As part of their continued partnership with the Lloydminster Minor Hockey Association (LMHA), the Jr. ‘A’ Bobcats are proud to announce a new ‘Adopt A Bobcat’ community initiative. Starting on Monday, November 26th, each Bobcat player will join a Novice or Atom minor hockey team in Lloydminster as a regular member of the team’s coaching staff.
Players will join their respective teams on the ice and behind the bench for all weekly practices and games that do not interfere with their regular Jr. ‘A’ time commitments. In total, twelve novice and eight atom LMHA teams will welcome the Bobcats, with minor hockey team selection primarily based on each Bobcat player’s respective billet family.
While engaging with their young fan base is one benefit to the Bobcats organization, it is certainly not the key motivator for the Bobcats. “All of our players have come to us through a minor hockey program somewhere, so this program is our chance to give back,” said Head Coach Ryan Parent, “it’s a small token of appreciation for the significant impact programs such as the one here in Lloydminster have made on our players’ lives.”
“The kids are going to love it,” added Business Manager Malcolm Radke, “our guys are already NHLers in their eyes, so getting some one on one time with the big kids will be an unforgettable experience.”
The Adopt-A-Bobcat program adds another strong component to the Jr. ‘A’ Bobcats partnership with the LMHA. In 2011-2012, the two organizations launched the LMHA Kids Zone, which sends two minor hockey teams to all Bobcats regular season home games, and includes a nightly draw for a gift certificate from Top Source For Sports. One lucky novice hockey player also gets the chance to skate with the Bobcats for pre-game warm ups as part of the Musgrave Agencies 7th Man program, also in its second season. On December 19th, the Bobcats plan to attend practices of all initiation-level LMHA teams.
This community initiative is another strong step in the right direction for the community-owned Bobcats, who pride themselves on their level of involvement with local fans. Along with the Adopt-A-Bobcat program, the Bobcats players also read to school children in all ten of the city’s Public and Catholic school divisions on a bi-weekly basis. In 2011-2012, the Bobcats partnered with 17 various organizations around the community, including Big Brothers Big Sister, Canadian Cancer Society, the MS Society, and the Autism Awareness Group.
Photo from left to right: Assistant Coach Kyle Tapp, Local Bobcats Kolten Anderson, Austin McDonald, Linden Springer, LMHA President Darrell Wagner
Photo credit Chris Roberts/lloydminstersource.com
