SAUGUS — With the Four Nations Tournament in full swing last week, Spaulding Adaptive Sports Centers and the Spaulding Sledgehogs came to Saugus with the goal of showing people that hockey is for everyone.
“Spaulding Adaptive Sports Centers partnered with the National Hockey League (NHL), the National Hockey League Player Association, the Boston Bruins, and the Northeast Passage Sled Hockey to host a “Try Sled Hockey for Free event,” said Elizabeth Dahlen, the Cape Cod coordinator for Spaulding Adaptive Sports Centers.
Dahlen continued that the mission of the event was to give boys and girls ages four to 17 of all abilities the opportunity to try sled hockey before the first-ever Reeve Hockey Classic.
The 2025 Reeve Hockey Classic was a two-game series between the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team and Canada at the Kasabuski Rink, according to Team USA Hockey’s website.
“We ended up getting over 25 kids on the ice, which was fantastic,” Dahlen said.
The event was hosted by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. It is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by advancing innovative research and improving the quality of life for individuals and families impacted by paralysis, according to the foundation’s website.
Spaulding Adaptive Sports Centers’ youth team, the Sledgehogs, was started in 2018, according to Dahlen. “We are the only youth sled hockey program in the Boston metro area and in the Eastern Massachusetts region,” she said.
The team practices every Sunday in Everett at the Allied Veterans Memorial Rink and competes regionally in local tournaments, scrimmages, and events. “We also compete nationally at the USA Hockey Sled National Championships, which is held in a different part of the country every year,” Dahlen said.
The program is open to children from ages four to 17, much like the free skate was.
“I think it’s super important to be able to showcase the sport of sled hockey, but also to raise awareness about the opportunities that exist,” Dahlen said. “Our program offers that community camaraderie and competition to youth athletes with disabilities, and we’re just thrilled to be able to highlight the sport and grow the game.”
The program will be hosting another “Try Sled Hockey for Free event” for kids ages four to 17 on March 22 at the John A. Ryan Arena in Watertown. Kids can sign up for the event at https://tryhockeyforfree.com/event_detail/3688.
