The Detroit Red Wings do community events throughout the year and have multiple opportunities that focus on building tomorrow’s hockey fan base. Street Hockey Games, “Try Hockey for Free” which has been a collaboration with Tim Hortons, visits to hospitals and countless unadvertised engagement activities by players and staff alike. In Edmonton, McDavid is well known to make random trips to hospitals unannounced and of course you can only imagine what that does for kids and parents alike.
Personal experience showed me one thing about hockey in general, and about the Red Wings specifically. I had to see it live. In 1983 when Yzerman was drafted, I was only about 6 and knew nothing about hockey. The Detroit Tigers were heroes, but my step dad was British and we knew more about Cricket and Soccer (Football to him) than we did about hockey. We played T ball/little league in Rockwood as well as soccer and someone always had a football or basketball for a pickup game. It was around 1987 that my education regarding hockey began.
It was a move for the family that saw us as neighbors to a “hockey family”. Weekend broadcasts out of Canada were recorded on VCRs, there were sticks, pucks and the smell of drying equipment (good Lord) in the garage. The boys who were about the same age as my younger brother and I traveled to Ann Arbor to play Pee Wee hockey. Finally, we went to a practice. A small ice rink off of Jackson Road in Ann Arbor that had a water park in the summer. The smell of the ice, the sound of metal skates scraping and pucks hitting boards, yelling, goal lights, it was like being in a video game.
Years later I descended the cement steps in Joe Louis Arena and that was mind blowing. Red jerseys, well “hydrated” fans, and it was the mid 90s. The games I saw on TV didn’t make a lot of sense, but up close this was the fastest most physical sport I’d ever seen. Then, the goal horn. 20k standing in unison and high fives from total strangers. It completely overwhelmed all of the senses.
There are pickup games of ball hockey but nowhere near the amount of football and basketball. Even those seem less and less as time has gone on. Sport competes with “gaming”. This is a time where it seems harder to pass down the passion. Detroit was a great place to be near to go from no hockey at all to being consumed by it. So, as the team rebuilds how do we see that same opportunity to ensure another generation that will carry the torch?
My favorite sight is often right after coming through the doors of the arena. Inevitably, a young kid is getting their first hat and starts looking at some of the displays and asking questions. Little Caesars Arena is now filling up and more of these opportunities are presented. Michigan has a lot in terms of collegiate, developmental and hockey culture available. We see collaborations with celebrities from the NHL and novelty games and experiences, but it still seems to be that hands on interaction that builds the next lifelong fan.
This is where I want to hear from you. How did you become a fan? How do you share that passion? It’s a great feeling seeing a kid get their first autograph or want to take up sticks and pucks offerings. Let me know in the comments as we get ready for the preseason. It’s another chance to bring new fans into the greatest game in the world.
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
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