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Tag Archives: Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club

‘Chef Jojo,’ Willie, and the bobblehead hang out at a D.C. hockey charity game

08 Friday Feb 2019

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Anaheim Ducks, Congressional Hockey Challenge, Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, Paul Kariya, Willie O'Ree

Sometimes pictures say it all, but we’ll take a few words anyway.

Joel “Chef Jojo” Thomas cherishes four things: Cooking, hockey, the Anaheim Ducks, and Hockey Hall of Famer Willie O’Ree.

Clad in a Ducks jersey and carrying a Willie O’Ree bobblehead, Thomas ventured to Washington’s Capital One Arena Wednesday night to watch the annual Congressional Hockey Challenge between a team of D.C. lobbyists and a squad of lawmakers and to meet his idol, O’Ree, who was the National Hockey League’s first black player.

Mission accomplished.

Joel “Chef Jojo” Thomas with Hockey Hall of Famer Willie O’Ree at Capital One Arena in Washington.

To call Thomas hardcore hockey would be an understatement. The Washington, D.C.-area chef is a forward in a men’s league at the Piney Orchard Ice Arena in Odenton, Maryland, and helps out when he can with the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, North America’s oldest minority youth hockey program.

Thomas got hooked on hockey after seeing “The Mighty Ducks” movie as a kid and became an NHL Ducks fan back in the days when that team was Mighty.

And left wing Paul Kariya was his player, so much so that he made the journey to Anaheim in October 2018 to watch the Ducks retire Kariya’s number. He made the pilgrimage to Toronto to witness Kariya’s induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

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The time is right for more people of color to get the call from U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame

10 Monday Dec 2018

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Bill Guerin, Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, Henry Boucha, Hockey is for Everyone, Neal Henderson, New Jersey Devils, Scott Gomez, United States Hockey Hall of Fame

American-born hockey excellence will be celebrated in Nashville, Tennessee, when five deserving individuals are inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Wednesday night.

Nashville Predators General Manager David Poile, former three-time Winter Olympian Natalie Darwitz, legendary former University of Michigan hockey Head Coach Gordon “Red” Berenson, retired National Hockey League referee Paul Stewart and the late Leland “Hago” Harrington will be honored by the U.S. Hall.

The new inductees will join 173 individuals and four hockey teams enshrined in the U.S. Hall, located in Eveleth, Minnesota, about 190 miles from Minneapolis.

Since opening its doors in 1973, the Hall has inducted two people of minority heritage – Henry Boucha and Bill Guerin.

Henry Boucha was a Minnesota high school hockey star, played in the 1972 Winter Olympics and had a promising pro career until he suffered a serious injury (Photo/Portnoy/Hockey Hall of Fame).

Boucha, a Native American (Ojibwe), was a standout high school hockey player in Minnesota and a member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team that won the Silver Medal at the Sapporo, Japan, games.

The Detroit Red Wings chose Boucha in the second round of the 1971 NHL Draft. The gifted center seemed destined for hockey stardom post-Olympics but a cracked bone around his eye – the result of a vicious 1975 altercation with Boston Bruins forward Dave Forbes – curtailed his career.

Boucha appeared in 247 NHL games for the Red Wings, Minnesota North Stars, Kansas City Scouts and Colorado Rockies and tallied 53 goals and 49 assists. He played 36 games for the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the old World Hockey Association, scoring 15 goals and 20 assists.

Guerin, who is of Nicaraguan and Irish descent, was a high-scoring forward for seven NHL teams.

He won the Stanley Cup in 1994-95 with the New Jersey Devils and again in 2008-09 with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was a Penguins assistant general manager when the team won back-to-back Cups in 2016 and 2017.

Guerin was a member of the U.S. men’s hockey team that won silver at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Embed from Getty Images

He also played on the U.S. men’s squad at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, the first Winter Games where NHL players competed.

During his NHL career, Guerin tallied 429 goals and 427 assists in 1,263 regular season games and 39 goals and 35 assists in 140 Stanley Cup Playoffs contests.

With more and more people of color getting involved in hockey at all levels and all aspects of the game, the time seems right to give Boucha and Guerin a little more company in the U.S. Hall.

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones, Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews and Washington Capitals right wing T.J. Oshie (who is Henry Boucha’s second cousin) should all merit U.S. Hall induction consideration if their careers continue on their current paths.

