In trying times for his home state, Penguins forward Matt Nieto takes pride in being from California

Even if he is occasionally a healthy scratch, Matt Nieto stands out among his NHL peers.

Of the 916 souls who have appeared in an NHL contest this season, only 13 were born in California, including Nieto, a native of Long Beach.

This week, he returned to his home state as authorities continued to combat wildfires that have ravaged areas surrounding Los Angeles.

Its a hazard that is a way of life up and down the Golden State.

It happens more than you think, Nieto said in Cranberry on Jan.

8.

Theres even mild (fires) that dont really get the attention like the ones going on right now are getting.

Its crazy.

California, we get the fires and the earthquakes.

A few years ago, I had to evacuate my house because of fire.

Its just something that happens there.

It (stinks.) Nieto indicated his family, which now lives in Orange County, is safe.

But the threat is constant and requires vigilance.

Nieto has had to evacuate a handful of occasions due to fires.

Since Ive lived in Orange County, probably twice, Nieto said.

And Ive been there for 10 years and Im just there in the summertime.

Its happened a few times.

Its scary.

You go outside and it looks like an apocalypse out there.

Orange skies.

Youve got things flying in the air.

Ash.

Its not ideal.

Even with that harsh reality, Nieto takes pride in being one of the few NHLers from California.

The arrival of the iconic Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings in 1989 produced a boom of players taking up the sport.

Nieto wasnt exactly part of the surge created by Gretzkys influence considering he was born in 1992.

Another star playing in the market had a bigger impact on him in Mighty Ducks of Anaheim forward Paul Kariya.

In 2003, Kariya led the Mighty Ducks to that franchises first appearance in a Stanley Cup Final.

A 10-year-old Nieto was captivated when Kariya returned from a devastating hit by New Jersey Devils defenseman Scott Stevens and scored a spectacular goal on a slap shot in Game 6 of that series.

He was just my favorite player, said Nieto, now 32.

I was able to meet him.

I went to a training camp once, got a picture with him, got an autograph.

He was super nice.

Let me sit on his lap, took a picture, signed a few things for me.

That was a really cool moment.

The Scott Stevens hit, him coming back from that, thats one of the greatest moments in hockey.

Just an amazing player.

He was someone that I really looked up to.

Nieto hopes he can provide something similar as one of the scant NHLers of Mexican heritage.

When I was growing up, I looked up to (former NHL All-Star forward) Scott Gomez, Nieto said.

He kind of paved the way for me.

If anyone could look up to me as an example that they can make it, thats obviously a good feeling.

I take a lot of pride in that.

Now, youre seeing more and more minority players, not just Mexican but all sorts of different backgrounds, more and more make it to the NHL.

More and more playing hockey.

Its an awesome thing to see.

That growth has manifested itself in the options that are now available for hockey players in California that werent necessarily available to Nieto as a youth.

Like ...

ice.

I started playing roller hockey first, Nieto said.

I think roller hockey was more popular than ice hockey in California growing up.

So, thats how I got my start.

Then once I started playing ice hockey, I was fortunate enough to have some good coaches and some good teams with some other players that ended up making it to the NHL.

Kind of fortunate that I was able to be surrounded by some good hockey people.

Even growing up in school, theres not a lot of competition in California for ice hockey.

So, we had to travel a lot.

I remember letting the school know Im going to be gone for two weeks, one week.

Nobody really understood what I meant when I said I was going to be playing ice hockey.

They werent too happy about it.

But thats something that we had to do just for the competition.

The lengths Nieto went to find that competition eventually led him to prep school in Connecticut, the United States National Team Development Program in Michigan, Boston University then becoming a second-round draft pick by the San Jose Sharks in 2011.

Even after a dozen seasons as a professional, he still finds reasons to boast of being one of the few NHLers from California.

Now, youre seeing more and more players coming out of California, Nieto said.

Its just a credit to the hockey programs.

Minor hockey programs are getting better and better.

I take a lot pride in it..

This article has been shared from the original article on triblive, here is the link to the original article.