By BW Jones

There’s one ice rink in the whole city. Youth hockey is nonexistent throughout the state. There’s no room in the budget for scouting or recruiting. No one is ever guaranteed a spot on the team and no scholarships are offered.

Despite this, the UK hockey team continues to pull in quality hockey players from around the country year after year. Junior defenseman Alex Robinson, a native of Dayton, Ohio, estimates that this year’s team represents “at least seven states.”

In fact, only a handful of team members hail from Kentucky, where high school hockey teams are little more than a novelty. UK head coach Rob Docherty, who grew up in Canada, said that many of the best players in the state leave to compete in leagues in Cincinnati and parts of Indiana to find competition with comparable talent.

Senior forward Chris Protenic, a Louisville native, is one of the few homegrown stars on the team.

“People think that because I’m from Kentucky (and play hockey) that I have some secret power that makes me better than everyone else from Kentucky,” Protenic said. “But really it’s just hard work and all the time I put into it.”

Docherty said that the team’s budget and his schedule don’t allow for any recruiting.

Still, Docherty said that the team receives hundreds of e-mails every year from players inquiring about the program. A typical visit by a prospective player may include a visit to the team practice on Thursday night, followed by a tour of campus on Friday. Then their team throws one of their biggest recruiting tools at players: a midnight game on Friday.

“I really only wanted to go to UK because as a 12-year-old, I came and saw my brother play (hockey) for UK, and the crowd was exactly the same 10 years ago,” said senior forward Jordan Callaway, from Chicago. “The UK fan base is unlike anything I’ve seen that’s not at a professional or scholarship level.”

Robinson discovered the UK hockey team in a less typical way. While in high school, he met former UK hockey poster model Amy Hayes, who recommended that he contact the program. After visiting campus and seeing a game, Robinson knew UK was the right fit for him.

Even though the team comes from such varied backgrounds, the players continue to come together and form a tight-knit team.

“Everybody brings their own thing to the team. Different lingos, different ways to dress, and we’ve all just clicked,” said Robinson.

Despite coming from different states and different backgrounds, Protenic said there’s no culture clash on the team.

“We’re all friends, and hockey is the common denominator that brings us all together,” said Protenic. “We all have the love for the game.”