As for the here and now, who fulfills the Hall’s induction criteria that nominees must exhibit extraordinary contributions to hockey in the United States? Some suggestions:

NEAL HENDERSON, head coach/founder of Washington, D.C.’s Fort Dupont Hockey Club. Henderson was preaching that “Hockey is for Everyone” long before tit became the NHL’s mantra.

He’s the patriarch of North America’s oldest minority-oriented youth hockey program – 43 years and counting – and is responsible for building a generation of black hockey players and fans in the Washington, D.C., region and beyond.

Fort Dupont Hockey Club coach and founder Neal Henderson prepares to drop a puck at a Washington Capitals game (Photo/Courtesy Robert Primus).

Henderson, 82, has also launched a generation of kids, many of them disadvantaged, on  paths toward success by using hockey to teach the value of teamwork, responsibility, punctuality, good manners, and the necessity of pursuing an education.

He’s done so despite undergoing joint surgeries, skating in an ancient ice rink in one of Washington’s tougher neighborhoods, and often having only just enough money to pay the non-profit program’s bills.

“There are few coaches as remarkable and deserving as Neal Henderson, who I believe is an obvious choice for the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame,” said U.S. House Rep. Mike Quigley, co-chair of the Congressional Hockey Caucus on Capitol Hill. “Neal has dedicated himself to the principle that ‘Hockey is for Everyone,’ having spent decades fostering community and ensuring that every child in D.C. – regardless of race, zip code, socioeconomic status – has the opportunity to fall in love with the game.”

Henderson’s Fort Dupont program has produced success stories like Lt. Col Ralph Featherstone, a U.S. Marine aviator who became the first black captain of the United States Naval Academy’s hockey team.

Coach Neal Henderson – last row, second from the left – has been guiding the Fort Dupont Hockey Club since he founded the team 43 years ago (Photo/AJ Messier/Hogtown Studios).

Duante Abercrombie, another Henderson pupil, is now the head coach of the Washington Little Capitals 16U National Team, a program with a track record of developing players who go on to NCAA hockey programs and junior leagues like the USHL.

Fort Dupont became the model for programs like the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation and similar organizations under the NHL’s “Hockey is for Everyone” umbrella.

It’s not for nothing that after Capitals won the Stanley Cup in June, team Owner Ted Leonsis and superstar forward Alex Ovechkin took it to the Fort Dupont Ice Arena to share it with Henderson’s players.

Henderson was a finalist for the NHL’s inaugural Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award. He received the Bridgestone Mark Messier Youth Leadership Award in 2010.

Scott Gomez won two Stanley Cups and the Calder Trophy in a 16-year NHL career.

SCOTT GOMEZ, is a two-time Stanley Cup champion who also won the NHL’s 1999-2000 Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie.

The son of a Mexican-American father and Colombian mother, Gomez is regarded as perhaps the best hockey player to come out of Anchorage, Alaska.

A center, Gomez played for seven teams over his 16-year NHL career but he’ll forever be associated with the New Jersey Devils, the team he collected Cups with in 1999-2000 and 2002-2003.

He had his best season in New Jersey in 2005-06 when he notched 33 goals and 51 assists in 82 regular season games and 5 goals and 4 assists in nine playoff games.

In all, he tallied 181 goals and 575 assists in 1079 NHL regular season contests and 29 goals and 72 assists in 149 playoff games.

Embed from Getty Images

Gomez had a goal and 4 assists in six games for the U.S. at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. He also skated for the U.S. at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship tournaments in 1997-98 and 1998-99 and the 2004 World Cup.

His international stat sheet: 6 goals, 14 assists in 24 games.

Gomez, currently an assistant coach for the New York Islanders, embraced his heritage throughout his career and his play inspired other Hispanics to watch and take up hockey.

“If a Hispanic player like Scott Gomez can overcome his many life obstacles from afar in Alaska to play professional hockey in the NHL, the Hispanic player from New Jersey, Miami, New York can propose to achieve the same,” said Nelson Negron, a  Mahwah, New Jersey, resident whose son, Peter Negron is a goaltender for NCAA Division III Hamilton College. “And Scott represented himself, family, teammates and Hispanics well by being a consummate and exemplary professional and human being.”

Gomez has also represented his home state. He’s contributed time and money to help keep youth hockey alive in Alaska, particularly girls’ high school hockey, through his Scotty Gomez Foundation.

Forward Julie Chu competed in four Winter Olympics for the United States (Photo/Nancie Battaglia)

JULIE CHU, is a four-time Winter Olympian and one of the most-decorated players in U.S. women’s hockey history.

