Q
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Q
What’s your greatest hockey accomplishment?
Favorite hockey teams?
Roland: The Los Angeles Kings. Sakamoto: L.A. Kings.
Roland: Being accepted and respected by my hockey peers.
Chiang: Bakersfield Fog.
Sakamoto: Not losing any teeth or breaking anything.
Bartl: I have a lot of them — New Jersey Devils, L.A. Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Minnesota Wild and Carolina Hurricanes. Working in the hockey business has given me the chance to know players and staff over the years with a lot of different organizations, and it’s easier to root for their success and harder to root against teams as well.
Chiang: Being the backup goalie for the Fog against the Russian Red Army, and playing the final two minutes of a game between the Vegas Aces and the Bakersfield Oilers. Bartl: Every time I score a goal, it’s an accomplishment. Every shift is exhaustive, you spend 90 percent of your time on the ice without the puck in constant movement, and when you score, everything stops. It’s one of the greatest feelings in the world. Plus, I’m not very good, so I never know when my next one is going to come.
Q
Hockey is a fast game. How much longer do you think you’ll play?
Roland: I will play as long as I can skate. Sakamoto: A few more years, as long as my legs cooperate and no major injuries. Chiang: I have a couple of 50-year-old teammates, so I think I can at least play till I turn 50. Bartl: As long as I can keep up with everyone. It’s an unbelievable workout. If I skip a week, I feel sluggish the next time I play and, by the end of the game, I’m sucking wind. But to be out there on the ice, breathing in the cold air, getting banged around, it’s hard to imagine not playing each week.
Kevin Bartl 64
Bakersfield Life
Charley Chiang February 2011
Q
Any hockey-related injuries?
Roland: I had my lip opened up pretty good one night, and a few black eyes, but nothing major. Sakamoto: Nothing major. Chiang: Only one, but my wife says I get hurt all the time because I lay on the ice whenever anyone bumps into me. I learned that from watching soccer. Bartl: Hockey injuries are the coolest in sports. I’ve gotten stitches on my face. Countless fat lips. The occasional wrist, groin, shoulder or ankle injury. I got hit by the puck in my thigh playing roller hockey over a month ago and I still have a bruise. (That one hurt.) I cracked my elbow when I was 16, and it still aches sometimes. And, I think I’ve had one or two concussions. The older I get, the injuries become less specific and more or less turn into an all-over pain.
Brett Sakamoto
David Roland