Wild Hosting 'Hockey Helping Kids' Thursday At Xcel Energy Center
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- The Minnesota Wild is enjoying a nice five-day break between games.
They beat the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the L.A. Kings on Saturday. On Thursday they host the first team to secure a playoff spot, the New York Rangers. Although Mike Yeo's team hasn't clinched a playoff spot yet, their chances are looking pretty good.
This Thursday at Xcel Energy Center, the NHLers won't be the only ones waiting for the face-off.
Hockey Helping Kids was started five years ago as a way for two companies, CommVault and Microsoft, to give back to the local community.
Although both Minnesotans, Ryan Foster and Jared Wieseler didn't pick up hockey until much later in life.
"My first day of hockey, I couldn't stand on skates. I fell over and over. I kind of lost a little confidence in skating because I fell all the time and I got bumps and bruises. And I didn't feel comfortable because I couldn't stay on my feet," Foster, who is a member of Edina based Stingers team, said.
"Ryan's first day of participating in special hockey was also my first day," Wieseler, a volunteer for Minnesota Special Hockey, said.
"I met Jared the first day. He was sitting on a bench actually, just sitting there looking like he was lost," Foster said.
That first meeting was six years ago, when Minnesota Special Hockey was in its infancy. Since then, Wieseler has been driving Foster to nearly every practice.
"Showed him how to skate and from that day forward we've just been hanging out and helping each other, learn the game and play and have fun," Wieseler said.
"Most of our players are somebody who just couldn't play hockey for whatever reason," Jane Cashin, president of Minnesota Special Hockey, said.
Cashin's son, Sam, had to quit playing youth hockey after his seizures became a cause for concern.
"For years he had nowhere to play, he followed his sister around. And now he has somewhere to play," Cashin said.
The non-profit has grown from two teams to 10 and has 140 skaters of all ages and ability levels.
"Our team has all different ages of kids, all different abilities. We play pretty good as a team," Foster said.
Foster was one of the first skaters on the Minnesota Special Hockey's Edina-based Stingers team, but since then he's switched over to goalie. Standing at 6 feet, 8 inches tall, he's doing a pretty good job of stopping pucks.
Foster was 330 pounds when he and Jared met, but thanks to Wieseler's guidance, Foster has changed his appearance and his lifestyle.
"Ever since then he's lost 100 pounds. He's lost a lot of weight and has a really good health record now," Wieseler said.
They aren't just helping each other stay fit, but helping each other tackle life's obstacles and their bond is now more like brotherhood. Wieseler asked Foster to be in his wedding two years ago.
"Having him be such an integral part of my life for the past six years it only made sense that he be involved in my wedding as well," Wieseler said.
"It's awesome because I get someone to hang out with, to do stuff and we can do fun events," Foster said.
What makes Thursday so special for Foster is he gets to skate at the Xcel and even play against a few ex-NHLers.
Here's what the schedule looks like for Thursday:
2 p.m.: JV Game - That game is between CommVault and Microsoft employees and partners.
4:45 p.m.: Dinner and a silent auction before the game.
7 p.m.: Wild vs. Rangers
After Wild Game:
- Players like Ryan will suit up and play against some ex-NHLers in attendance.
- Brad Maxwell & The Minnesota NHL Alumni Team
- Dan Hendrickson – Hendrickson's Foundation
- Brian Bellows – NHL Legend & 1,000 point scorer
- Alana Blahoski – USA-W Olympic Gold Medalist
- Randy De Meno – CVLT Chief Technologist
- Fran Dougherty – Microsoft CTO Incubation
- Mike Opal – Microsoft Global Alliances
The event doesn't just benefit Special Hockey Minnesota, but also the Hendrickson Foundation and the Autism Society of Minnesota.
