Photo by Stefan Kubus/MiHockey

Darren McCarty joins Red Wings Street Hockey Summer Tour in Fraser (with photos)

Photo by Stefan Kubus/MiHockey
Photo by Stefan Kubus/MiHockey

 

By @StefanKubus –

FRASER – The Detroit Red Wings’ Street Hockey Summer Tour made its latest stop at Meijer in Fraser, and a special guest made an appearance.

Four-time Stanley Cup champion Darren McCarty took time to serve as a guest coach at a fully-booked free clinic of 120 kids ages 7-12.

“It’s great, the middle of summer, you see a little Red Wing fever going,” McCarty said. “To see all the young kids and even the parents and grandparents just to be out here on a nice day, just to be able to do this and to come out and share whatever knowledge, but just to make sure these guys are having a good time, staying hydrated, obviously with Meijer, what they’ve done. They do so great in the community, so it’s always been the perfect marriage.”

Players participated in a one-hour clinic – which involved stickhandling, shooting and off-ice training drills – followed by a 30-minute street hockey game.

While the kids undoubtedly had their fun, McCarty also had some fun of his own teaching the young players the importance of hitting the net with their shots. If a player missed the net, he had to do push-ups off to the side before getting back in line.

“You miss the net, you’ve gotta do push-ups,” McCarty said with a smile. “Those are the rules. i didn’t invent it. Scotty (Bowman) must’ve invented that.”

The former Grind Line forward said he didn’t want to bog the kids down with too much information, but rather let them enjoy themselves.

“Just have fun playing the game, it doesn’t matter what skill level it is,” McCarty said. “Sort of like golf: just go out and do it. Hockey is an expensive sport, but hockey’s hockey, whether you’re on your knees in your living room or you’re playing with a ball or playing with a pop can. It’s the same thing, so what you try to instill is maybe a little bit of fundamentals, maybe how to hold the stick or how to shoot or pass. That can be done, and hitting the net, scoring goals, doesn’t matter. There’s something to it. It’s like draining putts; it just always feels good.

McCarty added that events like this can certainly help promote youth hockey in Michigan, granted it’s already “really in good shape.”