She has more hardware than Home Depot – Olympic Silver Medals from Sochi in 2014, Vancouver in 2010,  Salt Lake City in 2002 and a Bronze Medal from Turin in 2006.

Chu was the U.S. flag-bearer at the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Games in Russia, joining Hockey Hall of Fame and U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Cammi Granato as the only women’s hockey players to receive the honor.

She’s the first person of color to carry the U.S. at a Winter Olympics closing ceremony.

Chu, who was a forward, owns a lot of gold in the form of IIHF Women’s World Championship medals. She earned them with U.S. women’s teams that competed in 2005 in Sweden, 2008 in China, 2009 in Finland, 2011 in Switzerland and 2013 in Ottawa.

When Chu’s U.S. teams didn’t win gold medals at IIHF tournaments, they earned silver in 2001 in Minnesota, 2002 in Halifax, 2007 in Winnipeg,  and 2012 in Vermont.

Embed from Getty Images

Chu tallied 4 goals and 20 assists in 20 Winter Olympics matches. She notched 13 goals and 34 assists in 44 IIHF world championship contests.

A four-time All-American at Harvard University, she is the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer in women’s hockey with 284 points – 88 goals and 196 assists in 129 games – over four seasons.

She was the recipient of the 2007 Patty Kazmaier Award – the women’s hockey equivalent of the Hobey Baker Award – and the 2007 Bob Allen Women’s Player of the Year by USA Hockey.

Chu won three Canadian Women’s Hockey League championships in 2010-11, 2011-12, and 2016-17. She’s now the head coach of Concordia University’s women’s hockey team in Montreal.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

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Ovechkin takes the Cup to North America’s oldest minority youth hockey program

16 Saturday Jun 2018

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Alex Ovechkin, Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, Stanley Cup, Washington Capitals

They came to pay homage to the Stanley Cup Friday and the Cup came to pay homage to them.

Lord Stanley, Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin, and team owner Ted Leonsis journeyed to D.C.’s Anacostia neighborhood to show off the National Hockey League championship trophy to players and supporters of the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club – the oldest minority-oriented youth hockey program in North America.

Washington Capitals forward  Alex Ovechkin shared the Stanley Cup with members of the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club (Photo/Kate Irby).

It was sweltering hot inside the Fort Dupont Ice Arena – the ice is off for summer maintenance – but no one cared as players and coaches from the team lined up for photos with Ovechkin and the Cup.

“It feels good and special,” Justus Tyree, a 10-year-old Fort Dupont forward, told me. “They (the Capitals) won and they get to bring the Cup for our organization and not the other organizations that practice here. It’s very cool.”

U.S. Marine Corps. Lt. Col. Ralph Featherstone, a Fort Dupont assistant coach, was all smiles after he posed for a photo with Ovechkin, Fort Dupont founder and Head Coach Neal Henderson and the Cup.

Great to see Coach Neal Henderson meet the #StanleyCup at Fort Dupont Ice Arena! #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/JFgBaKbHpH

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) June 15, 2018

“It’s awesome, I thought I’d never be able to do that,” Featherstone said. “They (the Capitals) are at the top of the world right now and they took time to hang out with us for a few minutes. Ovi brought the Cup, Ted Leonsis is here. The owner of the team is in Southeast D.C., at Fort Dupont, hanging out.”

Leonsis said Fort Dupont was a must-do stop for the Cup.

“We love coming to Fort Dupont,” he said. “Neal has just been such a bedrock in the community and we love working with him, supporting the rink. And just to see all the young kids here in awe to meet Alex and the Cup.”

“For [fans], it’s maybe a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be around it.” — Alex Ovechkin on taking the #StanleyCup⁠ ⁠ around Washington. Today, the Cup made stops at @ArlingtonVaPD, @MedStarGUH and Fort Dupont Ice Arena. #ALLCAPS⁠ ⁠ pic.twitter.com/Zn4tKEUN3l

— Tarik El-Bashir⌨️🎙🏒 (@TarikNBCS) June 15, 2018

The Fort Dupont rink may look ordinary on the outside and a little dog-eared inside, but it’s a special place. For 43, years Henderson has taught life lessons to hundreds of African-American kids there through the prism of hockey.

It’s also one of the area rinks where 18-year-old Maame Biney, the first black female to make the U.S. Olympic short track speedskating team, got her start.

Several of Henderson’s pupils have gone on to achieve what they once thought was unachievable growing up in an area that had a reputation as one of the District of Columbia’s toughest neighborhoods.

Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin shows off the Stanley Cup to players and supporters of the District’s Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club (Photo/Kate Irby).

Featherstone went on from the rink on Ely Place Southeast to the U.S. Naval Academy, where he became the first black captain of the Midshipmen’s club hockey team. He’s now a Marine aviator.

Duante Abercrombie, another Fort Dupont alum, is following in Henderson’s footsteps into head coaching. He recently was named bench boss for the Washington Little Capitals U16 National Team, a program that has a track record for developing players for college and major junior hockey.

Washington Capitals Owner Ted Leonsis and forward Alex Ovechkin put something other than champagne in the Stanley Cup at the Fort Dupont Ice Arena (Photo/Kate Irby).

Leonsis said he hopes to bring the Cup back to Fort Dupont for a celebration same time next year.

But folks at the rink are hoping that they’ll have an occasion to party sooner. Henderson is one of three finalists for the NHL’s Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award. The winner will be announced at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas Wednesday.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

 

 

 

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Pictures tell hockey’s diversity story in Stanley Cup Final Game One

30 Wednesday May 2018

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Devane Smith-Pelly, Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, Neal Henderson, Pierre -Edouard Bellemare, Ryan Reaves, T.J. Oshie, Vegas Golden Knights, Washington Capitals

The Stanley Cup Final is only a game old but I already have a favorite picture – one that jubilantly tells the story of diversity in hockey.

It’s a shot of Vegas Golden Knights forwards Ryan Reaves and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare joyfully celebrating the top-shelf goal that Reaves scored in the third period Monday night against the Washington Capitals that tied the game at 4. Vegas won the series opener 6-4, a contest in which players of color had front and center roles.

Embed from Getty Images

Reaves and Bellemare were effective pests on the Golden Knights checking line, giving the Capitals fits and putting the puck in the net.

Capitals forward T.J. Oshie, who is Ojibwe First Nations/Native American, had an assist on the Capitals’ fourth goal, scored by defenseman John Carlson. And Washington forward Devante-Smith Pelly made the most of his 10:04 minutes of ice time, hitting anything that moved that wore gray, gold and red.

Embed from Getty Images

The Stanley Cup Final isn’t the only thing with neat visuals. Voting is underway for the NHL’s Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award, with three finalists to choose from.

And, like any good campaign, supporters of Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club founder and Head Coach Neal Henderson, have put up a video to garner votes.

For those who represent inclusion in hockey @SNChrisSimpson @ColorOfHockey @usahockey welcome community hero NEAL HENDERSON from Washington DC on his nomination for the #NHLOreeAward. A truly special man. Please WATCH the video and VOTE here: https://t.co/DAE7UjZs4K pic.twitter.com/8Yqqb7Hn0G

— Steven Hoffner (@Hoffner_Steven) May 29, 2018

At 40 years old, Washington’s Fort Dupont program is the oldest minority youth hockey program in North America.

The other O’Ree award finalists are Debbie Bland, a long-time girls and women’s hockey advocate in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada, and Humboldt Broncos Coach Darcy Haugan, who was killed in April when the Saskatchewan junior hockey team’s bus collided with a semi-trailer.

Voting closes at 1 p.m. Eastern Time on June 1. Click here to cast your vote.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Pla

 

 

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Fort Dupont Hockey Club founder Neal Henderson still skating strong at 79

12 Tuesday Jul 2016

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation, Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, Hockey is for Everyone, Neal Henderson

His deep-voiced bark is still matched by its bite, and the tough love he bestows upon the kids of the nation’s oldest minority-oriented youth hockey program remains as strong as ever.

Neal Henderson, founder, coach, and father-figure of the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, turned 79 over the weekend.

Through joint surgeries, an ancient ice arena with a sometimes leaky roof, and often with only just enough money to pay the program’s bills, Henderson continues to skate strong –  his passion for the program he created nearly four decades ago unabated by time.

Tough but tender, Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club founder Neal Henderson celebrated his 79th birthday over the weekend.

Tough but tender, Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club founder Neal Henderson celebrated his 79th birthday over the weekend.

Henderson is responsible for producing a generation of black hockey players and fans in the Nation’s Capital. He’s also helped launch a generation of at-risk kids on the right course in life.

He preaches life through the prism of hockey, teaching the value of teamwork, responsibility, punctuality, good manners, and the necessity and value of staying school.

