Colorado Avalanche: Cale Makar Leads Break The Ice Event – Updated

The Colorado Avalanche started their regular Break The Ice event just one game into their season with Cale Makar as the main host.

The Colorado Avalanche host a series of community programs. One of the events they host is called Break The Ice, an ice hockey clinic for children that’s presented by Crescent Point Energy. The clinic is held in conjunction with local youth hockey associations and focuses on the fundamentals of ice hockey.

Well, if anyone knows the fundamentals of ice hockey, it’s our rookie defenseman, Cale Makar.

The clinic took place at the Pepsi Center on October 4 after the Avalanche’s practice.

Youth hockey players in the U.S. play under the following classifications:

• Mite: 8 and under
• Squirt: 10 and under
• Peewee: 12 and under
• Bantam: 14 and under
• Midget: both 16 and under and 18 and under

Information about the player clinics doesn’t state directly, but the participants seem to range along the whole spectrum of classifications.

That said, the lion’s share of the participants appear to be in the younger age ranges:

UPDATE: This particular Break The Ice session was part of the team’s Hockey Fights Cancer initiative. The clinic featured more than 60 children who themselves are fighting cancer or who have otherwise been affected by cancer.

The team doesn’t say how it chooses which Avs players will host the events. They hold several throughout the year, and I’ve seen many different players involved. You usually find some coaching staff and Ice Patrol members, too.

And, as you can see, the social media team is in mid-season form:

By the way, you might notice another player is helping out with the Break the Ice event — Joonas Donskoi. For some reason, he’s in tennis shoes rather than ice skates, so he appears to be more on the perimeter of the action.

He seems to be enjoying himself, though:

Or maybe he’s just laughing in self-deprecation:

Kids say the darnedest things.

Cale Makar, on the other hand, was a full participant:

Now, for some reason, I get visions of Cale in 10 or 12 years, when he’s on the ice with his own children, perhaps seeing the easiest way to discipline them would be to toss them in the penalty box. You have to wonder how many NHLers do that with their own kids.

Of course, this particular penalty box foray may have been justified:

Some fans seem to think the tyke was sent to the box because he roots for an NHL team other than the Avs. I’ve got to say, if you participated in an event like this with Avs players yukking it up with you, how could Colorado not be your team?

The day finished with an adorable episode of Cale Cam:

I’m a big fan of this new institution.

In fact, I’m a big proponent for teams reaching out to the community. Teams like the Colorado Avalanche live and work within communities here in the city, and it’s good for them to make an effort to form bonds with member of said communities.

Well, it’s not a community effort per se, but tomorrow the Avalanche will return to action when they host the Boston Bruins. We’ve had a long five-day hiatus from hockey, and I’m glad it’s over.