NHL, NHLPA to provide free remote access to Hockey Scholar program

The NHL and National Hockey League Players' Association are providing free remote access to Hockey Scholar, the hockey-themed STEM curriculum for elementary and middle school-aged students, to help educate the millions of children worldwide whose schools have closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

For the first time since its launch in 2014, the Hockey Scholar program, which consists of 12 learning modules, will be available for both teachers and parents to access.
The program, powered by EVERFI and part of the NHL and NHLPA Future Goals initiative, uses hockey to teach science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and was previously only available through educational institutions and teachers.
But with more than 55.1 million kindergarten through 12th grade students in the United States now at home, according to Education Week, and with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization reporting school closures in more than 185 countries, the League and the players' association felt that Hockey Scholar could be a valuable resource as parents try to navigate educating their children, working remotely and keeping their families safe during the pandemic.
"I think this is an example of us kind of sharing what we consider the hockey spirit. I think it's not just about sharing with the hockey family, it's about sharing it with the entire community," said Rob Knesaurek, NHL Group Vice President of Youth Hockey and Industry Growth Fund.

"We know we have a great program and we know that parents have been put in a predicament that education continue to be paramount to the household and this is a great vehicle to help do that."
Rob Zepp, manager of special projects for the NHLPA, agreed.
"During this unprecedented time in history, with people and families with so many other issues and items on their minds, and everybody adjusting and adapting to new ways of working and living, this is a no-brainer opportunity for us at the NHLPA and NHL and our partners at EVERFI to offer some resource to families, students and educators to help them a little bit with their day to day in the new environment as they engage and educate their kids at home," Zepp said.
In addition to access to Hockey Scholar resources, some NHL players will help teachers, parents and students connect and interact with the online materials.
Many of the League's players know first-hand about the challenges of trying to keep their children engaged educationally because they're at home while the NHL pauses its season because of the coronavirus.
"We're fulltime teachers, nannies, it's a full day job. I'm more tired now than I was a few weeks ago," said Winnipeg Jets forward Blake Wheeler, who is in Winnipeg with his wife and three children. "We're just cooking, cleaning and trying to teach, we're keeping it together."
Families interested in the Future Goals program, including how to enroll, can visit nhl.com/futuregoals. They can also follow and join the conversation on social media by searching #HockeyAtHome and #HockeyScholar.
More than 3.1 million students have participated in the Future Goals program since 2014, accounting for 6.5 million hours of learning. Students who participated in the program saw their science, technology, engineering and math skills increase by 82 percent, according to the NHL and NHLPA.