Fort Dupont developed into a model for programs like the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation and similar organizations under the National Hockey League’s “Hockey is for Everyone” umbrella to follow.

“Neal Henderson has been a pioneer in helping develop and shape the lives of young boys and girls and use the core values of hockey to affect other life skills that these children would need as they become adults,” Kenneth Martin, the NHL’s vice president for community affairs told me. “His relentless commitment to children has been a trademark of our ‘Hockey is for Everyone’ program. He has been a true hero and a shining light, not only for the NHL, but for young boys and girls.”

James T. Britt, the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, said Henderson’s “impact on his community and hockey throughout the United States has been tremendous.”

“His coaching style and communications are direct – when you hear him begin to address a player in his deep voice with ‘Young man…,’ it makes you feel you’d better take notes because something important is being highlighted,” Britt added.

Born in St. Croix, Henderson founded the program in Southeast Washington’s  Anacostia neighborhood in 1977, in large part to teach his son the game that he played while growing up in Canada.

The Fort Dupont club has no fees or dues. The only thing participants have to pay is attention to Henderson rules: maintain good grades, be respectful, and behave.

Embed from Getty Images

 

Henderson has had to beg, borrow – he would never steal – over the years in order to cover the free ice time, equipment, and instruction.

The NHL, members of the U.S. Congress and Washington’s lobbying community  have helped by hosting an annual lawmakers vs. lobbyists charity hockey game, with part of the proceeds going to the Fort Dupont hockey program and rink.

Through the program, Henderson has helped guide his charges to victories on and off the ice. He’s seen alums from his program complete high school and go on to college or serve in the military.

Some, like Donnie Shaw III., have gone on to play hockey in college. Still others, like Daunte Abercrombie, became so hooked on the game through Henderson’s teachings that they’re pursuing professional hockey opportunities.

“Coach Neal is a true living legend and a man with a long list of accomplishments that continue to grow,” said Shaw,  a 2013 NHL/Thurgood Marshall College Fund scholarship recipient who plays for Elmira College in New York. “I cannot thank him enough for all that he has done for me, as well as the devotion that he personally puts into every single kid who joins his hockey program as if they were family.”

Happy 79th,  Coach Neal.

 

 

 

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Sabres’ Evan Rodrigues scores first NHL goal; kids score NHL college scholarships

10 Sunday Apr 2016

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Buffalo Sabres, Christopher Gibson, Ed Snider, Evan Rodrigues, Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, Hockey is for Everyone, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, Rochester Americans

Lots of congratulations to go around for last week’s hockey exploits.

Sabres forward Evan Rodrigues gets his first NHL goal in his second game.

Sabres forward Evan Rodrigues gets his first NHL goal in his second game.

First, congrats to Buffalo Sabres forward Evan Rodrigues. We profiled him earlier in the National Hockey League season as part of a look at the talented players of color on the Rochester Americans, the Sabres American Hockey League farm team.

The Sabres called Rodrigues up and the former Boston University standout responded by scoring his first NHL goal Saturday in his second game in the bigs.

The tally came against the New York Islanders and rookie goaltender Christopher Gibson, another player of color who earned plaudits last week when he backstopped a 4-3 comeback overtime victory against the Washington Capitals in his first NHL start.

Gibson was unable to pull off a second miracle Saturday and he lost to the Sabres 4-3 in overtime.

Nothing like a first @NHL goal. E-Rod will get that puck.https://t.co/WxnJoYzRGG

— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) April 10, 2016

1st @NHL goal and a huge smile to go with the puck. Congrats, @evanr17! pic.twitter.com/45JcWvQ0vU

— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) April 10, 2016

Hockey high-fives also go to Akeem Adesiji, Prasanthan Aruchunan, Katherine Baker, and Ava Olsen, the 2016 recipients of  NHL/Thurgood Marshall College Fund academic scholarships.

The NHL and TMCF have partnered to award scholarships to academically-eligible participants of the league’s Hockey is for Everyone initiative since 2012.

“These outstanding young people are skating toward a bright future,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “While Hockey is for Everyone programs provide the structure, discipline and life lessons that our sport teaches so well, each of our scholarship winners was committed to proving the path to higher education can be paved with ice.”

Columbus Ice Hockey Club's Akeem Adesiji, one of four 2016 NHL/Thurgood Marshall Fund scholarship recipients.

Columbus Ice Hockey Club’s Akeem Adesiji, one of four 2016 NHL/Thurgood Marshall Fund scholarship recipients.

