The city of Tucson, Arizona is as far from the hotbed of hockey as you could find in North America.
For Liam Kirk, it’s the location for the beginning of the next chapter in his career.
Having defied the odds and the critics to reach this point, the American Hockey League provides the next barrier to hurdle.
As far as places to be in the American League, Tucson isn’t at all bad.
The weather is a huge plus, the club has a passionate fanbase and the Pacific Division takes you to some cool spots in the league.
Tucson’s longest journey’s this season will take them across the border to Abbotsford (1700 miles), Rockford (1700 miles) and Iowa (1500 miles).
Local rivals are based approximately 400 miles away and include Henderson, San Diego and Ontario.
The Pacific Division is not only the largest in the AHL with nine teams, it also encompasses a large amount of travelling.
It’s just another facet Liam Kirk will have to deal with and adapt to in the professional game.
Kirk will get an early taste of the travel with Tucson spending the opening weekend of the season in Stockton, California.
There will be a settled period of acclimatisation into the league thereafter, as the Roadrunners will enjoy a four-game homestand to round out October.
Three pre-season games against Henderson was a perfect introduction to the league for Kirk.
With no love lost between the two clubs, each game was a feisty affair and played at a good pace.
Given a role in the top six, Kirk acquitted himself well and contributed an assist in game two.
Henderson failed to hit the twine whenever the British forward was on the ice. Kirk was tabbed for just one minor penalty and recorded fours shots on net.
The Roadrunners roster is still a little in flux at the time of writing.
Despite the organisation in rebuild mode, the team should be challenging for a playoff berth
On paper, the goaltending looks unpredictable but has potential with a fascinating tandem of Josef Korenar and Ivan Prosvetov.
The average age of the defense is very young and features a plethora of highly talented rookies.
Undoubtedly the experience for Tucson comes at the forward positions but the glaring hole is depth at centre.
The standout players down the middle are Barrett Hayton and Blake Spears, either of whom I would be delighted to see Kirk lining up with this season.
A top-six position for the 21-year-old would not be beyond his abilities in my opinion but I wonder if Jay Varady opts to ease him in with a third-line role including special team minutes, to begin with.
The power play is well within Kirk’s capabilities and he can play at least two roles for the team in that regard.
He has a great knack for tipping and redirecting pucks in front, a skill that is never really spoken about.
Penalty-killing assignments would not as a surprise as he has the intelligence to play that role also and has proven he’s positionally aware. That may not happen at the beginning of the season or this year at all depending on how things play out but it’s in his future for certain.
Whatever happens this season, the learning curve remains steep for Kirk.
The Maltby native’s North American experience consists of just 115 combined OHL games to his name.
There is so much scope for the GB star to develop, grow his game and elevate himself to a new level.
The American Hockey League is the perfect place for him to do so and the next chapter is about to begin.
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