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Noah Clarke was ninth round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in the 1999 Entry Draft. After four years at Colorado College, Clarke is playing in his first season for the Kings AHL affiliate the Manchester Monarchs. He made the AHL All-Star team and was recently named AHL player of the week for the week ending February 22nd. He was recently called up for his first NHL game.

HF: Growing up in Southern California, how did you first become a hockey fan?
NC: My dad has Kings season tickets through his work. We had a couple of hockey sticks around the house my sisters and I would play for fun. We started skating at a rink inside the Brea Mall. We really enjoyed it, my sisters started figure skating and I started playing hockey.

HF: Did you have any favorite Kings players growing up?
NC: Luc Robitaille was one of my favorites and Corey Millen.

HF: When did you first start playing in organized hockey?
NC: I started skating when I was five and then played the next year when I was six years old.

HF: When did turning pro first cross your mind?
NC: When I got drafted. I had just finished playing juniors in Des Moines.  Obviously you dream when you are young about playing professionally, but when I got the scholarship to Colorado. I thought it if I could put together four good years maybe I can take the next step and play pro hockey.

HF: How excited were you when you were picked by the Kings, the team you grew up rooting for?
NC: It was awesome, I didn't really expect to even get drafted and then to be taken by LA was just an extra perk.

HF: When you first started playing, did players from other parts of the country treat you differently knowing you were from California?
NC: Not so much now at this level, we all really respect each other. Growing up playing on summer teams I'd be playing with kids from Boston, New York, or Canada, when they would ask me where I was from I'd tell them California. They would look at each other like they didn't think they realized we had hockey out here.

HF: Do you think growing up in California hurt your draft position?
NC: I don't know if that had much bearing on it. I was in Minnesota for a couple of years and in Des Moines so I had played in some other places. I was kind of a smaller guy and kind of a late
bloomer. I didn't expect to even be drafted.

HF: How is the AHL game different from the college game?
NC: In the WCHA, seven out of 10 rinks were Olympic size and no two-line passes. Those were two things I had to get used to in pro. The rink is tighter and the game is more positional, more trapping and a little more defensive-minded. The college game is more up and down and run and gun.

HF: You got selected to the All -tar team, won the fastest skater competition there and were just recently named AHL player of the week. Not bad for first year player from California!
NC: I've just had a blast out here, it’s a great group of guys. The coach has been great, he's allowed me to play on the penalty kill and powerplay. Getting named to the All-Star team was exciting for me. My parents were there so it was a thrill for them too. It's been a pretty good month for me. Hopefully I can keep it going.

HF: When you were told the Kings were calling you up earlier this season, what was the first thing that went through your mind?
NC: I was at home on a Sunday and got the call I didn't know what to think. I had so many emotions going through my head. I had about a half hour to get ready, so it was like panic-nervous. What do I take? What do I bring? I called my parents and a couple of other people. When I got on the airplane, I could finally relax and think "Man I got called up” and what an honor and thrill it was.

HF: It had to be a dream come true to play your first NHL game in Los Angeles as a King but also in the vintage purple and gold uniforms.
NC: Those were the jerseys the Kings wore when I first started watching them, the majority of the years we had season tickets. I think have a few of the purple and gold jerseys floating around my garage somewhere. But to put that jersey on and have all of my family and friends there was unbelievable.

HF: You mentioned earlier that Luc Robitaille was one of your favorite players growing up. How excited were you to play in the same game on the same team as him?
NC: It was unbelievable. When I saw him in the lockerroom, I thought there's a guy I used to admire growing up. Playing in the same game as him was just wild.

HF: How do you think your brief stint in the NHL has helped your game?
NC: I saw how good those guys really are and the work ethic and work habits of guys in the pros like Palffy and Stumpel. It gives you a perspective of what you need to do to get better and encouraged me to work even harder to get back to that level.