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By Sean Pearson Homer Tribune September 10, 2008

The Anaheim Jr. Ducks are proud to select...' • Homer boy drafted into the world of California hockey Zeke becomes a Duck''' Ezekiel Estrada signed on to play with the Anaheim Jr. Ducks after California scouts discovered the Homer hockey player on California ice.

When George Estrada moved his family to Homer several years ago, he was surprised when his sons' Pop Warner football coach started talking to him about hockey. "Randy Rosencrans suggested I get the boys into hockey," Estrada said. "I told him, 'You know, Hispanics don't really play hockey.' He just looked at me and said, 'Haven't you heard of Scott Gomez?'" After gauging his son Ezekiel's interest in playing, the elder Estrada signed his 5-year-old up, eager to get him involved in local sports. What he didn't realize was just how good Zeke was. "Kevin Bell was the one who first started calling me Zeke," the 10-year-old explained. "He got me into hockey. He always made it real fun." A recent trip to California turned into a whirlwind of excitement for the Estrada family when Zeke took to the ice at local rinks and started turning heads. "We came to California to visit family, and Zeke just brought his bag along," George Estrada said. "We were hoping to get him some ice time since the Homer Hockey Rink was down for the summer." Apparently, Zeke caught the eye of more than a few people from the Southern California Hockey Association. They invited him to attend tryouts. "They were supposed to have a bunch of analysts and coaches from different hockey teams scouting players," Estrada said. "I was just thinking, 'Oh yeah, whatever … at least we'll get him some more ice time.'" He got a lot more than just ice time. "We went to Anaheim Ice and all these guys kept coming up to my mom," Zeke explained. "They kept asking her all these questions about me." "It was a completely surreal experience," his dad added. "At one point, I turned to look at his mom in the stands to see her reaction to how he was doing in tryouts, and she was completely surrounded by analysts and agents. They kept saying, 'Where's this kid from? We gotta sign him.'" And sign him they did. "As the third-overall pick in this year's entry draft, the Anaheim Junior Ducks are proud to select — from the city of Homer, Alaska — Ezekiel Estrada," wrote Gary Chow, Manager and Assistant Coach of the Ducks. He also added that scouts called the young Estrada, "A crafty power forward in the making. Strong sense of play, very hard to be physical against and a decent shot." When the Junior Ducks originally expressed their interest in Zeke, George Estrada said he called Homer Coach Rick Pitta just to get his take on things. Pitta coached Scott Gomez in his younger days of play. "Rick said, 'I always told you he was good. It was just a matter of time,'" Estrada said, adding that Pitta once told him he never thought lightning would strike twice — comparing Zeke's talent to that of Gomez. "I'm very proud of him," Estrada said. "To me, he's still a 10-year-old boy — he's Zeke. But when he gets out there on the ice, he's a machine. After the games, I go in the locker rooms and I always wondered if I'll 'see' the 10-year-old or the hard-hitting hockey player." After signing with the Ducks, Zeke turned in a rather impressive performance in his opening weekend of play with the team. "I did OK," he said of his performance. "I played center and scored three goals and two assists." Zeke said his team members have all been really nice and that he's settling into the hockey traveling circuit fairly well. He also encouraged former Homer teammates to "work hard in practice and keep hustling," to keep their skills up. George has decided to stay down with Zeke as he travels, and is even starting to get the hang of fielding all the Alaska questions. "When people kept asking me where he was from, I said, 'Homer, Alaska,' and they were like, 'Where?'" Estrada explained. "I said, 'you know…Kenai Peninsula, halibut fishing capital of the world, one of the top hundred-some places to see before you die?' They all just stared at me until I said 'Scott Gomez.' And then they'd say, 'He's from Alaska?'" With Gomez — and now Estrada — starting to make names for themselves in the hockey world, more and more people are noticing the hockey talent the Last Frontier brings to the ice. "It was a wild experience," Estrada said. "Everyone kept saying, 'This kid's from Alaska?' We need to scout Alaska. Are there more like him up there?"