By Talynn Kuyumjian
Talynnkuyumjian@yahoo.com
In sunny Los Angeles, hockey is frequently an underappreciated and unacknowledged sport. Nonetheless, there are over half a million registered hockey players in this country and these are the people that keep this exciting sport alive. Current UCLA hockey player and President of the UCLA Hockey team, Michael Madatovian is one of those athletes.
Michael David Madatovian was born on December 14, 1988 in Woodland Hills, California. He moved to Glendale at the age of two, and has been living there ever since. During his youth, Madotovian attended Hovsepian Armenian School and Clark Magnet High school, where he was later accepted into UCLA straight out of high school.
Madatovian has had a passion for playing hockey for as long as he can remember. When he was eleven years old, his father began taking him to hockey lessons. He joined the Golden Bears in Burbank, an under-18 hockey club, where he made a lot of Armenian friends. “I played Travel Club hockey as a kid and a lot of Armenians from Burbank played with me on this team. During our games, all the Armenian parents would be so loud, always cheering us on; it was really fun.”
After being accepted into UCLA, the first move he made was joining the UCLA Hockey team during his freshmen year. “There were 5 Armenian players on the hockey team at the time; we all became very close friends” Madatovian states. With his UCLA Hockey teammates, Madatovian travels about three to four times a year in order to compete at various universities such as Berkeley, Stanford, Arizona State, and the University of Washington. After the games, the team likes to go out, see the city, and celebrate.
One player that has truly inspired Madatovian is Scott Stevens from the New Jersey Devils. “He’s a defenseman like I am, and he’s definitely one of the hardest hitters in the league, so I’ve always looked up to him.”
As the President and leader of his team, Madatovian has led the Bruins to many victories just as Stevens has done with the Devils. Recent victories include the hockey games against Stanford and Washington State University. “We definitely came out and controlled the flow of the game. We skated hard, and they had to try to keep up with us” Madatovian explains.
The team also has some superstitious beliefs; on game days, the team warms up in the same routine manner. “We used to chant and sing in between periods; but some of the team members have suggested for us not to do that anymore since we lost two games after doing that.”
Madatovian is a very multi-talented individual. Besides playing hockey, he also plays the guitar and the piano. “Living in Westwood is pretty fun. There’s always somewhere to go, and someone who always wants to do something.” With schoolwork, hockey practice, dorming, and having fun with friends, it seems as though Madatovian is living the ideal college life.
Although Madatovian’s father enjoys watching his son play, his mother is always worried that he will get injured. “My mom says that hockey takes up too much of my time, and that I should put more emphasis on my academics. She’s right, but…it’s ok [he laughs].”
Madatovian’s ultimate career goal is to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a doctor in the near future. “Hopefully, ten years from now, I will be done with my residency and will have started my career in emergency medicine or as a surgeon.”
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