapter has started well, with new relationships forming rapidly.
