Article content

While there may not have been joy in Beantown on Saturday night, there were hockey players in seventh heaven in Mississauga earlier in the day.

Article content

Sometimes we all need to hear a positive story. A player scoring seven goals in a match is certainly better than a lot of things I usually write about.

In overtime in Boston, when the losing Toronto Maple Leafs needed a goal, my son and I thought it was a shame that coach Craig Berube didn’t have Kyle Williams in the lineup.

After all, he had a better game on Saturday than Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander combined.

At least during his game in the Mississauga Hockey League.

Even though 12-year-old Kyle, a member of the Erindale Spitfires house league team, is far from the NHL, he had a performance Saturday at Erin Mills Twin Arenas that resembled that of the NHL.

Seven goals.

He scored all seven goals in his team’s 7-5 win over the feisty Heartland Dragons in what was a great match. Nothing could have stopped Kyle that night.

Article content

Article content

“We were all surprised. He was like a magician. There was no stopping him,” said my son Josh, who is on his team. “We knew he was good, but he was something else.”

All the kids were so excited they had to take a photo to celebrate the moment. It’s not every day that someone scores seven goals in a match, at any level.

Recommended video

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Play video

Coaches Tony Italiano, Harry Constantinides, Jay King and Kenny Gates brought out all seven pucks for a fun photo and made sure the kids could participate as many of them assisted on Kyle’s goals.

“It’s fantastic,” said Erindale Hockey Association commissioner Scott Brooks.

This is what volunteers want: Great moments.

Seeing kids succeed is why Scott does this. He is also a coach. And stop by each rink to see the kids and coaches pursue their passion. The members of the Erindale Spitfires are one giant family. This organization, and the entire Mississauga Hockey League, aims to ensure that every child has a complete hockey experience.

Article content

Everyone is welcome.

This team is full of players who have never played hockey before and come from families where no one has played. But they all have the chance to play here to become hockey players and become better people.

For example, 13-year-old Priya Nagarajan earlier this month scored her first goal in her second match.

There are stories like Priya and Kyle’s all over Greater Toronto Area hockey. Of course, we always talk about NHL players around the ice, but we also celebrate MHL and GTHL players.

During my long friendship with Don Cherry, he always told me that his greatest pleasure was going to the minor hockey rink to watch kids pursue their dreams. Only a few attend the spectacle, but each of them gets something special out of participating in the great Canadian winter game.

An Associated Press article earlier this year quoted a Bauer hockey equipment manager as saying, “The number of kids involved in hockey in Canada is declining…but no one is talking about it.” »

Article content

People are starting to talk about it now and efforts are being made to get more kids playing. The article says there has been a 22% drop in the number of young people playing, from 523,785 participants 15 years ago to 411,818 players in 2022 during the pandemic.

Hockey organizations are doing what they can to help families with the cost of hockey and municipalities need to remember that when they charge more for skating time, families will have a harder time keeping their children in hockey .

Equipment swaps and more sponsorships will help.

In the media, we need to cover minor, junior and women’s hockey as much as the NHL. The more people talk about the game, the more interest will be generated.

Minor hockey is fun – for kids and for families. Hanging out at the hockey rink is always fun. One thing that could make the experience even better would be for rinks that closed their snack bars during the pandemic – replacing them with vending machines – to reopen their counters.

Article content

And anyone who’s made the decision to eliminate hot chocolate, coffee, candy bars and chips because they’re not healthy choices might want to think again. There’s just something about the atmosphere of a well-stocked snack bar in an arena that’s part of Canadian hockey.

The team at Toronto’s George Bell Arena set the standard for an arena experience, with the smell of popcorn, the music between faceoffs and the announcement of players’ names. In short, the arena creates an old-time hockey atmosphere that everyone appreciates.

The key factor in all these leagues are the volunteers who coach and help in different ways.

As a hockey dad, mom or grandparent, you see this every time you go to the rink. Children learn sportsmanship, competition, teamwork, respect, discipline and the value of hard work while making lifelong friends and having a great time.

Plus, they get better as the season goes on.

Kyle, for example, had never scored a hat trick before this incredible match. So he thought he would score two hat tricks – plus one.

Kyle Williams wears number 10 – just in case Berube is looking for a scorer in the next game.

Article content