Written by Will Stephanie Wilson
Matt is excited to be on the Coachella Valley Firebird Team Roster, but also excited to be close to his family and feeling like he is right at home.
While Matt Tennyson was born in Minnesota, no place feels quite like home other than the Valley here in California. His beloved grandparents bought a vacation-turned-retirement home in Rancho Mirage and Matt spoke fondly of many cherished memories that he and his whole family had in the Valley. “We would celebrate all the big holidays here, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas… we would all get together and I would see all my cousins and we would just have a great time.” Matt’s parents also purchased a vacation home and now live full-time in Rancho Mirage to continue their family holiday traditions. “I even remember skating in a rink at the Mall in Palm Desert years ago, so now it is pretty amazing to play hockey here.”
Matt’s family moved to Pleasanton, California when he was 14, and he has since lived in LA, San Jose, and Lake Forest. Initially there was uncertainty about how moving to California would impact the young athlete’s career, but his hockey career took off. At the age of 14, Matt joined the Jr. Sharks program and seven years later, in 2013, Tennyson was the first from the Jr. Sharks program to become an NHL Shark and to score an NHL goal contributing to the 4-3 victory against the Edmonton Oilers. Matt has since played 173 NHL games with the San Jose Sharks, Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, and the Nashville Predators.
“When I got the phone call to be on the Coachella Valley Firebirds team I was super pumped; it is nice that I will be living close to family, they will be able to look after my dogs,” Matt chuckled. “I am an only child, so my parents are happy I will be close by and I look forward to spending more time with my family.”
Matt and the rest of the team are excited to finally call Acrisure Arena home this month and to welcome the community and neighbors alike to cheer on their games.
Keep up to date with the CV Firebirds by downloading the CV Firebird app and tuning into their website at www.cvfirebirds.com. Explore and stay up to date on all events coming to Acrisure Arena by visiting www.acrisurearena.com/events
