TYLER MOY
Position: Forward, Milwaukee Admirals (AHL)
Hometown: La Jolla
Last Amateur Team: Harvard University (ECAC)
Youth Teams: SDIA in-house, San Diego Jr. Gulls, Chicago Fury

READ OUR LATEST ISSUE

California Rubber: Your dad (Randy), a former college player and coach, coached you and your friends. How helpful has that been?
Tyler Moy: He’s extremely knowledgeable in the game, and he has a lot of wisdom. He was tough on me, but I knew that he wanted what was best for me. I had to categorize the criticism he might give and realize it was for the best. He has a wealth of knowledge a lot of people don’t have access to. We did a lot of game film review. Being able to understand the way the game works, the positioning and the strategy was extremely valuable. When I come back in the summer he will work with me on my skills. I’m extremely fortunate.

CR: Do you have a favorite California hockey memory?
TM: Some of my favorite years were when we were playing as a tournament team. That’s a portion of my life I take a lot of pride in. We took kids from one single rink who played in a house league. We were sweeping California tournament after tournament, producing a lot of players who went on to play high-level hockey. Those were some of the best times of my life. San Diego isn’t exactly what you’d call a hockey hub, but to be able to be part of something and recognize those birth years my dad coached and see one of the monumental movements of skilled hockey players coming out of San Diego is a testament to him as a coach and his work ethic. Being part of that group at a young age was such a special thing.

CR: What is your favorite memory since you’ve moved on?
TM: I’d say this past year of hockey was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, years in my life. It was a pretty historic run for us at Harvard. We won the ECAC tournament, we won the Beanpot for first time in 23, 24 years. We went to the NCAAs for the third year in a row and made it to the Frozen Four. It was a heartbreaking loss to Duluth, but it was one of the most special years of hockey for me.

CR: Your senior class was quite close, wasn’t it?
TM: We had nine guys who came in as freshmen and started with a pretty mediocre if not poor performance. To go from that extreme and make it to Frozen Four and have so many guys hitting their stride was special. Last season, we came into games expecting to win. The culture on the team, we held every single person accountable. It’s a testament to guys on the team this year, but also years prior who contributed to that.

CR: How did you balance hockey and academics at Harvard, particularly with a Human Evolutionary Biology major?
TM: When you come into Harvard, especially as a hockey player you have a vague idea of what you’re getting into. It takes a lot to balance demands of the school with the hockey demands. We created a culture on the team where everyone on board is shooting for the same goal. Some guys wanted to be a .500 team, some wanted to win the Beanpot, some wanted to go to the NCAAs, some wanted to win it all. We built that culture of wanting to win and having no doubts about that. With success we had, our coach would bring up we rep Harvard hockey. With any success we have we’re going to have targets on our back. It became a symbol for kids helping out those less fortunate, being good students. You’re expected to do that. It’s difficult, but it takes a lot of discipline. We had the mentality that whatever we do we’re going to do it excellently. he travel, the competition and daily demands of balancing sleep, school and hockey is definitely difficult. It builds a lot of character because it tests you, and that definitely helped us on the ice.

CR: What was your toughest class?
TM: Anatomy. It was difficult because it was like taking two classes at once. One, you had to know how everything in the body worked, the processes, the systems. On top of that, you needed to identify where everything is. You’d be tested every week. Then you had to identify how they interact with each other. There were two parts that were completely unrelated at the moment.

CR: Are you particular about any of your gear?
TM: I’m picky about how the stick feels. I need gloves to be broken in. If I don’t like how my gloves feel, that’s a no-go for me. Having my stick exactly how I want it and having my gloves broken in is enough.

CR: Do you have a favorite meal when you’re back in California?
TM: Whenever I come back I look forward to my mom’s spaghetti. Being in San Diego, my buddies and I make the most of the Mexican food. We’ll hit the beach and head over to a taco stand.

CR: Did you have a favorite hockey player growing up?
TM: I grew up watching Detroit so at first it was Steve Yzerman, then Pavel Datsyuk when he came on the scene.

CR: Who is the funniest teammate you’ve ever had?
TM: Forest Donovan. He grew up playing with me on Team San Diego. He, Alec McCrea and me were a trio. Wherever we would go, some of the funniest thing would come out of that guy. I’m a fan of humor.

Photo/Milwaukee Admirals

– Compiled by Chris Bayee

(Dec. 13, 2017)