Tyler Maxwell is one of the Alaska Aces' myriad newcomers – half of the 24 players in training camp are new to the ECHL hockey club – but his Alaska and Aces connections are strong.
The center played bantam and midget hockey for the L.A. Selects in his native California with Aces defenseman William Wrenn of Anchorage and traveled here to visit Wrenn as a kid.
He knows Aces goaltender Troy Redmann, who is from California, and Aces winger David Eddy, who lives in California in the offseason.
He knows the family of winger Dean Chelios because he played summer hockey in the Detroit-based Little Caesars youth program. He knows Aces defenseman Landon Oslanski because they attended training camp together previously for ECHL Stockton. He and Aces forward Dylan Hood share a mutual friend, so they met when they played major-junior hockey.
He twice as a kid came to Anchorage to play in USA Hockey Pacific District tournaments.
And he's played nine career games at Sullivan Arena, six with Stockton and three with the Bakersfield Condors.
So it goes in North American professional hockey, where connections are abundant and often make the sport's landscape seem as tiny as a penalty box.
"Everybody knows somebody, who knows somebody else,'' Maxwell said. "Hockey's a small world.''
Maxwell, for instance, said he randomly texted Wrenn this summer to see where Wrenn was going to play in the upcoming season. Maxwell said Wrenn texted that he was going to play for the Aces. Maxwell said he immediately texted back to tell Wrenn that Anchorage was likely where he would land too.
Aces coach Rob Murray acquired Maxwell's rights from Adirondack in exchange for the rights to center Greg Wolfe.
Maxwell, 24, last season led a woeful Stockton club in goals and was second in points with 24-27—51 totals in 63 games.
He pencils into the Aces' lineup as a center on one of the top two lines.
And maybe Maxwell will pick up some clients while he's here, as he did in Stockton, where he gave private hockey lessons. Maxwell, who moved here with his wife, Chanel, and their 21-month-old son, Ryder, operates the Maxwell Hockey Camp in California and along the West Coast.
Maxwell said he basically began giving lessons as an 18-year-old major-junior hockey player for the Western Hockey League's Everett Silvertips in Washington.
That gig started when Maxwell and some teammates missed curfew and management told them to attend a booster club dinner and silent auction. A one-hour private hockey lesson drew a bid of $300, Maxwell said, and he off-handedly responded he would give a lesson for just $60. A booster took him up on the offer, and Maxwell's business was born.
He said technology allows him to stay on top of his business while he continues his playing career.
"I like that I can stay involved and help in the development of the sport,'' Maxwell said. "I'm in a position where I could stop playing, but I don't want to.''
Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com, check out his blog at adn.com/hockeyblog and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr