Type 1 Timer Hockey Camp Creates Community

During this year’s Type 1 Timer (T1T) Hockey Camp, camper Liam McKernan took the bus to the rink as usual – and encountered a special guest upon arrival. Liam quickly texted a heads up to his dad, Chris, a longtime Penguins season ticket holder.

“He said, (Dan) Muse is here!” Chris recounted. “I was like, oh my God! It was really neat having the Pens connection.”

The Penguins head coach, along with goalie coach Andy Chiodo, traveled to Florida to offer their support and expertise at the only hockey camp in the United States built specifically for young athletes living with Type 1 diabetes. It was founded by Pittsburgh Penguins Team Governor & Chairman Geoff Hoffmann, his wife Megan, and their eldest son Henry after he was diagnosed 10 years ago at age 7.

“The first thing he asked us was, am I still going to be able to play sports? Can I still play hockey?” Megan said. “And the resounding answer from us was, yes. We were determined to make life as normal for him as possible.”

As the Hoffmann family owns the ECHL’s Florida Everblades, the camp has been held at the club’s home rink of Hertz Arena. When their ownership group expanded in 2026 to include the Penguins, Geoff knew they had a unique opportunity for T1T’s fifth year.

“That was to combine the best of what's happening in Pittsburgh along with what we're doing here to drive awareness and support for the Type 1 diabetic community, especially those that play hockey,” Hoffmann said. “Coach Muse and Coach Chico raised their hands to want to get involved and come down and offer their guidance, coaching and time to pay it forward to these young players.

“I can't express how much it meant to us that they were in attendance. They were so generous with their time, and it's not lost on me that it was a weekend during their offseason. We're so fortunate to have found a franchise that has the same family energy that we bring to our family of companies, the Everblades, Type 1 Timer, and now, the Penguins."

Muse and Chiodo joined a group of instructors that included Florida Panthers forward Luke Kunin, who has Type 1 diabetes; Florida Everblades head coach Brad Ralph; and numerous current and former Everblades players.

“It's an honor and privilege to be able to coach this game,” Muse said. “Getting to do it during the season at the National Hockey League level is incredible. But I think any time, at any point, when you get a chance to coach the game, it's something that I don't take lightly. It's a real honor to come down to this camp to be able to spend time with these players who've come from all across North America.”

The goalies enjoyed some quality 1-on-1 time with Chiodo, while Muse ran a station of his own with the skaters. Once word got around that the Penguins head coach was on the ice, all of the campers were eager to get over and work with Muse.

“Both were treating it like a real practice, and actually teaching the concepts they were working on,” Chris said. “At the end of the session, Dan gave a little talk to the boys. After that, Liam jumped up and immediately asked him if he could get a picture with him. Naturally, he agreed.”

What stood out to Muse during his time at T1T was the campers' determination to play the sport they love.

“It’s very evident from just being around this group just how diligent they are in terms of taking care of themselves, and balancing that with getting everything that they can on the ice,” Muse said.

T1T pairs the elite on-ice coaching received from the likes of Muse and Chiodo with hands-on diabetes education and support. A team of experts provides top-notch strategies for managing diabetes during sports and in everyday life. Campers and their caregivers benefit from sessions with leading sports psychologists, nutritionists, and accomplished athletes with Type 1 diabetes.

It has provided a community for families who had felt isolated on their journeys following the initial diagnosis, like the McKernans.

Though they live in Youngstown, Chris has been a Penguins fan since the 1980s, and has played hockey recreationally. He passed his love for the sport onto Liam, who started in a local learn-to-play program when he was 3 years old.

A few years later, Chris was coaching Liam and noticed that he was starting to look sluggish on the ice. At first, Chris chalked it up as a lack of effort. But when Chris and his wife Jen later took their then 8-year-old son to the doctor, they learned that his issues stemmed from Type 1 diabetes.

It is an autoimmune disease in which the pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin, which helps sugar (glucose) enter the body’s cells to be used for energy. There is no cure, and treatment is directed toward managing the amount of sugar in the blood using insulin, diet and lifestyle to prevent complications.

While it’s scary news for a kid to process, their doctor quickly reassured Liam that he would be okay. And like Henry Hoffmann, he also wanted to know if he could still play hockey. He was cleared right away, but plenty of challenges were ahead.

Chris and Jen had to figure out what foods he should be eating beforehand, whether he should leave his insulin pump on or take it off, what to do if his blood sugar spiked or dropped during a game... the list goes on.

“Being the parent of a Type 1 diabetic child has a stress level most simply wouldn’t understand,” Chris said. “That stress becomes your ‘new normal,’ but it’s real. I hate to say it this way, but every single day you wake up with the reality that one wrong move can be fatal. Medical expenses, especially for those parents who may not have the best health insurance, can be staggering just so you can live daily. You don’t sleep very well because you are always listening for those alarms. On top of all of that, your child plays hockey!”

They started building a network of other families in the same situation, and eventually got word that the Hoffmanns were looking to start a camp of their own down in Florida. The McKernans began going the second year, which was in 2023. Ever since, they have planned their summers around attending T1T.

“The best part is meeting kids are like just like me,” Liam said. “Seeing how I'm not different than really anybody else, and seeing what they do different than me to keep themselves in check. It's just cool meeting everybody – kids from all over the world, pretty much.”

Chris and Jen also love the community aspect. Sharing their experiences with the other families has been cathartic. The educational seminars are hugely beneficial, as they learn about things like new technologies and treatments. But what really stands out is how Chris and Jen can sit back and take a break from the challenges of navigating diabetes.

“Liam is very good, very mature for a 16-year-old kid. He's always handled it well. But we're still going to be the helicopter parents because of the disease,” Chris said. “We are. We worry so much the whole time. And really, you do kind of feel alone. So, when you go to that camp, everybody's going through the same thing. The best part is that they have all the certified diabetic educators that are there on the bench, so you know he's okay. We don't have to really worry.

“I mean, every single parent's still there with their phone, still looking, still wondering what's going on. But you can relax. They're getting taken care of.”

Not to mention when they aren’t inside the arena, the families get to take advantage of being at a nice resort in beautiful Florida.

“With the stress and expenses alone, most of these families never have the ability to take a vacation,” Chris said. “The Hoffmanns have made that possible.”

The McKernans have had such a good experience at T1T that even though Liam has aged out of the on-ice instruction, the Hoffmanns arranged for him to attend next year as an ambassador.

“I could run down an extremely long list of the amazing things the Hoffmanns provide for us at Type 1 Timer, but I will just simply say there is nothing out there anything like it,” Chris said. “My personal opinion is the Hoffmanns don’t do this for recognition or virtue signaling.  They do this because they are just like us. They experience the same stresses we all do as Type 1 Diabetic parents. They do this because they are part of our community. We can’t thank them enough for this event.”

Word continues to spread about T1T, with this year’s registration reaching 110 campers, more than double the first year. One of those campers heard about it from Liam’s doctor after he got diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes this year. Their family ended up connecting with the McKernans, with the two boys getting a photo together.

“They got a picture. Liam's up here, and he got this little guy down here, and it was great,” Chris said.

“And he was so excited. They had a great experience,” Jen added. “They loved it because they said he was so excited to watch him on the ice and able to see how far he could go. Being diabetic, he doesn't have to give anything up. You could still do everything. It’s just a little more difficult.”

That feeling of empowerment is what the Hoffmanns want everyone participating to take away.

"Every year this camp grows, and every year I'm reminded why we started it," Megan Hoffmann said. "These kids show up ready to work, ready to compete, and ready to support each other — Type 1 diabetes doesn't slow any of them down on or off the ice. This is more than a camp; it's a truly special community where every athlete knows they're understood, encouraged, and never alone."

For more information on the camp, visit T1hockey.com.