The 23/24 season will be Kyle Federico’s first, but his family’s history runs deep in both the Revelstoke community and the white and burgundy Grizzlies sweater.
“This is kind of my second home, ever since I could remember,” said Federico.
Federico is among the latest additions to the Revelstoke Grizzlies defensive line. The six-foot-three Calgary native may be new to living in Revelstoke, but he’s no stranger to the town, and neither is his family. The Federico family have been in the community for generations, and Kyle’s relatives helped imbue the winning spirit into the Grizzlies team. Federico spoke about how he came to play in Revelstoke and what it means to him to be a Grizzly.
Federico has been playing hockey for as long as he can remember.
“I learned how to skate and ever since then, I played hockey.”
He played a number of sports when he was young, but none of them came close to his love of hockey.
His parents are from Revelstoke, so Federico was no stranger to town upon arriving in September. Growing up, he would hear stories of the Revelstoke Grizzlies, and the fabled atmosphere inside the Revelstoke Forum. With school and his own hockey taking up time during the season, he was never able to visit during the winter, but this year he’ll get to play for the team he grew up hearing about.
Federico recalled his reaction to getting the news that he’d be a Revelstoke Grizzly.
“It was actually unbelievable,” he said, adding “I was so nervous but super excited at the same time.”
Despite growing up in Calgary, Federico is an Edmonton Oilers fan because his dad never liked the Calgary Flames. As such, Federico always liked watching Edmonton players, including one of the Oilers’ current players, Dylan Holloway.
But as a defenseman, Federico looks to the likes of Colorado Avalanches’ Cale Makar and Pittsburgh Penguins’ Erik Karlsson for inspiration. Despite being defensemen, the two players are well-known for their tendency to push up into the offensive zone and contribute to the attack — something that Federico emulates in his own game.
“They’re [Karlsson and Makar] not afraid to get up in the offense and help out, even though their main job is to play defense.”
Although Karlsson and Makar helped define Federico’s game, the rookie came into his inaugural season with a better understanding of what it means to be Grizzly before his skates touched the ice because of his cousins.
Federico’s cousins, Ray and Louie, both played for the Revelstoke Grizzlies just a couple of years ago. The former, Ray Speerbrecker was a captain for the team when they won the league in 2019. As Federico prepared to don the Grizzly sweater, he talked with Ray about the team.
“Ray said the harder you work in practice, the easier it will be in games,” said Federico.
Whether it was because of Speerbrecker’s advice or his experience so far, Federico defined being a Grizzly as having to be hard working.
As he takes on his first season, Federico will seek to uphold the level established by his predecessors in the uniform, including his family.
“They’re big shoes to fill,” he said, adding “I want to kind of live up to them and do what they did and make that big impact like them.”
Look for the big number 27 on defence for the Grizzlies, but don’t be surprised if he’s up past the neutral zone, working as much to score the goals as he does to prevent them.
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