NHL STREET Championships connects with fans of all ages before Winter Classic

SUNRISE, Fla. -- How’s this for a birthday party? Playing street hockey on a team with eight friends, outdoors in South Florida, in the shadow of an NHL arena.

Pretty sweet, right?

Well, that’s exactly how Lucas Gustafson celebrated Sunday.

The 9-year-old from Lakewood Ranch, Florida, was one of nearly 800 players, ranging from little kids to adults in their 60s, who participated in NHL STREET Championships presented by GEICO. The tournament used nine street rinks in the parking lot of Amerant Bank Arena, home of the Florida Panthers.

It’s the largest amount of players for an outdoor hockey event in Florida.

The one-day, 3-on-3, multidivision tournament was hosted by NHL Unites ahead of the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic between the Panthers and New York Rangers at loanDepot park in Miami on Jan. 2 and the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series between the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Feb. 1.

It featured youth teams, girls teams and adaptive teams. The NHL even had a squad that included members of the League’s Social Impact, Growth Initiatives and Legislative Affairs team, NHL.com and former NHL center Bryan Smolinski, director, community development & industry growth for the NHL.

All proceeds from the event will benefit Hockey Fights Cancer, a joint initiative between the NHL and NHLPA, powered by the V Foundation for Cancer Research and presented by AstraZeneca. One hundred percent of donations go directly to game-changing cancer research.

Players were provided with sticks, gloves and even helmets if they needed them. There was a DJ, food trucks and hockey skills events. The GEICO Gecko and Panthers mascot Stanley C. Panther were also walking around, taking photos and giving out high-fives.

It was a perfect day for hockey in South Florida, and perfect timing for Lucas’ dad, Bradley Gustavson.

“We asked him what he wanted to do (for his birthday), and he was like, ‘I want to go play hockey,’” Bradley said. “And we start looking around online and we saw this hockey tournament was going on down here, and I was like, ‘Let's see what we can do to put together a team to come down here and play in it.’”

That’s exactly what he did, getting eight of Lucas’ friends and making the three-hour drive from the Tampa area to play on Sunday.

But this was more than a one-day passion for Bradley, who runs the Manatee Ball Hockey League in Manatee County, Florida.

“I ended up starting the program for my son when he was 5,” he said. “He loves hockey and he really wanted to play with kids his own age, but he just wasn't there on skates yet. So, I figured he can’t be the only kid that’s not quite there on skates or maybe doesn’t have the financial capability to play ice hockey or whatever else, so we started the league.”

Though Lucas and his friends were ball hockey veterans, more than 350 students from four SLAM schools in the area were introduced to street hockey this week.

SLAM (Sports Leadership and Management) schools are tuition-free charters schools, with 15 of them in five states -- Florida, Georgia, Texas, Arizona and Nevada. Founded by rapper Pitbull, about 92 percent of each school’s population comes from low-income families.

“At SLAM Miami on Tuesday, they did a pep rally where they had four different stations of what street hockey is like,” said Rocio Diaz, the direction of community relations for SLAM Foundation. “The excitement in the room, the emotion in the room, it was phenomenal.

“When you come from a low-income family, driving 22 miles to go to an ice rink is just not something that’s happening, so this is just something that really brings the community together. We have four different SLAM schools here today from Miami, North, Boca and Palm Beach, so they are getting to compete against each other, which helps them realize we’re a part of something bigger than just a 2000-student school. So, it really makes a difference for them.”

The SLAM school in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami will play a role at the Winter Classic. The auxiliary synthetic rink that will be part of the field display for the outdoor game at the home of the Miami Marlins will then be donated to that charter school after the game.

Rob Knesaurek, NHL senior vice president, youth development and industry growth, said a synthetic rink is perfect for kids learning to play the game.

“Little maintenance, it’s a lot less expensive (than ice) and you can play anywhere, Knesaurek said. “You can play street hockey on it as well. You give the kids the appetite of playing hockey in weather like this. We’re excited.”

Giving kids the appetite for the sport was a big motivation of the event Sunday, in addition to raising funds for the fight against cancer.

“It introduces our sport to many, many, many kids that I know personally have never played the sport,” Knesaurek said. “So, to put sticks in hands and watch kids over here playing street hockey and enjoying themselves, we’re proudest of that.

“There are many roads to fandom, and I think if we can put sticks in their hands and create some dexterity and love for playing, then there is a great appetite to want to try skating, right? But why wouldn’t you want to try and connect with young kids doing some fun things, and street hockey just seems to be the easier route.”