VIDEO FEATURE | https://x.com/4vengeancemedia/status/1821275368805798180
For Antonio and Daniella Martorana, being first always matters. Whether it’s on the ice, in the gym, or in the basement with mini sticks, the twins are competitive. Growing up, big brother bragged about being first.
By 10 minutes.
“I used to bring it up a lot more when I was younger,” chuckled 17-year-old Antonio. “I feel too bad as I used it too much you could say”
Daniella wholeheartedly agrees.
“100%, it’s just like, ‘I’m older I get this’, he got the bigger room.”
As they grew, so did the renovations in the basement. After repairing walls twice, Father Angelo gave up on fixing holes. But more important than the renovations was the construction of a relationship filled with support between Antonio and Daniella.
“I’m a lot tougher on the ice because of it,” admits Daniella. “It definitely has helped me, I’m really lucky to have him as a brother.”
They flourished on the ice with Saints Pro Hockey Academy of the Hockey Super League and for Antonio in the Junior Prospects Hockey League where he led Titans Hockey Union and the entire division in scoring. With each shot, goal, or stride he feels Daniella’s support.
“After I finish a game, I go on my phone, and I open her Snapchat and it’s ‘nice goal’ or she’s just snappin’ photos of the game” explained Antonio.
Their bond grew stronger last winter with Antonio more than 1300 kilometers away from Edmonton, playing his rookie season in Washington State with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League.
“I think ever since he’s been away it’s helped me realize how much I actually appreciate him” admitted Daniella. “When we were younger, I used to get mad at him for being in my space, but now I really miss it”
Remember the ten minutes Antonio used to tease Daniella about?
It turns out, they both had a head start and not the kind any parent wants. Their mother Tanya was bedridden for months during her pregnancy and their father Angelo recalled some difficult discussions taking place.
The twins were born 7 weeks prematurely.
Antonio weighed just 5 pounds or about the weight of 13 pucks.
Daniella was just over 4 pounds, or less than 11 pucks.
“I knew it was a scary moment for both of us” explained Antonio. “I’m pretty sure I came out pretty purple and they had to cut open my head pretty soon and put a heart monitor or whatever it was because they couldn’t get my heartbeat.”
While extremely scary, it never held them back.
Family was never far from thought for Antonio last year, and it’s not surprising he played his best hockey during a 3 game Alberta tour where he scored in Calgary, Red Deer, and Edmonton.
“That was probably my favourite goal I’ve ever scored,” remembered Antonio. “It definitely was a blur after I saw the puck go in”
While Tanya and Angelo celebrated with a section of 80 rabid Thunderbird fans, Antonio and Daniella found each other in a sea of chaos.
“I was only able to catch the third period, so it seemed like it was meant to be,” recounted Daniella.
“I’m not even joking with you; I went to the boards and the first person I saw was Daniella” remembers Antonio.
“I did see you and we locked eyes” she quickly chimes in.
“I saw her first and I was like ‘Wow, this is probably one of the most awesome things in my lifetime.”
“I was so proud of him and then I looked back, and my parents, and It was just one of those things that gives you goosebumps.”
In a couple of years, Daniella will provide the goosebump moments in NCAA Division One hockey, after committing to Merrimack College, just outside of Boston, Massachusetts, for the twenty twenty-five season.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment, I’ve been dreaming of this as a kid,” says Daniella excitedly, before offering advice from big brother. “He helped me a lot with it a lot, telling me to just keep my head down and work.”
Seattle to Boston is a five-and-a-half-hour flight, a trip the Martoranas will gladly get to know over the next few years, and ironically, it’s the distance that will bring Antonio and Daniella even closer as siblings.