Ice Flyers Captain Ethan Price Takes Circuitous Path To Finding Career Joy
By Bill Vilona, Ice Flyers Correspondent
PENSACOLA, FLA. – His appointed role as Ice Flyers team captain has provided Ethan Price with gratitude and special perspective.
“My story is a little different than most,” he said.
Indeed, it is.
A year ago at this time, Price, 28, was not involved in professional hockey. His last time in a game was in France on a 2023 team in the French Ice Hockey Federation.
Life then changed. His wife, Zoey, gave birth to their first child, Theo, and Price’s mind was elsewhere from playing hockey.
But the desire rekindled when the Evansville Thunderbolts inquired of his availability in late March last season. Price took the offer. He helped the Thunderbolts win their first SPHL President’s Cup title, assisting on the dramatic, title-clinching goal in overtime against the Knoxville Ice Bears.
As the off-season ensued, so did Price’s interest in starting anew, drawn by what he heard about the Ice Flyers, their new coach Jeremy Gates, his assistant coach Justin Stevens, and the Pensacola community.
“I think the history here (helped him decide) what (Gates and Stevens) had accomplished in their careers and just the environment of what it is like here,” said Price, a Lincoln, Nebraska native. “The fan base and everything else was a real deciding factor.
“I knew after last season (for Ice Flyers), it wasn’t what the Ice Flyers were about and I was excited to kinda come in and help try to make it back to what it was,” Price said, following a practice this week at the Bay Center. “You look up at all those banners in this building.
“I think overall it was about the fit. I really thank Evansville for what they did for me. They gave me a chance to play again after a couple years and it was nothing but respect and very thankful for them.”
Gates had never seen Price play in-person, but he watched film of his 13 games with the Thunderbolts, which included the post-season run through April last year. After a phone interview and being impressed with Price’s answers, Gates offered a training camp invitation.
“If he would not have played in Evansville last year, then it’s hard to bring a guy in that hasn’t played,” Gates said. “Being able to see video on him and seeing how did the little things right and the fact played in very good junior leagues growing up was big.
“And so his understanding for the game was there.”
Halfway through the Ice Flyers training camp, Gates told Price he earned a spot on the team. He invited Price to have his wife and son (now 18 months old) travel to Pensacola to live during this season.
At the end of training camp, after a practice was followed by introduction of a player leadership group that Gates had formed, Price was told he would be this season’s captain.
“It was a feeling of overwhelming joy,” said Price, who played for the Worcester (Mass.) Railers in the ECHL during the 2021-22 season, following a collegiate career on three Canadian college teams.
“It was unexpected,” Price said. “Etching yourself into that kind of history and being the guy called on to represent the boys and be there to lead the team is the greatest honor.
“It was amazing. I was like, oh my God, I’m all in, let’s do this. I think what leadership is all about, when you get something like that, you don’t change who you are. You stay yourself. I’m just a happy guy, who works hard, and I just want to lead by example.”
That’s how Price has played and led during the Ice Flyers first three games this season. After winning the season-opener in overtime Oct. 18 against Macon, the Ice Flyers split last weekend’s pair of games. They fell 6-2 at Huntsville, but came back last Saturday to beat the Birmingham Bulls before a sellout crowd at the Bay Center.
This week, the Ice Flyers will play the Bulls in Birmingham on Thursday, then will face the Macon Mayhem on Saturday at the Bay Center.
“Hockey is a funny game. There is going to be highs and lows throughout,” Price said. “Obviously, we have some things to work on. I think at Huntsville, a lot of teaching points, but there is so much good there, too. Overall, I’m pretty happy and I think everyone is.
“We are learning and growing still and it’s early on. We’re looking to grow every day, but definitely happy so far.”
Gates said he chose Price, who is among the majority of new faces on the hockey team, after watching and hearing how he handled training camp, interacted with the Ice Flyers front office staff, and carried himself in off-ice sessions.
“Every time he came into our office, I would ask him, can I challenge you in front of the guys if you are doing something (wrong), can I call you out?” Gates said. “And he said absolutely. Everything we have been trying to do here he’s been extremely thankful for.
“Your leaders need to be your hardest workers. They need to have the buy-in and then the rest of the guys will follow.”
Price was previously a team captain on one of his collegiate teams. But he’s much older now. He’ll turn 29 in January and he credits wife Zoey for encouraging and supporting him to return to playing.
“Without her, I can’t really do this,” he said. “She is the bread and butter of the home. A lot of thanks to her. She’s amazing.
“It’s a situation where you feel like you have more to give to the game. I felt that I had more to give. And I also wanted to show my son that you really can do anything if you put your mind to it. I love playing this game. I love being here with the boys and I love having family being part of it.”
Price and his wife have also fallen in love with living in Pensacola. He had never been to a coastal community, never set foot in Florida, until joining the Ice Flyers.
“It’s amazing. This city is the best,” he said. “This is my first time ever seeing an ocean. And It’s just phenomenal. And my wife and I have talked about settling down here.
“It’s just such a great place to live and raise a family and everyone is so nice. It’s just so warming. It’s such a great place to be. I couldn’t be more excited.”
