There were no frozen ponds in Randy Hernandez’s neighborhood. No pickup hockey games. He didn’t own skates. His family never watched NHL games on TV. And he was more familiar with Super Mario Brothers than Mario Lemieux. Hernandez, the 16-year-old son of Cuban immigrants, grew up in West Kendall among kids who played baseball, soccer, basketball and football. He didn’t begin following the NHL until four years ago. So, how does a kid like that wind up on the USA Hockey under-17 national team, the first Floridian ever invited to live and train in Plymouth, Michigan, with the top 22 young prospects in the United States? How does a kid like that end up scoring three goals in the World Under-17...
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