Julia Frank

The game is in full swing, you are standing up in your seat yelling at your favorite players to get a goal. And then it stops. It’s the end of a period. Now this could be your chance to go to the bathroom or grab food, but it’s also the perfect time to engage the community’s youth. Usually between the second and third periods of the game, the Avalanche bring out a couple of local youth hockey teams to participate in an activity, usually an obstacle course or a mini game. 

I love when they do this because it is so special for kids to skate in front of an audience there for an NHL game. Not all kids who play hockey get this type of opportunity. And what makes it even better is the fact that you have thousands of people cheering for you all throughout the stands. The lighting crew dims the lights and puts spotlights on the player who are going through the obstacle course. These kids put all their effort into getting around the obstacles and helping their team win. And at the end, the goalies do the circuit in all of their gear. These goalies can still skate pretty fast, but sometimes it’s a bit difficult to jump over an obstacle in their full padding. 

It’s not only boys teams that play, they make sure there are girls teams involved as well. I wanted to mention this, because I think it is important for women and girls to have representation in sports. Especially on this level, I’m sure it means a lot to these girls to play in front of an NHL crowd. And now that the PWHL has started, they can chase their dreams even more. 

On a personal note, I have also gotten to skate on the ice. Albeit, it was after a game and I was clinging to the wall. But this was such a cool and unique experience we got to have. The arena provided skates for us after the game. Then we got to make our way through one of the tunnels, and skate after we had watched the game, and the rest of the spectators cleared out. 

Including kids in these special moments provides them with hope and excitement. This may give them that boost they need to keep following their dreams. You never know if one of those kids will grow up to play in the NHL, maybe even play for the Avs.