Off the Ice: Nino Niederreiter and Matt Dumba

Each month, Wild.com profiles a different player's endeavors away from the rink. This story also appears in the December issue of Wild Magazine.
Wild defenseman Matt Dumba and Nino Niederreiter share a connection with kids so it was a no brainer for each of them when they
decided to team
up as "Squad224" to help Athletes Committed to Educating Students (ACES) and the Boys and Girls Club treat 200 students the NHL experience of a lifetime. Both equally share a love of helping others and being around family during the holiday season.

Nino Niederreiter

Wild.com's Tricia Luna: You just announced your partnership with ACES and the Boys and Girls Club, how long have you been partnering with ACES and the Boys & Girls Club? How did you get involved?
NN: I personally am involved with Hope for Kids, and Dumbs and I were thinking about partnering together to do a nice little suite together so [the kids] can get a night out and get out of their environment and just enjoy a fun night. For me myself, it's been about a year and a bit.
TL: What do you hope to achieve this year for ACES and the Boys and Girls Club?
NN: Get the kids out of their environment and get them to a game. Get them to have a fun experience, and at the end of the day, we are in a very fortunate position ... and I think showing them something else will hopefully give them something to look forward to, and hopefully they can move forward and achieve something.
TL: What is your favorite holiday moment as a kid?
NN: Christmas was always big in my family. We always spent it together, two or three days, and there's one Christmas at the main household, my parents, and then my grandma's and like all the cousins. So Christmas is a very special time for us.
TL: What is your favorite holiday movie?
NN: I would say it's got to be "Elf."' It's funny enough that before I came to the States ten years ago I had no idea about that movie and ever since I got to the States that has been my favorite movie every Christmas.
TL: As the holiday season approaches, what are some of your favorite holiday traditions?
NN: Putting up the Christmas tree; its very challenging and fun.

Matt Dumba

TL: You just announced your partnership with ACES and the Boys and Girls Club; how long have you been partnering with ACES and the Boys and Girls Club? How did you get involved?
MD: I've been working with them since 2016. It's kind of a no-brainer for me; my mom always put academics before hockey. Me being in the position to help kids out in their academics through my sport and maybe get them a little bit more interested in what they're doing in their day to day school in their math or reading. Get them more connected. So it was pretty easy for me when I looked at their cause and what they were trying to do, by bridging the gap between inter-city kids and the education system here in the Twin Cities.
TL: Is there one thing that keeps you still feeling like a kid at heart?
MD: A couple of weeks ago, I was over at Boy and Girls Club and I maybe stayed there for two and a half hours/three hours. I was playing basketball and football in the gym and I decided I had to leave after I broke a sweat finally.
TL: What is your favorite holiday moment as a kid?
MD: Definitely always in the winter around Christmas being at the backyard rink that my dad had built with all my friends. That's my fondest memory. My mom bringing out hot chocolate and donuts and us just doing that for hours on end as soon as we had our Christmas break.
TL: What is your favorite holiday movie?
MD: The Chevy Chase National Lampoons, the old one ("Christmas Vacation") … and the last three years I've watched it every year is, the night before.
TL: As the holiday season approaches, what are some of your favorite holiday traditions?
MD: My parents and my little brother, we always go to a movie on Christmas Eve. Surprisingly, there's always good movies releases on the 24th so we always catch a movie.