Hockey is For Everyone programs are nonprofit organizations across North America that provide youth of all backgrounds the chance to play hockey at little or no cost and serve as a means to encourage them to stay in school.

In addition, program participants learn essential life skills through the core values of hockey: commitment, perseverance, and teamwork.

Katherine Baker of Washington's Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club wants to own her own ice arena someday.

Katherine Baker of Washington’s Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club wants to own her own ice arena someday.

Adesiji was a center for the Columbus Ice Hockey Club and has been playing the sport since he was eight years old. He intends to study environmental science. Founded in 1999, Columbus Ice serves more than 3,000 youth hockey players each year.

Aruchunan played right wing for the Hockey Education Reaching Out Society (HEROS) at Toronto’s Jane-Finch Chapter. The program focuses on high-risk communities in Toronto by making hockey accessible to youths in neighborhoods troubled by gangs or drugs.

Aruchunan wants to attend the University of Waterloo and major in mechanical engineering.

Prasanthan Aruchunan hopes the NHL/TMCF scholarship will help him launch a career in mechanical engineering.

Prasanthan Aruchunan hopes the NHL/TMCF scholarship will help him launch a career in mechanical engineering.

“It’s a gift and I have to take advantage of it,” he told NHL.com of the scholarship. “I want to show other kids in my community you can be successful, and I want to be a role model for them. I come from a community where money is an issue for almost everyone. I want to inspire kids in the next generation.”

Baker was a defenseman for  Washington D.C.’s Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club. Founded in 1976 by Neal Henderson. it’s the nation’s oldest minority youth hockey program. She started playing hockey at nine years old and aspires to own an arena someday so more kids to play hockey.

Snider Hockey's Ava Olsen loves to play hockey and hopes to cover the game someday as a journalist.

Snider Hockey’s Ava Olsen loves to play hockey and hopes to cover the game someday as a journalist.

Olsen was a center for Philadelphia’s Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation. She began playing hockey at 13 and she plans to major in business or marketing in hopes of working in the sports industry as a hockey journalist.

Snider Hockey, created in 2005 by Philadelphia Flyers founder Ed Snider, serves thousands of Philadelphia-area youth by providing full equipment, ice time, and coaching at no cost to their families. Snider has called the foundation his legacy.

 

 

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Washington Capitals’ old boards get new home at D.C.’s Fort Dupont rink

06 Thursday Aug 2015

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, Washington Capitals

When kids get smacked into the boards at Washington, D.C.’s, Fort Dupont Ice Arena in the not-too-distant future, they might smile and say “cool” instead of cry and wince in pain.

That’s because their bodies will have collided with a piece of the National Hockey League, courtesy of the Washington Capitals. The Caps Wednesday donated the dasherboards and glass from the team’s Verizon Center home to Fort Dupont, the only indoor ice skating rink within the District of Columbia.

The Washington Capitals' old dasherboards get loaded onto a trailer at Verizon Center. Final destination: The Fort Dupont Ice Arena.

The Washington Capitals’ old dasherboards get loaded onto a trailer at Verizon Center. Final destination: The Fort Dupont Ice Arena.

“It’s going to be cool for kids to be able to say they were checked into the boards that the Capitals played with or maybe sit in the penalty box where so many great Capitals players or NHL players in general had to spend time,” Fort Dupont General Manager Ty Newberry told me.

The Verizon Center installed new dasherboards and glass this summer ahead of the 2015-16 NHL season and stored the old set in the bowels of the stadium. Those boards were loaded Wednesday into a semi supplied by Bridgestone Americas (an NHL sponsor) and hauled to a warehouse in Pennsylvania.

Newberry said the boards will be installed as part of a $20.4 million makeover of the Southeast Washington skating facility. Construction is expected to begin in Spring 2016.

Fort Dupont General Manager Ty Newberry, left, says the boards will be used for second ice sheet being built at the rink.

Fort Dupont General Manager Ty Newberry, left, says the boards will be used for second ice sheet being built at the rink.

The donated boards will help cut some of the expansion’s cost. New boards and glass run between $150,000 and $200,000. NHL-caliber boards and glass run about $250,000, Newberry said.

“It’s a big savings for us,” he added.

The Fort Dupont Ice Arena was built in 1976 and is one of the few indoor rinks in the United States located in a largely African-American community. It’s a stone’s throw from the historic home of abolitionist Frederick Douglass and, ironically, not too far from where Philadelphia Flyers founder Ed Snider was born.

