Hockey, Heritage and Home | FEATURE

For Ana Mota, hockey was something she had to find.

Now, she is helping make sure the next generation doesn't have to.

Mota first found Hockey New Jersey as a young player looking for a place to improve her game. She started volunteering, spending afternoons at the rink before eventually realizing she wanted to give back and teach what she had learned.

“I can give them something I wish I had when I was a kid,” Mota said.

That idea is at the heart of Hockey New Jersey, a Newark-based program focused on making hockey more accessible to kids who might otherwise never have the opportunity to play.

Through a partnership with the New Jersey Devils, 40 Hockey New Jersey players under the age of 12 spent a week at Prudential Center, skating three times a day this summer, while taking part in off-ice activities, locker room tours and other experiences inside the Devils' home.

For many, it was their first glimpse into the NHL world.

For Hockey New Jersey Manager of Hockey Operations Dennis Ruppe, that's the point.

“We want them to see this building and see the Devils' locker room and staff and meet people and want to do that one day,” he said.

Seeing Yourself in the Game

Ruppe knows what it feels like not to see yourself represented in a hockey rink.

“When I was growing up playing, I grew up in a lot of rooms where I was the only Hispanic kid or the only person of color in the entire room,” he said.

Today, he sees a much different hockey landscape.

At Hockey New Jersey, kids from different backgrounds and cultures come together at the rink every day.

“You walk into our rink on a Saturday, and you'll see kids from all different backgrounds and parents speaking all different languages and everyone getting along and kind of co-mingling and coexisting,” Rupppe said.

For the kids growing up in that environment, he hopes diversity doesn't feel unusual.

He hopes it simply feels normal.

“These kids won't know any different,” he said. “We have so many kids from such diverse backgrounds that for them, this is normal.”

'If You See It, You Can Be It'

Casey Kildow-Weir, the Devils' Manager of Youth Hockey and Fan Development, has seen firsthand how representation can make a difference.

“I'm a big, big advocate for if you see it, you can be it,” Kildow-Weir said.

Having coaches who share a player's background can make them feel more comfortable, more welcome and more likely to stick with the sport.

Mota is a perfect example.

Kildow-Weir first met her four years ago, when Mota was a high school freshman. Now, Mota is coaching the next generation.

“Watching her come out of her shell and fall in love with hockey and see her pass that on to the next generation is so amazing,” Kildow-Weir said.

Mota remembers looking for someone who looked like her when she was growing up.

Now, she gets to be that person for someone else.

“I think these kids have someone to look forward to that are, like, kind of like them,” she said.

Growing the Game

The Devils and Hockey New Jersey partnership is now in its seventh year. During that time, the program has helped more than 1,000 kids play hockey who may not otherwise have had the opportunity.

That's especially important in a sport that can be difficult and expensive to enter without an existing connection to the game.

“Hockey is better when hockey is diverse,” Kildow-Weir said.

And the impact goes beyond the rink.

Hockey New Jersey coaches have helped Devils staff better understand how to welcome diverse families into learn-to-play and ball hockey programs, creating a partnership where both sides continue to learn.

For Rupppe, the hope is that today's players eventually become tomorrow's coaches, NHL players and trailblazers.

“We really do treat Hockey New Jersey like a family,” he said.

Players become coaches. Kids become role models. And the cycle continues.

For Mota, it's an opportunity to give young players what she once wished she had.

For Rupppe, it's about making sure the next generation knows they belong.

And for the Devils, it's another way to grow the game in Newark and beyond.

Because hockey doesn't belong to one type of player.

It belongs to anyone who wants to play.

“Hockey's for anyone,” Mota said.