The Essence of Tampa Bay May Just Be Nick Paul

Nick Paul has come a long way since first moving to Tampa in the spring of 2022. He’s been to a Stanley Cup Final, for one, and three Stanley Cup playoffs to boot. He’s settled into what he calls his “forever home” with his wife Janessa. And he signed a long-term deal to hang around a while longer.

On the ice, Paul has established himself as a bit of a fan favorite. His everything-man style of play has earned him SportsCenter-like catchphrases from "Better Call Paul" to "Nick Paul Does It All." When Paul scores a goal—and he scored 24 of them last year—there is an underlying tone that that one was for the people. One of us. He's notched six points in six games to start the season.

But these days, the Bolts forward is connecting with his community on levels deeper than hockey.

The name Nick Paul doesn’t exactly sing "Hispanic Heritage" from the rooftops of Centro Asturiano. But the reality is Paul shares a similar background with many throughout the Tampa Bay area.

Paul’s mother, Melinda Rios-Paul, is of Puerto Rican and Mexican descent by way of Compton, CA. She met Paul’s father Ellwood, an Ontario, Canada native of Irish descent, while he was on a business trip out west. Paul is cognizant that his background holds meaning in a hockey town that’s population is more than a quarter Hispanic.

Ahead of the Lightning’s Noche Latina game this Thursday, Paul caught up with TBL.com on everything from family heritage (legendary rapper incoming) to youth hockey and a Tampa Bay area that’s feeling more and more like home.

Thompson Brandes: How did your family end up together in Canada?

Nick Paul: I'm from Mississauga. My mom is from California. My dad is from Powassan, which is way up in the sticks by North Bay. My dad did computer sales way back and he went out west for a business trip. He met my mom over there and they kept in touch. She moved up, they got married, citizenship, all that. So when I was born, I got dual. We used to fly back to California to see her family.

Where in California?

She grew up in Compton—L.A.

Tell me if I've heard this wrong. Are you related to a rap artist of some sort?

Yeah, so my mom and dad did Ancestry.com, and Big Pun...

Big Pun!

...is apparently my third cousin. Never met him or his family or anything. We don't claim to be close with him, that's just what popped up. My mom's last name is Rios and I guess they're all Rioses as well.

But now when "Still Not a Player" comes on your shuffle, it goes a little harder.

Yeah, turn it up just a little bit.

Are there family traditions on your mom's side that you hold close?

I think the biggest thing is cooking. My grandma used to come up for the summers in Canada because the winters were too cold for her. She spent half [the year] in Toronto and then half in Cali. And we would just cook like crazy—my mom and her—and my grandma would nanny us basically. She’s since passed away so now my mom, whenever she comes down to visit, she does all the Hispanic dishes—enchiladas, burritos, tacos, beans and rice. Everything's from scratch. She's actually teaching my wife Janessa, who's not Spanish at all, but she does some great Hispanic dishes now.

Do you have favorite spots around town? A few restaurants or cafes you like to go to?

My wife and I really like going to Columbia. And then we always hit up little hole-in-the-wall taco and Mexican spots. When they have the grandma in the back cooking and the forks are all scratched up. You know you're getting some real good food.

Around town we usually like to do Bayshore or Armature Works. We have two dogs, so not so much in the summer.

What kind of dogs?

We have two Husky Shepherds. One's a big boy, he's got Malamute in him. The other one, she's got the Shepherd colors. In the winter when I get off days, the weather's just so perfect. We'll go sit outside or walk around the water. And then I love golfing whenever I can get out and golf.

Tampa has a ton of people and families with a similar background to you. I'm curious, now that you're here, have you felt more in touch with your roots on your mom's side? Is that a thing you even think about?

I like it for sure because everywhere I go it's the kind of cooking I grew up on with my mom, right? It’s not like when I was in Ottawa before. I also don't think a lot of people even know that I'm Puerto Rican-Mexican. My last name's Paul and I'm a big white guy [laughs]. I got the light skin in the family. But yeah, I like that it’s what I grew up on on my mom's side. I like the feel around Tampa. Feels like home.

When you signed to stay here, obviously we had a great team, but were there aspects of Tampa that felt like it could be a future for you and your family?

That was one of the big things, when we got traded here, I called my agent within three weeks and I was like, "Hey, this is somewhere I want to stay long term." It was the last year of my deal and I told him that it was a good fit. The team's going to be good for a long time. But other than that, the community and how it felt in the city was unreal. I ended up signing a long deal and my wife and I kind of agreed, even after hockey, this is where we want to be. It still has that “community first” feel. You go in the neighborhood—we know all the neighbors—say hi to everyone. Kids are running around…

They're driving golf carts now, too.

Yeah! Sometimes I'm like, how? They can barely reach the pedals.

I actually want to touch on youth hockey for a second, because the Lightning are so active in its development, especially in Hispanic communities throughout the area. And as a result of Tampa becoming this unique hockey town, more and more kids want to play the game, but I'm not sure many parents know what they're getting into at first. What should parents here expect whose kids are lacing up the skates? Do you have any advice?

My biggest thing is don't try to get involved too much. If your kid is into it and he wants to play, just let him play. You don't need to try to make him an NHL player off the bat, but obviously it's nice to know a little bit of the game. If you want to watch the game with your kids, come to games. They'll enjoy that for sure. But if your kid's having fun and getting better and enjoys working on his skills, that's all he needs. Because the coaches and the people around him are going to help him understand the game. When the kids are looking up in the stands worried about what their parents think over actually playing hockey, it’s not fun anymore, especially at a young age.

But also, go to the rink. You can talk to other parents and they'll tell you a couple of things that maybe you didn't know—offside, icing, systems. And even if you don't know, it's fine. There's people out there to help you and help your kids with the systems and help them figure out the game. You don't need to be an expert in hockey for your kid to go out there and have fun and be better every day.

I spoke to "The Man Behind the Camera" Gabe Marte before talking to you about this piece.

Gabe, yeah.

One of the things he mentioned was that he felt his Hispanic family and friends would really appreciate something like this coming from a hockey player in Tampa Bay. Do things like that ever cross your mind? How does it feel to inspire a culture in a sport in which they rarely get to experience that?

When it first got out that I was Puerto Rican and Mexican, I was actually getting a few DMs from people that were just like, "Wow, I didn't know that was your background… That's so cool… My kids are getting into hockey.” It does feel good because you look at the game, there's not very many Puerto Rican, Mexican, Spanish-background players. And to see a player that you can relate to is cool. So it’s great to see those messages and know that people are now watching me, knowing my background, and getting their kids into it. And showing them, “Hey, you can play hockey, too.”

I've never really thought of that until I started getting those messages. Kids or people that weren't really into hockey are maybe tuning in now. And it's growing the game that way and expanding the game of hockey to a diversity of people. So yeah, it's kind of cool.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.