SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- A key member of the Carolina Hurricanes championship team has ties to western Massachusetts.

Koryd Lavimoniere spent five seasons as head athletic trainer for the Springfield Thunderbirds before joining the Hurricanes in August. The Westfield State University alum is now an assistant athletic trainer for Carolina.

Lavimoniere earned a bachelor’s degree in athletic training in 2012. “They were comfortable with us, like, you know, learning…what it takes like in the field and doing our practice reps on what we need to practice and for our studies and it was cool,” he explained.

Before joining the Hurricanes, Lavimoniere was part of the Thunderbirds’ 2022 Calder Cup Finals run. “We packed the place all the time,” he added. “Like the MassMutual Center was a loud building because the fans are passionate, it’s got a hockey history, so it was really cool.”

Lavimoniere, a Dartmouth native, said the fan base in Raleigh reminds him of the hockey history back home. “We’re in a college area, so they live for their tailgates, but they tailgate for us and then as the season and the playoff weather comes and it, oh my goodness, like... you drive back in and the tents, the flags, the music, the smells, like these people, they live for this,” he noted.

He said his path required building connections and learning from others. “I’m just a kid from Eastern [Massachusetts],” Lavimoniere explained. “I knew that I had to...put myself out there and meet as many people that can help me along the way conferences, emails, anything, pick people’s brains. No one has the same journey to where they’re going.”

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