Special Hockey Fantasy Camp in Plymouth provides fun for all parties involved

 

By @MichaelCaples –

PLYMOUTH – It’s not often that you have trouble figuring out who is having the most fun at the rink.

At the second annual Special Hockey Fantasy Camp, however, one could easily make the case that the instructors were having even more fun than the participants.

The camp, presented by the Michigan Amateur Hockey Association, has been a joint effort of Toledo Walleye forward and Portage native Evan Rankin and MAHA disabled director Marie Sly.

The two met while Sly’s West Michigan Special Hockey Association took in a Walleye game in 2016.

“Two seasons ago, the West Michigan Special Hockey Association team was watching our team play, and they were giving us all fistbumps on the way out to the rink,” said Rankin, a Notre Dame alum well-versed in running hockey camps after founding Professional Hockey Academy. “It was really cool, and Marie captured a cool video. From there, we started talking to the parents and we just kind of started organizing something and it all came together, it came full circle.”

At the Special Hockey Fantasy Camp, players of all ages and skills were treated to two days of on and off-ice training and fun at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth.

The first camp – held at Eddie Edgar Ice Arena in Livonia – was so enjoyable for the special-needs players that before its conclusion, they were asking about Year 2. It’s the favorite weekend of the year for both Sly and Rankin, they both said, but the kids may like it even more.

“It’s their favorite weekend too,” Sly said. “We’ve had kids asking us at camp last year when we would be doing this again. Any time I ran into any of them this year, it was ‘when is camp, when is camp, when are we doing camp.’ They love it, they’re having fun, they’re tired, they’re breathing hard. We go swimming after skating and play some games and then get back on the ice, it’s great.”

Special guests have appeared for both years of the event. Last year, the Red Wings’ Jeff Blashill, Luke Glendening and Riley Sheahan visited. This year, with the event moving to USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Rankin’s teammate and former Plymouth Whalers star AJ Jenks helped at the camp, as did John Wroblewski and Seth Appert, USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program two head coaches.

“It’s special,” said Appert, who was hired by the national program on May 16 to fill Danton Cole’s vacancy. “I really appreciate the opportunity and the invitation to come out and work with these kids. Any time you get to work with kids, it’s the best, and it reminds you of why you play the game. Certainly to work with kids who have special needs is extra special and it’s an opportunity to show gratitude in action for all the great things we have here.”

The Walleye players and the NTDP coaches were joined on the ice by a host of volunteers and members of the Michigan Warriors hockey program. Wroblewski said he was impressed not only by the players on the ice, but by the men and women dedicating their time to help.

“I can’t say enough about it,” said Wroblewski, heading into his second year with the NTDP. “This is the roots of the program. It’s a summer day, and look at the volunteers we have out here, and everybody’s having a blast. Everybody’s pulling the rope together and the volunteer experience and response, it’s really cool to see.”

Appert said the interactions with the players served as a great reminder of why people are happy to spend their lives at the rink.

“They’re a blast,” the longtime head coach of RPI said. “One of the young guys out here, I asked him who his favorite player is. He said Dylan Larkin. I asked him why and he was talking about how fast he is and how much money he makes, but he said, ‘I bet he plays for the same reason I do, because it’s fun and he loves it.’ It’s no different. To see the smiles on the faces, it’s always refreshing and it brings you back to why you first started playing. I find as a coach, it’s always a great reminder that fun, yeah we have to work hard and all those things, but fun needs to be a huge component of what we do.”

Of course, it’s all for the players. The camp is a great experience for them, both in becoming better hockey players and having unique opportunities to interact with their peers.

“We look forward to this all year long,” Sly said. “You can’t beat it. You look around and you see everyone smiling and learning and laughing and being social, that’s huge.”