The rink is home to the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, the nation’s oldest minority-oriented youth hockey program. And the rink offers a Kids on Ice  program that provides youngsters with free skating lessons.  The rink, through its programs, serves 7,000 children annually.

The Capitals are actively involved with the Fort Dupont rink, donating $113,000 to its hockey program since 2004.

“We thank the Capitals for donating the boards to the rink and Bridgestone for their assistance,” said Neal Henderson, the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club’s founder and head coach. “It’s a great gesture and the kids are going to be happy to know they’ll be playing with the boards with which the Washington Capitals played.”

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Washington’s Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club featured on PBS NewsHour

17 Friday Apr 2015

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, Hockey is for Everyone, Neal Henderson

Kudos to the PBS NewsHour for taking time in Thursday evening’s newscast to tell the story of the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, the nation’s oldest minority-oriented youth hockey program.

Since 1977, program founder Neal Henderson has shown that if you give a kid – no matter what race, ethnicity, or gender – a stick, a puck, some equipment, ice time, and a chance, they can become hockey players.

Henderson is a hockey lifer who teaches life through hockey. He uses the sport to instill teamwork, discipline, perseverance, responsibility and accountability in kids from some of D.C.’s toughest neighborhoods.  He’s a gentle man who preaches tough love, a task master who takes time to make sure his players are alright, both on and off the ice.

Hockey is lucky to have him. And PBS NewsHour was thoughtful enough to show viewers the essence of what he and the Fort Dupont program are all about.

Neal Henderson, far left, and his Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club  hang out with Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin (Photo/Patrick McDermott).

Neal Henderson, far left, and his Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club hang out with Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin (Photo/Patrick McDermott).

The Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club is part of the National Hockey League’s Hockey is for Everyone initiative which provides support and unique programming to non-profit youth organizations across North America that are committed to offering children of all backgrounds opportunities to play hockey.

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Alex Ovechkin skates with D.C.’s Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club

25 Wednesday Mar 2015

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Alex Ovechkin, Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, Washington Capitals

What do players from the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club do when their Washington, D.C., rink is closed for annual maintenance? They go to Ovie’s house.

Alex Ovechkin shows Fort Dupont player how NHL defenders feel (Photo/Patrick McDermott).

Alex Ovechkin shows Fort Dupont player how NHL defenders feel (Photo/Patrick McDermott).

Thirty-five kids from the nation’s oldest minority-oriented youth hockey program hit the ice with Washington Capitals All-Star left wing Alex Ovechkin at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Virginia Monday for a clinic.

“Can you imagine having the greatest hockey player…come up and play with you?” Neal Henderson, Fort Dupont’s director and founder told USA Today. “Can you imagine what that is. To be able to touch and talk to an idol like him…is unforgettable.”

Thirty-five players from the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club hang with Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin (Photo/Patrick McDermott)

Thirty-five players from the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club hang with Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin (Photo/Patrick McDermott)

The clinic was sponsored by Beats by Dr. Dre, a product that Ovechkin endorses. Former Capitals players Alan May and Brent Johnson joined Ovechkin on the Kettler ice.

Ovie perhaps waiting for a pass from Caps center Nicklas Backstrom? Watch out, goalie!(Photo/Patrick McDermott).

Ovie perhaps waiting for a pass from Caps center Nicklas Backstrom? Watch out, goalie!(Photo/Patrick McDermott).

“It’s great for the kids, and for me to spend time with the kids,” Ovechkin told USA Today. “Of course (my mind) is not 100 percent off the game or the playoffs, but to do something like that, it’s always nice, it’s always good for everybody.”

 

 

 

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Home rink broken, Ice Hockey in Harlem looks for temporary place for kids to play

17 Monday Nov 2014

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Adam Graves, Boston University, Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation, Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, Ice Hockey in Harlem, New York Rangers, Union College

Since its inception, Ice Hockey in Harlem has done what many folks considered impossible.

It’s taken at-risk black and Latino kids from one of the city’s more impoverished areas and not only hooked them on playing hockey, but used the sport to expose them to a world beyond their neighborhood and to the world of possibilities if they stay in school and pursue life’s positive path.

The group’s presence helped revive a down-and-out outdoor rink in a part of New York where few white people dared to venture, making it a welcoming, family-friendly destination – a lynchpin in an evolving Harlem where people of all colors now live, shop, and dine.

“Hey, if Wayne Gretzky can go near 110th Street to hang with the kids at the Lasker Rink in the 1980s, why can’t I go skating there now” has become the mantra. Like Harlem’s Apollo Theater, the Lasker Rink is a place where everyone wants to play.

