NHLPA Auctions Off Jerseys for Goals & Dreams
By Stephen Laroche | Beckett Hockey Editor
For the past 15 years, the National Hockey League Players’ Association has helped thousands of children worldwide have an opportunity to play hockey through its NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund. As part of this celebration, fans and collectors have a fantastic opportunity to help out through a series of special auctions featuring some historically significant game-used jerseys.
The NHLPA will be holding a multi-city tour over the next few months and the first stop took place in St. Paul, MN on November 18. Each stop of the tour includes a visit from current players and ambassadors and a donation is made to local programs. The first group of auctions, which are being held via the Frozen Pond website, will benefit Defending the Blue Line and Hastings Minor Hockey and includes memorabilia from local heroes Ryan Suter, Zach Parise and Mike Modano.
This season, the Goals & Dreams fund anticipates donating a projected $750,000 in new hockey equipment that will benefit grassroots hockey programs throughout the world. Since its inception, more that $22,000,000 in donations have played a big part in helping 70,000 children participate in the game.
“We’re the Players’ Association, so we are the players,” said Jonathan Weatherdon, Director, Communications for the NHLPA. “We have done over $22-million in equipment drops all over the world. There’s a lot of equipment drops that were done from programs that came through NHL players and going back to their home cities or where they played at different points in their career.
“Player involvement has been very key. It’s something that we talk over with the guys when we meet with every team on the fall tour. We have our summer player meetings where the people that run the program make presentations to the players and oftentimes coming out of that, we have guys who come to us out of the session and say they want to do something with their hometown. Off our website, anyone can also apply to the program, so that’s helped people in hockey countries and many non-hockey countries such as Australia and Costa Rica. When you’re giving away $22-million, you can make a pretty good impact.”
The funds that support Goals & Dreams are generated by the players themselves through licensing initiatives such as trading cards. Numerous players have lent their time and support to it over the years and even retired players are coming to help at events. Future scheduled stops for the tour are scheduled for Ottawa for Sledge Hockey of Eastern Ontario and the Ottawa Inuit Children’s Centre (December 8), Vancouver benefiting BC Minor Hockey and KidSport BC (December 18), Toronto for Eastern Commerce Secondary School and the HEROS program (January), and Los Angeles (January) for the Hawthorne Police Hockey Project. Each stop has a variety of events that will vary by location.
“It depends on the different events,” said Weatherdon. “For example, a couple of weeks ago in Minnesota it was with the military, so there was some hockey play, but they were also going through some exercises like obstacle courses military personnel would go through. It really depends on the various events. We are having one in Ottawa on Monday with Chris Phillips and Zack Smith of the Ottawa Senators and we’re hoping to confirm another couple players as well. That one will have a game of hockey, but it will also have sledge hockey as well. They are going to rotate two minute shifts. We will have different representatives there, including Laureen Harper, the Prime Minister’s wife. She will be there doing the ceremonial puck drop because she’s involved with one of the organizations that we’re donating equipment to.”
While there has yet to be an NHL player that has come through with the support of the Goals & Dreams fund, there has been one notable recipient to date in Ben Delaney, who won a bronze medal in sledge hockey with Canada at the 2014 Paralympic Games in Sochi. At the age of 12, he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (which Terry Fox suffered from) and took up the sport in 2010. He will be appearing at their Ottawa event next week and received a sled previously through an equipment drop.
The first group of three jersey auctions is currently running at – and visitors can bid on Suter’s United States jersey that was worn at the 2014 Winter Olympics, Parise’s 2009 NHL All-Star Game Eastern Conference jersey and Modano’s Western Conference sweater from the same contest. The auction will end at 8:00 EST today.
For Senators fans, their selection of jerseys is strong as they will soon be able to bid on Erik Karlsson‘s 2011 NHL All-Star Game sweater that he wore while playing for Team Staal and Milan Michalek‘s Czech Republic jersey from Sochi. The one that may get the most attention, though, is the 2004 NHL All-Star Game Eastern Conference jersey worn by the soon-to-be-retired Daniel Alfredsson. Bidding will begin on December 8.
Next up are three jerseys from members of the Vancouver Canucks and the Sedin twins are prominently featured. Starting on December 18, the bidding commences for a Daniel Sedin Team Sweden sweater from the 2014 Olympics while his twin brother, Henrik, is represented via a 2012 NHL All-Star Game jersey he wore while skating for Team Alfredsson. Finally, a 2001 NHL All-Star jersey of retired Canucks legend Markus Naslund will be offered up for bid.
On January 1, 2015, Maple Leafs fans will be able to ring in the new year by bidding on Phil Kessel‘s Team Chara jersey from the 2012 NHL All-Star Game and James Van Riemsdyk‘s Team USA sweater from the 2014 Winter Olympics. The biggest prize of the group, though, belonged to the club’s all-time leading scorer, Mats Sundin with a Team World gamer he wore during the 2001 NHL All-Star Game.
The last group of game-used greatness comes on January 6 courtesy of the defending Stanley Cup champs and the bidding is expected to be intense for an 2014 Olympic jersey from American goaltender Jonathan Quick and the 2011 NHL All-Star Game Team Lidstrom jersey that was donned by Anze Kopitar. Rounding out the auction action is a 2001 NHL All-Star Game sweater worn by Hockey Hall of Fame member Luc Robitaille during his appearance with Team North America.
Heading into the future, things are looking positive for the Goals & Dreams fund and it should continue to help grow the game throughout the world.
“To me, there’s no end in sight,” said Andrew Wolfe, the NHLPA’s Manager, Communications. “The players all understand that they’re very lucky to be in this position they are. Not very many people, less than one percent, of hockey players will make it to the NHL. They feel very strongly about giving back to the game that’s given them so much. That’s truthful, they really want to give back and it’s something, as an Association, the guys have always been proud of. I have no doubt that we’ll be celebrating our 20th anniversary and our 25th anniversary. I don’t see any end in sight. The program has continued to grow and do good things.”
Stephen Laroche is the editor of Beckett Hockey and Beckett Basketball magazines. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an e-mail to him at SLaroche@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Stephen_Laroche.
