In a town like Eden Prairie, Min., hockey is everywhere. With high school hockey tournaments and kids growing up playing hockey on frozen ponds, it was only natural for Florida Panthers 2011 draft pick Kyle Rau to fall in love with the game. Rau laced up ice skates for the first time when he was three-years-old and played hockey by age four.
“Hockey is everywhere and there are a lot of rinks around,” said the five-foot-eight forward. “I had a rink in my backyard and my brothers and I used it all the time.”
Years of playing hockey with his older brother Chad and twin brother Curt, helped Rau kick off his hockey career.