A professional hockey player from Hawaii?
As outlandish as it may sound, 2014 Aiea High School graduate Zach Pamaylaon is doing just that.
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Upon graduating high school, Pamaylaon attended Bryn Athyn College in Pennsylvania, where he played for the school’s NCAA Division III hockey team.
Pamaylaon never gave up on his hockey dreams, and it has paid off. He recently completed his rookie season with the Danbury Hat Tricks of the Federal Prospects Hockey League.
Founded in 2019, the Hat Tricks won the FPHL title in Pamaylaon’s debut season.
“I’m blessed that I made it this far being from Hawaii,” Pamaylaon told KHON2’s Alan Hoshida. “Hopefully, another good, hardworking summer, hopefully I’ll get a call up to a bigger league.
“I feel like I was always behind the eight ball, being small, being from such a small island with one rink. I guess to be a good athlete or to be good in life in general, you have to put yourself behind the eight ball to be the best. I try to carry a little bit of Aloha spirit, Aloha love, just giving that to whoever that may be — my teammates, our fans, all the people that help us to be our best every day.”