Ice hockey in the desert might seem like a funny contradiction, but the Coachella Valley Firebirds have built a loyal fan base since their founding in 2021. As the AHL affiliate for the Seattle Kraken, the Firebirds made an exciting debut in the 2022–’23 season, reaching the playoffs and coming this close to triumphing after an impressive seven-game run. This success helped establish the team as a beloved fixture in the Coachella Valley community, where home games at Acrisure Arena often sell out.
With the current season well underway, we checked in with defenseman Gustav Olofsson, a Swedish player who’s found himself a bit like a “fish out of water” in the desert landscape. Embracing the area with his wife and two kids, Olofsson shares insights into adapting to desert life, his role on the team, and his favorite spots around the Coachella Valley. Read on as he reflects on balancing a cold-weather sport with the desert way of life while helping the Firebirds soar.
Playing a cold-weather sport in a warm-weather destination like Greater Palm Springs must be surreal. How did you adapt to the climate, and what are some challenges or surprises you’ve encountered?
The challenge is staying focused and not going into vacation mode, but it’s been really easy. During the longer seasons, too. If you’re in a funk or your team’s not doing well, and it’s cold and dark out all day, it’s a little harder to shake that feeling and get back to your winning ways. But here, the sun’s up every day; you have that to look forward to. It’s easy to come to the rink, enjoy our jobs, and use that toward a positive and competitive environment and culture we built. It’s definitely helped to play in this type of environment and city.
What has it been like to assimilate in the local community?
Whether it’s at the grocery store or shopping, people are so friendly to us and willing to help. We have two younger kids, and we’ve gathered a sense of community here with our neighbors and within our son’s school. It feels like a little home away from home. And the fans are tremendous. It just feels easy to relate to a lot of people in this community. I feel like there’s support, and hopefully, they feel supported by us with [the entertainment] we provide. It feels mutual. Speaking for my family and wife, we feel a sense of home here.
What are your favorite hangouts?
We like Luna Grill, Porta Via, Baby’s Marché, and Heirloom Craft Kitchen. We like RD RNNR. We’re close to La Quinta, so we’re kind of biased to that area. Lavender Bistro is good. And Arnold Palmer’s Restaurant as well.
Since Greater Palm Springs is known as an outdoor community, can you recommend any activities for families?
We’re at The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens quite a bit. Toward Palm Springs, we took the tram and went up the mountains there. We like hiking, so we’ve visited a few areas. We’ve been to Joshua Tree. Anytime we can escape and get outdoors is fun for us. We did the Palm Springs Air Museum a couple of times — there are a lot of cool spots in Palm Springs. We’ve been to the High Bar at the Kimpton Rowan hotel.
The Coachella Valley Cactus Cup college hockey tournament, Jan. 3 at Acrisure Arena, was an exciting highlight for the hockey community. How do you think it contributes to developing young players and growing the sport’s presence in the region?
It’s amazing [or students to get that tournament feel and play games outside of their home rink — and to come play here at Acrisure is pretty cool. College hockey is great. I played it myself, and it’s definitely at a high level. Also, the exposure for our fans and our community.
