Victor Bartley forged a hockey path from a backyard rink in Ontario to Ridge Meadows Minor Hockey to the National Hockey League.
His journey has led him to Music City USA, where he is a second-year defenceman with the NHL's Nashville Predators.
He played his first NHL game with the Nashville Predators during their 6-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in March 2013.
The details of his first shift were a blur to Victor, who said, "All I could recall, when it was over, is that I thought to myself, 'You belong here'."
Born Feb. 17, 1988 in Ottawa, Victor moved to Maple Ridge when he was five years old.
Back in Ontario, his parents kept a backyard rink for their young kids to hone their hockey skills.
In Maple Ridge, Victor began playing organized hockey at the tyke level.
From that point, Victor played all of his minor hockey with the Ridge Meadows Minor Hockey Association, from atom A1 through to bantam.
A highlight from his minor hockey days was his bantam AAA team making it into the "Final Four" and taking on the Burnaby Winter Club.
"I still think back to that memory all the time and remember how no one thought we could get there, but we all came together and made it happen," Victor recalled.
Away from the rink, Victor attended Eric Langton Elementary in French immersion, continuing on to Thomas Haney Secondary, maintaining a B average.
Victor was a multi-sport athlete, and played football and soccer up to the age of 14, at which point he had to make a decision on which activity to stick with.
He chose hockey because, he said, "that’s what I knew I was born to do and I couldn’t have been happier with my choice."
At 15, Victor started playing at the junior B level with the Delta Ice Hawks before graduating to the Western Hockey League.
Growing up playing hockey in Maple Ridge, Victor had strong role models to follow, including Georgio Nicolato, Greg Bodnarchuk, and Steve Hunt.
But Victor's biggest influence was, and still is, his parents.
"They always saw the little things in my game that would make me a better player," Victor said.
He added with a chuckle, "My mom still tries to tell me how to play."