the #HT40 Foundation<\/a>, using Hayden\u2019s initials and hockey number for the name. He was a goalie, known for his warm personality, and trained at Prentiss\u2019 gym, where one of his jerseys now hangs near the entrance alongside those of NHL players.<\/p>\nIn addition to the registered nonprofit, the couple started The Shoulder Check, an initiative aimed at raising mental health awareness and encouraging people to reach out to and check in on each other. Prentiss immediately offered his support, as did several professional players at his gym and others in the local hockey community, including Zegras and his father, Gary, who is the foundation\u2019s secretary. A year or so later, in summer 2023, the puck dropped on the inaugural Shoulder Check Showcase at the 2,000-seat Terry Conners, with Zegras and Kreider headlining the lineups.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cause itself is something that\u2019s very relevant, prevalent, not just in the times we\u2019re living in but also to the community,\u201d said Kreider, who lived in Connecticut while with the Rangers and plans to stay there in his offseasons after a recent trade to Anaheim. \u201cIt\u2019s obviously a terrible, terrible thing that happened, but for them to organize the community and for the community to back them like they have, (it) just goes to show you not only what an important thing it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kreider saw a tangible growth in the event between year one and year two. He joked it could\u2019ve been from \u201cthe Matt Rempe effect\u201d \u2014 the 6-foot-9 forward, a favorite among Rangers fans, flew from his native Alberta to skate in the 2024 showcase. This year is set to feature more than 20 NHLers for the first time, though there won\u2019t be any active PWHL players like last year because of summer training schedules. As of Wednesday, the 2,000-seat Terry Conners Ice Rink was sold out.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully we get into an even bigger arena, maybe, make it an even bigger event,\u201d Gostisbehere said.<\/p>\n
Thorsen has received assists from NHL players throughout the leadup to Thursday\u2019s game. Zegras, who was with Anaheim before a June 23 trade to Philadelphia, joined Kreider in helping pick the two rosters, convincing multiple then-teammates to play. One of them, the Ducks\u2019 Frank Vatrano, is set to appear in his second Shoulder Check game, ahead of which he urged Thorsen to invest in better merchandise. Vatrano even put him in touch with a hat maker.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou let yourself down when you don\u2019t have great gear!\u201d Thorsen remembers Vatrano saying.<\/p>\n
Thorsen took the advice and ordered 500 dark blue hats with a white and teal Shoulder Check logo. He brought some into Prentiss\u2019 gym on Monday, handing one each to Rempe and Zegras, who were there for a training session. The NHL players immediately put them on.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur reach with this event is definitely growing year after year, and we have more people who are out just advocating for the message,\u201d Thorsen said. \u201cThat seems to be a bit of the arc or the narrative. Even guys just coming farther away for the game, which is great. It means you\u2019re reaching more people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before the game, everyone in attendance \u2014 from players on the ice to fans in the stands \u2014 is asked to place a hand on a shoulder of someone next to them. Then they make a pledge: \u201cI promise to reach out, check in and make contact,\u201d as Thorsen recited Monday in an interview. Thorsen envisions Shoulder Check growing. He delivered a keynote presentation about the concept at the AHL\u2019s yearly team business meetings this summer, and both the Devils\u2019 and Capitals\u2019 team foundations have made donations to #HT40, which has a stated goal of encouraging young people \u201cto simply be there for their peers, reinforcing social connections and leaving no one out, through our own initiatives and by supporting like-minded organizations working to make a similar impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
Someday, Thorsen would like to see NHL teams host dedicated Shoulder Check nights \u2014 not only to raise future awareness for his family\u2019s cause, but also so hockey fans everywhere can take time in the moment to tap a nearby shoulder and see how their neighbor is doing.<\/p>\n
\u201cCheck your shoulder: It goes with hockey and goes with everyday human life and checking on people,\u201d Gostisbehere said. \u201cYou never know what one phone call can do.<\/p>\n
He views that as a cause worth circling on the calendar.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we can do as professional athletes,\u201d he said, \u201c(is) to get that message out.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Photo of Chris Kreider celebrating at last year\u2019s game: Matthew Raney Photography \/ #HT40 Foundation )<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STAMFORD, Conn. \u2014 One day last summer, Jake Oettinger made a promise. In town for some offseason training,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":86926,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[3115,392,1302,293,3108,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-86925","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-anaheim-ducks","9":"tag-culture","10":"tag-new-york-rangers","11":"tag-nhl","12":"tag-philadelphia-flyers","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114904667546438252","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}