Former Tampa Bay Lightning star Nikita Alekseev is training hard to become a firefighter in Hillsborough County.
Alekseev is a former first-round draft pick for the team, but now he wants to be a first responder.
“These guys are the real heroes,” he says. “They’re doing a hard job, and to be part of it would mean a lot to me.”
He graduated from the fire academy and has had EMT training. He’s had to prove himself to firefighters, whose lives are on the line every day.
Hockey skills don’t come in handy in a burning building, although Nikita says there are similarities in the intense focus of both jobs.
“You have to be disciplined, you have to work hard,” he says. “And it’s all about teamwork. You have to be a team player.”
Nikita would like to join a fire station in either Hillsborough County or the city of Tampa.
“I want to help people,” he says.