The journey from the Bass Lake Playfield rink to University of Minnesota’s Mariucci Arena has been winding and, at times, grueling, but as recent NHL draft pick Taylor Cammarata says, “There is still a long way to go.”
Throughout the past four years, Cammarata, who was born and raised in Plymouth, has been living out of town to pursue his dream of becoming a professional hockey player. Most recently, he played as a forward for the Waterloo Blackhawks in Waterloo, Iowa, before the New York Islanders chose the 18-year-old at number 76 out of 211 total picks in the 2013 NHL draft; Cammarata was New York’s third out of seven total picks.
Yet Plymouth will always be the place Cammarata calls home. “Plymouth is the most peaceful place to live,” he says. “And whenever I can make it home, it’s good to be back.”
As a third round draft pick, Cammarata still has time before he will take the ice as an NHL player. In September, he began his freshman year at the University of Minnesota, where he will also play hockey in the same arena he frequented as a child. Cammarata looks forward to improving his game at the U, but even more than that, he is thankful his parents will finally be close enough to watch him play.
Cammarata’s parents, BJ and LeeAnn, moved to Plymouth 18 years ago, around the time that Cammarata was born. When his son was 3 years old, BJ taught him to skate at Bass Lake Playfield rink.
“Hockey is something that I’ve worked my whole life for,” Cammarata says. “And now, I’m just trying to be happy with where I’m at.”
