From Southern Roots to a Career in Pro Hockey

Jan 23, 2025

By Brian Germinaro | Bridgeport Islanders

 

Statistics show, most professional hockey players are typically from cold-weather regions. Canada, Eastern Europe, and the Northern United States to name a few. These places are hotbeds for pros.

 

Traditionally, you don’t think of players coming from places like Franklin, Tennessee - the hometown of Bridgeport Islanders forward Cam Thiesing.

 

“People weren’t big advocates of hockey when I was growing up because it’s a big football and baseball area,” Thiesing said. “When you say hockey in the South, people don’t think twice about it.” 

 

Although, perhaps, the community didn’t think twice about the game of hockey, that wasn’t the case in the Thiesing household. To his family, hockey was everything. 

 

“My dad grew up playing, he played junior hockey for the Madison Capitals and decided to play Division Three hockey at the University of Eau Claire, Wisconsin,” Thiesing said. “His love for the game was instilled in me and my brother at a very young age, he showed us how much he loved it, and it got me to love it as well.” 

 

His dad wasn’t the only one who introduced Thiesing to hockey. He also spent a lot of time going to Nashville Predators games, becoming a die-hard Predators fan and made memories that continue to stick with him today.

 

“I went to a Preds game for my 10th or 11th birthday and before the game, Mike Fisher, Steve Sullivan, and Shea Webber all came to our cul-de-sac and played a pick-up game of hockey,” Thiesing said. 

 

This love of hockey developed into a desire to play. A wish to follow in his dad's footsteps and play the same game his heroes did. However, Tennessee isn’t like most northern states where there is a hockey rink in every other town. 

 

“Growing up we had two rinks,” Thiesing said. “The Predators practice facility downtown and another one in Franklin. The biggest thing is, there weren’t that many hockey players, so the team I played for was a combination of kids from Tennessee, Alabama, Atlanta, Florida, and the Carolinas all of the same age group.” 

 

Despite these less-than-ideal conditions, Thiesing made the most out of it.

 

“They were going through the same things I was, living in an area where hockey is not the number one, two, or three sport in the arena. So, to meet those kids and share that passion was very special.” 

 

When he was 14, Thiesing decided that he wanted to turn pro. His ultimate goal was to play for a professional hockey team. However, to achieve that dream, he’d have to leave home and move to Wisconsin to play for a U-14 team. 

 

“It was tough, lots of conversations with my parents about whether it was the right thing to do,” Thiesing said. “We looked at it from a point that if I were to look back on that moment, I didn’t want to have to regret not making that choice to leave home. That’s what drove me to leave at such a young age.” 

 

Thiesing joined the TPH Thunder 14U AAA during the 2014-15 season. For the rest of his high school years, he spent time bouncing around different youth and junior teams in Illinois and Wisconsin. He committed to play hockey at Ohio State University in 2021-22. In his three years as a Buckeye, he tallied 32 goals and 29 assists for 61 points, and also served as an alternate captain during his final season. It paid off when he signed a two-year, entry level contract with the New York Islanders on March 22nd.

 

Thiesing is now in Bridgeport, improving his game and hoping to make the NHL one day. He scored his first professional goal one week ago against the Syracuse Crunch at Total Mortgage Arena. Yet he hasn’t forgotten his roots. He’s still invested in the growth of the sport in the Southern United States. 

 

“Honestly, during the Stanley Cup, I was rooting for the Panthers,” Thiesing said. “Because stuff like [southern teams doing well] and winning expands it. It lets kids down in Florida see that this is really cool, this is something I want to try”. 

 

Although Thiesing believes that hockey has grown a lot in the south, and is in a good place, there is still a lot of work to be done. He believes that the teams in these areas are the key to hockey growth. Thiesing himself has expressed interest in going back and helping the game grow. 

 

“I’ve been thinking about doing a camp down in Tennessee,” Thiesing said. “I think if kids could see that, and see that I was once in their shoes, it could motivate them in a sense. It’s always something I wanted to do. I feel like I owe it to them.”