In the spring of 2016, the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA) executed its inaugural Grow with the Pros! Mentor Program in St. John’s, Newfoundland where two local minor hockey teams were provided a one-of-a-kind hockey experience to develop on and off the ice with PHPA Members Mac Bennett, Gabriel Dumont, and Brett Lernout of the St. John’s Ice Caps.
The three Player Mentors ran a one-hour on-ice skill development session, followed by an interactive off-ice panel style discussion where PHPA Mentor Instructors left a lasting impression by detailing their hockey journey including the adversity they had to overcome to make it to the professional ranks, while explaining the importance of teamwork, character, and maintaining a positive attitude. The event concluded with each participant having the opportunity to sit across the table from the Player Mentors for an official contract signing.
“Based on the reaction from the players, kids, coaches, and parents involved, the inaugural event was a tremendous success, so we decided to expand the program to more markets the following season,” said Darryl Dionne, PHPA Director of Communications and Business Development.
In fact, after PHPA Executive Director, Larry Landon, unveiled the program to the American Hockey League Board of Governors at their 2016 summer meeting, teams began approaching the PHPA about executing the Grow with the Pros! Mentor Program in their market.
The PHPA then aligned with Meridian whose shared values and commitment to growing the game at the grassroots level while fostering skill development and fair play in sports, was a natural fit to become the program’s Presenting Partner.
Over the course of the 2016-17 season, the PHPA – Meridian Grow with the Pros! Mentor Program expanded to Toronto with player mentors Andrew Nielsen and Trevor Moore from the Toronto Marlies.
The program also returned to St. John’s, Newfoundland and this time was lead by David Broll, Tom Parisi, and Daniel Carr of the Ice Caps.
At times the Player Mentors seemed to be having just as much fun as the minor hockey players. “It was a blast taking over the practice,” said David Broll. “It really brought me back to my roots as to why I started playing the game in the first place.”
Although the practice did involve some high-intensity skating drills, the Player Mentor instructors also chose some of their favorite drills from their childhood to remind the kids that having fun is the most important part of the game.
“I remember as a kid when some junior players came out to one of our practices, it was a great opportunity for us to skate with our heroes, someone we looked up to and someone we may want to be like when we grow up,” said Broll, “I still remember that vividly to this day. So if I can provide the same sort of feeling or experience then I’m doing my job right.”
As part of the mentorship component, participants were provided with Meridian branded piggy banks, which many had autographed by the Player Mentors, along with $25 vouchers which would be added to any savings accounts opened at Meridian, as a means to help nurture financial planning at a young age and in advance of their aspiring professional hockey careers.
During the 2017-18 season, the program expanded to Belleville, Ontario with PHPA Player Mentors Mike Blunden, Ben Sexton, and Tyler Randell of the Belleville Senators leading the experience.
The program was taken outdoors for the first time at Camp Manitou in Winnipeg, Manitoba with Manitoba Moose Player Mentors Darren Kramer, Francis Beauvillier, and Peter Stoykewych providing mentorship for participants as part of the Winnipeg Jets Hockey Academy.
The PHPA returned to Belleville, Ontario in February, 2019 and executed the program with the Belleville Bearcats girls Minor Atom AA team, under the mentorship of Players Joseph Labate, Stuart Percy, and Boston Leier.
The PHPA went back to Belleville again in December, 2019 to host the program with the Quinte Red Devils PeeWee AAA, thanks to PHPA Player Mentors Joseph Labate, Cole Cassels, and Andrew Sturtz, who guided the participants on a private VIP tour of the Senators dressing room in addition to the on-ice and off-ice mentorship.
Also during the 2019-20 season, the Program expanded into the United States. The first International event was hosted in Rochester, New York, where Amerks' Player Mentors Nathan Paetsch, Casey Fitzgerald, and Jarrett Burton provided some invaluable lessons during Hockey Week in the US.
To cap off the 2019-20 season, Player Mentors in San Antonio, Texas including Evan Polei, Jake Walman, Josh Wesley, and Adam Wilcox provided an unforgettable experience for nearly 40 kids of various ages in the Junior Rampage Program, which even included an appearance from Head Coach Drew Bannister and mascot T-Bone during the on-ice component.
Polei found the program to be a worthwhile and rewarding experience.
“I think the program is great. I love seeing the smiles on the kid’s faces and you get to interact with the kids on a personal level. When you have a smaller group of kids you can just laugh around and play. They can come out on the ice and see what types of drills that we go through and see what type of skills that they have to work on. Simple skills like picking pucks up off the boards and stuff like that. It teaches them how to play properly. It’s a great experience for them. They look up to us and I think that they take a lot away from it. We have a lot of good conversations with the parents too and they appreciate us taking time out of our days to have fun with their kids on the ice. It’s a great program and I hope it continues to excel in the future.”
Stay tuned for more details on where the program will be mentoring the next wave of professional hockey players next season.