Former Los Angeles Kings defenseman Troy Stecher shared a fun off-ice story about captain Anze Kopitar ahead of their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
The Los Angeles Kings hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, and to prepare for that outing, the Maple Leafs held a practice on Friday, holding media availability after the session.
Toronto defenseman Troy Stecher was a member of the Kings during the 2021-22 season - he played 13 regular-season games and four post-season contests - spoke about being Anze Kopitar's teammate for a short time and even shared a funny story about the Kings captain.
Stecher was asked if he had any specific memory about Kopitar from his short stint with the team.
"Yeah, actually… at the end of the season, we went there for family barbecue dinner, wrap-up party with all the guys and wives and kids, at his house," Stecher started. "I'd heard he had a pool, and there was no pool.
"So I was like, 'Kopi, where's your pool?' And he's like, 'follow me,'" Stecher said. "And then he clicked a button, and the ground, like, lowered up, and then the water started to fill in."
Stecher was impressed by Kopitar's fancy pool setup at his place.
"I was like, 'this is the NHL, this is really cool.' So that was a pretty cool memory," the Leafs defenseman said.
Not only was Stecher a teammate of Kopitar's, but he also shared the ice with the Kings captain several times as an opponent in the Pacific Division. Stecher also had stints with the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers in his 10-year NHL career.
On Saturday, they shared the ice for the last time in a thrilling overtime contest, which finished 7-6 in Los Angeles' favor. Stecher had 21:10 of ice time in that game, while Kopitar finished the game with 21:13 of ice time.
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