SAUGUS — Thursday night was a special night for everyone involved in the Saugus-Lynnfield Youth Hockey program, as more than 60 players from the league were invited to take part in the TD Bank Pass Classic sponsored by the Boston Bruins at the newly renovated Kasabuski Rink.
Saugus-Lynnfield Youth Hockey was one of only 10 youth-hockey programs in all of New England chosen to participate in this year’s clinic.
“It’s such a cool event that our kids get to take part in, and we’re very grateful to be chosen out of so many applicants,” said Saugus-Lynnfield Youth Hockey Registrar David Lucey. “It’s just one more thing for us to use to keep these kids engaged and enjoying the game.”
The clinic was headed up by a pair of former Bruins players in Tom Songin and Lynnfield native Ken Hodge Jr.
Songin, a Norwood native who played at Boston College and is in the school’s Hall of Fame, played parts of three seasons with Boston from 1978 to 1981.
“We’ve been doing this for 13 years now and it’s always so much fun,” said Songin, who also played baseball for four years at Boston College. “TD Bank has been a wonderful partner and it’s been great to be able to help leagues offset the costs of their operations while also doing something for the kids. It’s great to have Kenny here as well; he’s a great guy and it’s great to have him here helping out with his former youth league.”
Hodge, who played high-school hockey at St. John’s Prep before also playing at Boston College, played for the Bruins from 1990-92 — making the NHL All-Rookie Team in 1990 after notching 30 goals and 29 assists.
“I grew up playing Lynnfield Youth Hockey, so being able to do this is really special to me,” said Hodge, whose famous father also played for the Bruins and had an iconic pool shaped like his legendary number eight at the family home in Lynnfield. “It’s so fun to come back and see some people that you know and also to show the kids that ‘hey, he’s from Lynnfield and he made it to the Bruins so maybe I can do that too.’
“When you’re a kid, all you think about is playing for your hometown team. I always tell kids and parents to have the kids play high-school hockey, have some fun and see what happens from there,” Hodge added.
After opening up the event with a large group photo, Songin and Hodge — flanked by a number of coaches from Saugus-Lynnfield Youth Hockey — broke the players up into smaller groups and started into the drills. The two former professionals got the kids going with some skating drills before moving on to stick and puck work.
“With 60 kids, you’re dealing with a lot of different skill levels and you’ve got to make sure everyone can complete the drills and have fun with it,” said Songin. “The most important thing for us is to make sure these kids are having fun.”
Along with the clinic, which was run by Boston Bruins Youth Development and Boston Bruins Alumni, each player in attendance was given two tickets to a Boston Bruins game. Boston Bruins Youth Hockey Coordinator Elizabeth Viola was also on hand to help with the drills as well as pass out a number of different souvenir items for the players.
Saugus-Lynnfield Youth Hockey was also awarded a $1,000 donation check from TD Bank to offset the costs of running the league.
“It’s great to see a youth program like this continue to feed the high-school programs at Lynnfield and Saugus High,” said Hodge, who now lives in Newburyport. “I see the leagues in Newburyport trying to do the same thing and keep kids engaged through youth sports so they can keep moving up the ladder. It’s great to see these kids striving to become players at the local high-school level.”
