Spence, 1st NHL player born in Australia, ready to play there with Kings

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Jordan Spence is the first person born in Australia to play in the NHL, and he said it will be special to skate for the Los Angeles Kings in the NHL’s first event in the country even though he left when he was 1 1/2 and isn’t Australian.

The Kings and Arizona Coyotes will face off in two preseason games at Rod Laver Arena in the 2023 NHL Global Series -- Melbourne on Sept. 23 and 24. The games will be broadcast on NHL Network and ESPN+ in the United States; Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ in Canada; and 9Go, 9Now, ESPN and the ESPN App in Australia.

“Obviously, we’re going there for training camp, and I need to be focused,” Spence said at Toyota Sports Performance Center on Friday, the day before a 15 ½-hour, 8,000-mile flight to Melbourne. “But at the same time, when we have free time, I think it’s pretty cool to kind of just take everything in and enjoy the moment.”

Nathan Walker is considered the first Australian to play in the NHL even though he was born in Cardiff, Wales. He moved to Sydney when he was 2 and began playing hockey there, before moving to the Czech Republic at 13 and the U.S. at 19 to pursue a hockey career. He has represented Australia in international competition.

The forward debuted with the Washington Capitals on Oct. 7, 2017, and has 27 points (13 goals, 14 assists) in 111 NHL games with the Capitals, Edmonton Oilers and St. Louis Blues. He returns to Sydney each offseason.

Spence was born in Manly, a suburb of Sydney. His father, Adam, is from Canada. His mother, Kyoko, is from Japan. The family moved to Osaka, Japan, when he was 1 ½, and it was there that he began playing hockey. Partly so he could pursue a hockey career, the family moved to Cornwall, Prince Edward Island, when he was a teenager.

He said he considers himself half Japanese, half Canadian, and holds passports from Japan and Canada. He has represented Canada in international competition.

The defenseman debuted with the Kings on March 10, 2022, and has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in 30 NHL games.

This will be the second time he has returned to Australia since he was a baby. Asked if he could play an ambassador role in Melbourne, he said, “Yeah, I think so. A little bit.”

His parents are traveling back to Australia for the NHL Global Series.

“I think they’re more excited, just because they lived there longer, and they have some friends that they’re going to reconnect with when they’re down there, and they’re going to come to the game and stuff,” he said. “So yeah, it’ll be pretty cool.”

This is an important training camp for the 22-year-old, who has a chance to make the Kings on a full-time basis.

Spence had eight points (two goals, six assists) in 24 games for Los Angeles and 42 points (four goals, 38 assists) in 46 games for Ontario of the American Hockey League in 2021-22, making the AHL All-Rookie Team and the AHL First All-Star Team.

He had one assist in six games for Los Angeles and 45 points (four goals, 41 assists) in 56 games for Ontario last season.

Listed at 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, he said he focused on gaining size and strength in the offseason, gaining about 10 pounds by training every day and eating as much as he could.

“I know my worth when I’m on the ice, and all I have to do is bring it to camp,” he said. “I have to show them that I can be on this team and that I belong on this team this year, and that’s my goal.”

Kings coach Todd McLellan called Spence a fighter, not for dropping the gloves but for overcoming the doubters.

“He’s always been told that he probably couldn’t do it by people from the outside because of his size, and he’s been able to prove everybody wrong,” McLellan said. “We really believe in him. Is he ready to be that individual that steps in and takes it, a full-time position? That’s what we have training camp for. But everybody’s cheering for him, including the coaching staff.”

Including his parents and the Aussie fans too.

“I think there’s a lot of cool stuff down there,” Spence said. “Just, like, with what my parents have said, I think it’s just the atmosphere and everything that’s down there. They’ve said that … they love sports down there. They said hockey is not the biggest sport, but us going down there, they said that it’s going to be a pretty cool experience and there will be a lot of people cheering.”