By Rebecca Hext
Staff Writer
While many Costa students spend their free time enjoying Manhattan Beach’s sunny weather, senior Doc Gentzler spends his time in the cold playing ice hockey.
Gentzler was first introduced to the ice by his mother when he was only two years old. At the age of seven, he joined a travel hockey team, the Junior Kings. He attended out-of-state tournaments and continued to play with them for the next seven years.
“Traveling was the best part of hockey growing up,” Gentzler said. “Spending time with my dad, running around the hotel with teammates and missing the occasional days of school was always something to look forward to.”
Gentzler is inspired by his older brother, Gudger Gentzler. Attending many of Gudger’s games growing up inspired Doc to begin playing hockey. Gudger is now a sophomore at Colgate University.
“It hasn’t always been easy, but I’ve tried to be a good role model for Doc,” Gudger said. “I’ve worked really hard to be where I am today, and I hope that one day he can play for a Division I school like me.”
After attending Costa freshman year, Gentzler began to take hockey more seriously and spent his sophomore and junior years at Shattuck St. Mary’s boarding school in Faribault, Minnesota to pursue his hockey talents. Shattuck is known for producing such hockey icons as Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews and Zach Parise. For the two years that Gentzler attended the boarding school, he played on the junior varsity team. However, he decided that he wanted to spend his senior year playing for Mira Costa hockey.
“Boarding school was a great experience for me,” Gentzler said. “Not only was I on the ice every day, but it also helped me prepare for what college will be like.”
After returning home for his senior year, Gentzler joined his current team, the Anaheim Junior Ducks. By this time, he had already racked up many awards such as the Squirt AA State, Peewee AA State Champions and Regional Runner-up, and won the tournament MVP in the Tournament of Champion Winners in 2010-11 and again in 2011-12.
“Winning is great,” Gentzler said. “I wouldn’t give up the celebration with my teammates for anything.”
Gentzler plans to continue playing hockey after he graduates from Costa and play in the American Junior Hockey League. After three years of junior hockey and working to earn a scholarship for a Division I school, Gentzler will potentially be a 21-year-old freshman in college. After college he hopes to play professionally.
“The thing about hockey is that you never know what the future holds,” Gentzler said. “I want to play for as long as I can and, hopefully, it can take me somewhere.”
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