Inner-city kids get a taste of big-time hockey

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This article was published 09/12/2011 (5051 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It had all the bells and whistles of a real professional game, including the national anthem, TV cameras, score clock, loud music and a public address announcer.

Even high-profile coaches, five members of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets.

But the game itself was the prize for 69 inner-city kids Thursday at the Goals & Dreams Cup held at the MTS IcePlex.

The two games among players from the HEROS (Hockey Education Reaching Out Society) program in Winnipeg were played to celebrate the partnership with the National Hockey League Players Association’s Goals & Dreams fund, a connection that has brought 50 new full sets of hockey equipment to the Winnipeg program.

“I’ve been in this two years,” said 10-year-old Freedom Smith-Myran after her Thursday game. “I just want to waste my free time playing hockey with my cousin.”

That’s normally every Thursday during the hockey season at Pioneer Arena with Hannah Devin.

The North End HEROS program has been going here for four years, with the recent addition of players at St. John’s High School.

Devin, 11, said hockey has become an important focus.

“I think I’m good at it and I want to be good at it when I’m older,” Devin said. “I just like hockey; me and my grandpa always watch it on TV.”

The NHLPA’s involvement in various kids programs has benefitted 60,000 young players worldwide since 1999.

And the HEROS program, active also since 1999 and now in nine cities, has involved more than 3,000 kids who might not otherwise have the means to play the game.

“It’s education, self-esteem and behaviour,” said HEROS founder and executive director Norm Flynn, a Winnipegger now based in Vancouver. “We’re not here to make them the next Winnipeg Jets, we’ll let the next level do that. What we’re here for is to give them a fun, safe environment that they can come to.”

Flynn proudly declared Thursday that the HEROS program has an exceptional roster of volunteers, with a retention rate of near 99 per cent.

“These kids need consistency,” Flynn said. “A lot come from single-parent families. Many have emotional and behaviour problems. What they want is consistency.”

The fruits of his efforts are days like Thursday at the IcePlex.

“It’s celebrating Christmas before Christmas for a lot of these kids,” Flynn said.

Thursday’s Goals & Dreams Cups coaches from the Jets included Ron Hainsey, Eric Fehr, Jim Slater, Tanner Glass and captain Andrew Ladd.

“This was my coaching debut in Canada and Winnipeg,” Slater said. “It was interaction with the kids and it’s fun to be part of the kids’ day at the rink.

“The PA does a great job of setting these things up and being a professional athlete playing hockey in Winnipeg, it’s fun to do these type of things to help out people in the community as much as possible.

“There are guys on our team always will to do that.”

During his game, Slater had one eager young player trying so hard to impress that he came back to the bench and apologized for not scoring a goal.

“If I had to do that every time to our coach, I don’t know what I’d do, but there would be a lot of apologies, for sure,” Slater laughed.

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca