Drake and more than 100 first-timers hit the ice (10 photos)

Scott Utter showed up at the Pee Wee Arena this morning to take his four-year-old grandson, Drake, out for his first ever skate.

Drake, he said, is a high-functioning autistic junior kindergarten student at Kiwedin Public School.

“He wants to be right out here right away,” said Utter. “It’s the first stepping stones to who knows, a potential hockey player."

“It’s all about patience and giving him a chance.”

And, as it turns out, Drake was just one out of more than a hundred kids given a chance at a local hockey rink.

Around 140 students from Kiwedin Public School in Sault Ste. Marie laced up their skates and strapped on their helmets at the Soo Pee Wee Arena for the Community First Motivate2Skate event.

“It’s an awesome opportunity for students that don’t necessarily play organized sports after school, or don’t have the opportunity to skate, to come out and try it and be active,” Kiwedin Public School Principal Joe DeRosario said.

The skates and helmets were all donated, following a call issued to the public for used gear by Community First Credit Union this past fall. Local school principals were then asked to submit a letter of interest, in addition to a letter outlining why their school would be a good choice to take part in the event.

DeRosario said many of his students have never had a chance to skate until today, when the donated skates and helmets were taken out of large plastic bins and given to them while they were seated in the bleachers of the hockey arena.  

“That’s the biggest barrier for the kids at our school,” DeRosario said. “They don’t necessarily have their own equipment to be able to do this, even on the outdoor rink in the city. So they were very excited to be able to come and try it out.”

The students were joined on the ice by Soo Greyhounds players Barrett Hayton and Jacob LeGuerrier, in addition to the hockey team’s mascot, Dash.

Each student will also receive a ticket to Wednesday night’s Soo Greyhounds game against the Flint Firebirds.