For Immediate Release, November 14, 2012

For more information:
Barclay Kruse, Herb Brooks Foundation Media Contact
763.785.5634 office
763.458.6615 cell
bkruse@mnsports.org 

John McClellan, Herb Brooks Foundation Executive Director
763.785.5645 office
612.919.9666 cell
jmcclellan@herbbrooksfoundation.com 

Herb Brooks Foundation receives grant from NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund

NHL Players donate 90 pairs of skates and 50 sets of sticks and helmets to local youth

Blaine, Minn. (November 14, 2012) -- The Herb Brooks Foundation (HBF) announced today they have received a donation of 90 pairs of skates and 50 sets of sticks and helmets, courtesy of the National Hockey League Players’ Association’s (NHLPA) Goals & Dreams fund.

This donation of hockey equipment from the NHLPA Goals & Dreams will be dedicated to supporting the HBF’s Rink Rat Program. The Rink Rat program, held in conjunction with the Minneapolis Police Activities League and Minneapolis Public Schools, is dedicated to providing inner-city children the chance to play, learn and love the game of hockey at no cost. The Rink Rat program has served nearly 2,000 kids since its inception in 2009. 

“The Herb Brooks Foundation is dedicated to expanding the pyramid of youth hockey,” said HBF Executive Director John McClellan. “For that to happen, youth players and their families need the chance to try the game at relatively no cost. The donation by NHLPA Goals & Dreams will make that a reality for all the kids playing in our Rink Rat program.”

"Learning the game, as many know, is a tremendous challenge,” said Dan Brooks, HBF Board Member and the son of Herb Brooks. “What can make it tougher is if the kids can't play in proper gear. Providing kids with new equipment takes so much of the challenge away. We are humbled and honored by this generous gift from the NHLPA."

“As an NHL player, I’m grateful for all the help I got when I was just learning the game in Minnesota,” said Ryan Carter, New Jersey Devil center and NHLPA member, who grew up in White Bear Lake, Minnesota and played his college hockey at Minnesota State-Mankato. “I’m proud that the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund and the Herb Brooks Foundation are helping young Minnesota hockey players by providing these equipment grants.”

About the Herb Brooks Foundation:
The Herb Brooks Foundation is dedicated to growing the game of hockey and giving the game back to the kids. Founded in 2003 by Dan Brooks and Kelly Brooks Paradise, Herb’s family and friends created the foundation to preserve his legacy by continuing his life’s work by growing the game by “making hockey fun for kids and letting them learn to love the game the way we did.” 

The Herb Brooks Foundation is based in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. The Foundation has offices at the National Sports Center in Blaine, where they manage the Herb Brooks Training Center at the Schwan Super Rink, a dry land hockey training facility that fulfills the priority that Herb Brooks placed on dry land training.

About the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund:
In 1999, the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) launched the Goals & Dreams fund as a way for the players to give something back to the game they love. The players’ program has donated full sets of hockey equipment that has benefited more than 60,000 economically challenged children in 25 countries and assisted with upgrades and the building of hundreds of arenas world-wide. To date, Goals & Dreams has donated more than $21-million to grassroots hockey programs around the world making it the largest program of its kind. For more information on the NHLPA, please visit www.nhlpa.com.