Kenny Brooks is a Las Vegas native that is excited to see the NHL game take root in town.

For this coming season, though, he’ll be doing it from afar as he’ll be playing for the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators.

Brooks completed his four-year career at NCAA Division I Penn State University (pictured) last spring and is excited to keep developing in the pro arena.

“I got a call from my agent notifying me that Atlanta was interested in me,” said Brooks, a forward. “After my family and I talked it over, we decided that Atlanta would be a great fit for me and we then moved forward with the process of signing.”

At Penn State, Brooks said his time there was very productive in multiple facets.

“I was very fortunate to have spent four years at Penn State as a student-athlete,” Brooks said. “My experience at Penn State taught me lessons on and off the ice that helped prepare me to play professional hockey.”

With the Nittany Lions, Brooks compiled 14 goals among 48 points in 120 games.

During his youth hockey days, Brooks played for the Las Vegas Outlaws and Nevada Stars (now Storm) before spending three years with the United States Hockey League’s Tri-City Storm.

“Those years in Vegas were a lot of hard work and a lot of fun,” remembered Brooks. “Hockey wasn’t the largest sport, so I got to play with the same teammates every year and formed some friendships I still have today. Some of the Influential coaches I had were Pokey Reddick, Ken Quinney, and so many others. I was given the opportunity to get a lot of ice time.”

And with the NHL coming to Las Vegas in 2017, Brooks is anxious to see the game keep growing in his hometown.

“The new NHL team will help youth hockey in this town a lot,” Brooks said. “I can’t wait to watch it grow and start seeing top hockey prospects consistently come from Las Vegas.”

– Matt Mackinder