The Philadelphia Flyers practiced there in 2012, so did the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2011 and the Ottawa Senators in 2010. Boston University worked out with the IHIH there last year, ditto Union College in 2012.

But Ice Hockey in Harlem has been Lasker’s longest-running act, calling the rink on the north end of Central Park home since the organization’s creation in 1987. That run was interrupted over the weekend when the New York’s parks department suddenly announced that it was shutting down for the 2014-15 season to make major repairs to the facility’s refrigeration plant.

Ice Hockey in Harlem players are looking for a place to skate after their home rink is suddenly closed for repairs.

Ice Hockey in Harlem players are looking for a place to skate after their home rink is suddenly closed for repairs.

The shutdown sent Ice Hockey in Harlem, one of the nation’s oldest minority-oriented youth hockey programs, scrambling to find a place for over 240 kids to practice and play.

“We’re working on an emergency plan,” John Sanful, IHIH’s executive director told me. “I don’t have details yet, but suffice to say we’re committed to making the season happen.”

Sanful called the shutdown “a setback” but added that Ice Hockey in Harlem will do what it’s always done: overcome.

“It’s a minor setback, as with any situation beyond your control,” he said. “Ice Hockey in Harlem is stronger than it’s ever been. We will continue on and the future is very bright and very strong for Ice Hockey in Harlem.”

Still, there are no easy or ideal solutions for IHIH’s current predicament. New York is a city of 8.2 million people, but there are only seven indoor year-round ice sheets in the area.

Developers of the Kingsbridge National Ice Center are hoping to build the world’s largest ice skating facility in the New York City borough of the Bronx, a short subway ride from Harlem. But the mega rink in a massive renovated armory is years away.

Looking to solve their here-and-now dilemma, Ice Hockey in Harlem officials sent its squirts and Lady Harlem hockey team to practice Saturday in Brewster, N.Y., nearly 60 miles from New York City.

Ice Hockey in Harlem kids, who know their way around NYC's transit system, face playing in temporary digs.

Ice Hockey in Harlem kids, who know their way around NYC’s transit system, face playing in temporary digs.

Whatever IHIH does for the rest of the season will likely cost the nonprofit some money. Ice Hockey in Harlem depends on the hockey community and donations for funding.

The organization, founded by Dave Wilk, Todd Levy, and former New York Rangers player Pat Hickey, is part of the National Hockey League’s “Hockey is for Everyone” initiative which provides support and unique programming to more than 30 non-profit youth hockey organizations across North America.

Programs affiliated with”Hockey is For Everyone” help lower the biggest barrier that keeps many minority and poor kids from playing the game: The expense. Organizations like IHIH, Philadelphia’s Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation, and Washington’s Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, provide free equipment, ice time, and instruction.

Ice Hockey in Harlem vows to play in 2014-15 despite home rink shutdown.

Ice Hockey in Harlem vows to play in 2014-15 despite home rink shutdown.

In return, kids in the programs must stay in school, be in good academic standing, and be respectful people.  Most of the programs provide academic assistance – tutoring, computer access, college counseling – and mentoring.

While the NHL assistance is beneficial, IHIH is almost always in fund-raising mode. They host an annual “Benefit on the Green” golf tournament that attracts current and former NHL players along with corporate and private sponsors.

The Rangers pitch in by hosting an annual Winter Sports Auction, and legendary team play-by-play man Sam Rosen and former Blue Shirts like Adam Graves generously give their time to the IHIH cause.

IHIH Alum Malik Garvin, good person, good hockey player, scored his first college goal.

IHIH Alum Malik Garvin, good person, good hockey player, scored his first college goal.

People inside and outside IHIH stress that its goal isn’t about building good hockey players. It’s about building good people. Levy’s voice filled with pride recently when he talked about Malik Garvin, who he use to coach on cold Harlem nights at Lasker.

Saturday, Garvin scored his first goal on his first shot for Western New England University, an NCAA Division III school. The Golden Bears lost to Suffolk University 3-1, but Levy said Garvin, a 22-year-old senior, was still a winner.

“He epitomizes what we want for all our kids…not the goal he scored but the fact that he is a double major – finance and accounting – and has used his love for hockey to propel him in life,” Levy. a member of the IHIH board, told me. “The sad irony is that with our rink closing this year, I fear that the next Malik will be prohibited from this kind of life success.”

 

 

 

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