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Day 9: November 21, New York, U.S.A.
Day Nine – Tour makes first North American stop in New York City, USA…
Our day started with a flight from Frankfurt to Geneva, and then from Geneva to the JFK Airport in NYC. Not the normal travel path from Frankfurt to North America but it got us here. We arrived in NYC just before 3:00pm ET. Upon arrival in NYC, we hired a van to take us to the Bronx. (On the way to the event we got stuck in a traffic jam and had front row seats to a scrap between a taxi driver and another driver. It was bizarre.)
Prior to us landing in NYC, Jonathan Weatherdon – or ‘JW’ as we call him – represented the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund at the first event of the day at 2:00pm, which was located at the New York Rangers training facility. JW was joined by Adam Graves and reps from the MSG Garden of Dreams program at the event. NHLPA Goals & Dreams donated 25 sets of equipment to the MSG Garden of Dreams – Learn to Skate Program. From everything we hear it was another successful event.
Our crew arrived at Kip's Bay Boys and Girls Club at 4:30pm where we were greeted by 25 happy kids. Zams delivered a nice speech to the kids about following their dreams. After a few chats and a few slices of pizza, the crew headed to Madison Square Gardens where we met up with Graves. Rob, Adam and 30 young hockey players took to the ice for an on-ice ceremony in front of the packed house during the second intermission of the New York Panthers - Florida Panthers game. It was awesome, and the kids absolutely loved it!
After the game, the crew went downstairs to provide updates on the tour to Radek Dvorak, Bryan McCabe and Steve Valiquette. All of the players were astonished at how rested we actually looked after visiting nine countries around the world so far in the past nine days. We thanked the guys for their support and headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest.
On Sunday, we catch a 6:30am flight to Toronto where we will make an equipment donation to sir Sandford Fleming Academy and have a celebration event at the Hockey Hall of Fame to conclude this fantastic – and very ambitious – 10 countries in 10 days tour.
We’re looking forward to the final celebration at the HHOF, the place where G & D began 10 years ago (and we can’t wait to see our families).
Our next update for you will likely come sometime after the event.
‘til then,
G & D crew
NHLPA Goals & Dreams in the United States
More than 50 youth hockey organizations in the United States have received donations from the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund, totalling more than $2.3 million. From Alaska to California to New York, over 3,000 sets of equipment have been distributed in more than 20 US states. The NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund has also supported numerous sledge hockey associations within the United States, donating not just the equipment but the sleds themselves.
A few of the programs supported by the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund include:
- Greenway Amateur Hockey Program (Coleraine, Minnesota) – 50 sets of equipment – Mark Parrish
- Scott Gomez Hockey Program (Anchorage, Alaska) – 50 sets of equipment – Scott Gomez
- Snowden International High School (Natick, Massachusetts) – 6 sets of equipment – Noah Welch
- Foothills Police/Fire Youth Hockey (Foothills, Colorado) – 15 sets of equipment
- Yankton Area Ice Association (Yankton, South Dakota) – 20 sets of equipment
- Washington County Youth Hockey Association (West Bend, Wisconson) – 50 sets of equipment – David Steckel
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NHLPA Goals & Dreams facts:
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