Moose encourage kids to Stick to Reading

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This article was published 27/02/2020 (2292 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Stick to reading and it will take you far.

That was the message that three Manitoba Moose players brought to Prince Edward School (649 Brazier St.) on Feb. 26 as part of the American Hockey League club’s Stick to Reading literacy program.

“To be able to come out and encourage reading and literacy to the youth is huge,” said Moose forward Derek Hulak, who grew up in Saskatoon, Sask. “I was lucky enough that the Saskatoon Blades would come to my school and they would read to us and do different activities. You try to remember yourself as one of those little kids, wide-eyed at hearing these hockey players speak. So it’s pretty cool to be on the other side.”

Hulak read Doretta Groenendyk’s Hockey Morning, Noon and Night to students in Liane Hardern’s Grade 2/3 class, while his Russian teammates Mikhail Berdin and Andrei Chibisov listened in. 

The Stick to Reading program, presented in conjunction with McNally Robinson Booksellers, is a program designed to encourage and promote literacy to youth. Prince Edward School was one of 11 to host Moose players on Feb. 26, nine in Winnipeg and two outside the city. Students and teachers from local schools entered their classes into the contest by providing the top five reasons why Moose players should come read in their classrooms. All entrants received a Stick to Reading-themed package from the Moose.

“Schooling is very important,” Hulak said. “I was fortunate enough to attend post-secondary and get my degree, get my education, so I see the importance of that. I know that hockey isn’t going to last forever, so it was important to plan for that.”

Following the reading, the three answered questions from students. Chibisov, in his first year in Winnipeg after playing professionally in Russia, does not speak much English, and answered questions with Berdin translating.

Berdin, a goalie in his second year with the Moose, joked with the students and even had the kids doing some math.

“How long have you been playing hockey?” one student asked.

“I started when I was seven, and I’m 21 now,” Berdin answered. “How long is that?”

Daniel Kolomiytsev, a Grade 5 student at the school originally from Russia, even got the chance to chat with Berdin and Chibisov in Russian.

Following the question and answer period, students had an opportunity to get posters they’d made for the event or jerseys they’d brought from home signed by the players. The students left the library buzzing with excitement.

“Programs like this are awesome,” Hulak said. “It’s great to get out into the community and encourage kids to read.”

Sheldon Birnie
Community Journalist

Sheldon Birnie is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. Email him at sheldon.birnie@freepress.mb.ca or call him at 204-697-7112

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