25 Years Strong: Celebrating a Quarter Century of Hasek’s heroes
Twenty-five years ago, our program laced up its first pair of skates with a simple mission: give kids a place to grow on the ice and off. A quarter century later, that mission is stronger than ever, and this year we're celebrating in a big way.
From a redesigned game puck to a rink full of superheroes, here's a look at what makes this anniversary season so special.
A Puck Worth Celebrating
To mark the milestone, this year's game pucks will carry our 25th anniversary design on the back, but the front belongs to our kids. We're hosting a puck design contest, open to all our young athletes, giving them the chance to create the artwork that will appear on every puck used at our home games this season.
The winning artist doesn't just see their design come to life. They get to keep one of the actual game pucks featuring their artwork. Submissions are due October 1st, and we can't wait to see what our young artists come up with.
A Season Already Off to a Fast Start
The excitement for this milestone year is already showing. Both of our fall Learn to Skate sessions sold out. A reflection of just how much this community continues to embrace the game and the values our program is built on.
Cape Day: Where Every Graduate Becomes a Hero
If there's one day that captures the spirit of our program, it's Cape Day. This is our chance to honor every child who graduates from Learn to Skate and Learn to Play and officially begins their hockey career.
The celebration goes all out: a smoke machine sets the stage, Sabretooth makes an appearance, and each graduate gets their name announced before skating out under a laser light show to superhero music. Once every skater is on the ice, we run organized games to keep the celebration going.
Cape Day also rewards the season-long dedication of our skaters. Kids who complete their stamp cards. Earning a "word of the day" stamp each week they attend. Cash in their Hero Bucks for prizes in our team store, located in the Gold Room.
And of course, no skate is complete without a snack. As Program Director Joe Lo Tempio puts it, "our most popular snack is honey crisp apples."
The Gold Room: More Than a Team Store
Our Team Play athletes have their own version of this incentive system, earning Hero Bucks each week with the choice to spend them right away or save up for a bigger prize in the team store.
The Gold Room is much more than prizes. Upstairs at the rink, it serves as a homework and study space, where coaches, parents, and volunteers help kids tackle schoolwork before or after practice. Once homework is done, kids have the chance to earn even more Hero Bucks:
- Book reports — reading a book and submitting a report earns an extra $5 in team store credit
- Being a great teammate — recognized and rewarded every week
- Giving back — volunteering with our Learn to Skate program, helping at a fundraiser, or supporting an event
The Gold Room doubles as a learning space for the game itself, too. Coaches use the room for small-group and one-on-one video sessions and whiteboard breakdowns, helping kids understand hockey at a deeper level.
The space runs on a schedule that works for busy families: our 8U–10U athletes practice Wednesdays from 5:00–6:30 PM, and while they're on the ice, our 12U and 14U athletes have the Gold Room available to them before their own practice from 6:30–8:00 PM. In fact, the Gold Room opens as soon as school lets out, and several of our student athletes head straight from the classroom to the rink.
It's all part of a bigger goal. One that has guided us for 25 years and counting: building student athletes, on and off the ice.
Here's to the Next 25 Years
From sold-out skate sessions to superhero-powered graduations to a room where homework and hockey IQ grow side by side, this anniversary season is a celebration of everything our program has built and everything still ahead. Thank you to every family, volunteer, coach, and donor who has been part of these first 25 years. We can't wait to celebrate with you all season long.