Carter goes to camp

Wild forward gives back and smiles abound at Hockey Moms USA Camp

Minnesota Hockey Magazine.com joined forces this month with Hockey Moms USA, the Herb Brooks Foundation and special guest instructor Ryan Carter of the Minnesota Wild to provide kids in need with an unforgettable hockey camp experience.

“I was extremely proud to be a part of the camp that Hockey Moms USA put on,” Carter said. “It was refreshing to see the energy the kids had playing the very game I grew up loving.”

Ryan Carter gives instruction to players at the Hockey Moms USA Hockey Camp. (Photo by Scott Tiffany)

Carter headlined a group of local instructors in the three-day Hockey Moms USA Hockey Camp the week of Aug. 10-14 for junior gold, bantam, peewee and squirt aged players at the White Bear Lake Sports Center. Players from Minneapolis, St. Paul Cottage Grove, North St. Paul and White Bear Lake participated along with western Wisconsin skaters from Baldwin, New Richmond and Roberts.

Many of the 60 campers on hand were there thanks to scholarships they received to attend.

“The campers skated hard, but it was hockey at its purest, it was played for fun,” Carter said. “It is a great thing Hockey Moms USA is doing to grow the game of hockey and make it accessible to everyone.”

Becki Boldt, founder of Hockey Moms USA, an organization dedicated to providing financial assistance to families wishing to participate in hockey, is proud of success of the inaugural event and thankful for the work done by Carter and fellow staff members Paul Ballis, Kelly Rittenhouse and Pete Schauer.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better first year with the camp,” Boldt said. “I know both the parents and the kids were pleased.”

The camp received donations from DeOdorBox and the White Bear Lake VFW while Shock Doctor, Black Biscuit and Dick’s Sporting Goods made contributions which went into a goodie bag each player received. Lunch was provided to the campers on the final day as well.

“So, not your typical hockey camp, because most hockey camps don’t do that; we wanted to make it special for the kids,” Boldt said. “I’ll be putting together a scrapbook of all the pictures [taken at the camp] for every kid. We took a ton of them.”

Winwell/Warrior and the National Hockey League Players’ Association donated jerseys to the camp.

Minnesota Hockey Magazine.com founder Scott Tiffany was thrilled to be involved with the event and praised Boldt’s work.

“Becki Boldt did an amazing job putting this camp together and getting Ryan Carter to be a part of it,” Tiffany said. “We are looking forward to building out the Hockey Moms USA brand on our website and are looking forward to being a part of the camp next year.”

Carter (back left) and fellow coaches take a moment to enjoy a photo opportunity with camp participants. (Photo by Scott Tiffany)