A Childhood Dream Of Ball Hockey Revisited

Kraken prospect Ty Nelson can appreciate the value of a neighborhood court for playing ball hockey.

The standout defenseman with the AHL Coachella Valley Firebirds grew up in a 700-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment in a part of Toronto plagued by gang violence. So, when asked to partake in last week’s opening of the Hubbard Homestead Sport Court in Northgate, a project spearheaded by the team’s One Roof Foundation (ORF) nonprofit arm, Nelson, 22, knew based on his own experiences what such a neighborhood facility can mean.

“We really would have to leave the neighborhood to play ball hockey and stuff,” Nelson, 22, who scored twice in two Kraken preseason games over the weekend, said just before being returned to the AHL this week.

“When I was really young there was a park across the street from my house where we could play a whole bunch of sports. But then when I started getting older, the neighborhood took a turn for the worse and so we had to travel about three miles away to a school just to play basketball or run on the track or anything like that.”

The latest multi-sport court for street hockey, basketball and soccer, located at Hubbard Homestead Park just a block from Kraken Community Iceplex, is the fifth in the region and the third this year opened by ORF.

Nelson and fellow prospects Oscar Fisker Molgaard, Jagger Firkus, Tyson Jugnauth and Kaden Hammell and Kraken mascot Buoy took turns leading a ball hockey clinic and running relay races with youngsters from two Title 1 elementary schools. Kraken radio play-by-play commentator Everett Fitzhugh served as the event’s master of ceremonies while ball hockey sticks and Brooks running shoes were given away.

“Anytime you can give back that’s something I really strive for and it’s something my parents taught me when I was little,” said Nelson, whose father, Rick, was a steelworker and his mother, Tracy, an insurance employee who both worked overtime to keep their son in competitive hockey. “Anything that you can do to, you know, help out or pay it forward. That's something that we always try to do. And yeah, this is awesome. I love being able to be a part of these.”

The sports court is within walking distance of James Baldwin Elementary and Olympic View Elementary, both Title 1 schools for underrepresented communities, as well as Refugee Women’s Alliance’s newest early learning center, and a growing concentration of low-income housing in the surrounding area.

King County contributed $50,000 to the project. Councilmember Rod Dembowski, chair of the county’s budget committee, was on hand for opening ceremonies and told the crowd of dozens of youths and parents he’d once played floor hockey while attending Dimmitt Middle School in Skyway.

“So, I know the fun, the joy, the teamwork, the camaraderie, and just the health benefits that you can get from this,” Dembowski said. “So, we are excited, King County, to support this work. It's great to see young people here in Northgate have a great, brand new, beautiful park and place to play.”

Kraken forward prospect Firkus, who also scored a goal in the weekend games ahead of being sent back to Coachella Valley this week, found himself in tough competition against some female students competing against him and Buoy in the relay races.

“Those girls were quick,” he said, laughing. “They weren't joking. Buoy also had a disadvantage in that big suit.”

But Firkus understood the importance of being there and giving students a chance to interact with professional athletes, even if some might have been a bit confused about what he does.

“They kept saying I was a professional ball hockey player – which might not be true,” he deadpanned. “Maybe I tried it once in my past life. But I think just interacting with the kids in a sport we grew up loving is why all of us are here right now.”

As for Nelson, who once was forced to travel miles on foot or by bus from his gang-plagued Toronto neighborhood to play sports with his friends, the event indeed reminded him of doing things for the love of hockey.

“I love being able to be a part of these and make these kids’ day,” he said. “They're playing ball hockey. I mean, I loved to do this when I was their age, and it's something I still love to do when I get a chance to. It’s awesome being here and just seeing the smiles.

“And you know, most of these kids have never played hockey before, so it’s awesome being able to be a part of their first time.”