Milestone first tender signing for NAHL’s Grit BY MATT MACKINDER COLORADO HOCKEY HUB After the NAHL announced last month that the Colorado Grit would be joining the league for the 2023-24 season, it was only a matter of time before the team began to tender players for next season. The team’s first signing, Marek Thompson, is a local Fort Collins native playing the 2022-23 season on the blue line for the Lawrence Academy in Groton, Mass. Thompson said it’s very exciting to be given the opportunity to play for the Grit next season. “Hockey is a small world,” said Thompson. “Rhett Gordon, one of my former coaches, talked to (Grit coach Steve) Haddon and (owner David) Clarkson about me, and Haddon reached out to me for a conversation. It’s an honor to be the first tender, especially as a hometown guy, and it’s practically a dream come true to return to Colorado to play juniors in such a competitive Continued on Page 21
Hockey harmony: The life of a hockey mom
Eastvale native and Boston College star Cayla Barnes was named Hockey East Defender of the Month for January. More on page 20. Photo/John Quackenbos
BY TANYA GABRICK I have been a hockey mom for over 10 years. The beginning is important but not as important as the story. The story starts with learning to skate, hockey tots and house play, beginning at age five. It quickly and accidentally turned into travel hockey, known to some as club hockey. He was eight at that time. The excitement is real. The commitment is intense. The life is awesome….most of the time. When they are younger, you find the celebration in all the positives. You scored the great goal, you skated faster than the others, you blocked so many shots. As they age, it turns into, what was that pass? Stick on the ice! Don’t shoot at the chest! My son who started at five and did the learn to skate, the hockey tots and played house, has turned into a 15-year-old who has played travel since the age of eight and now plays both travel and high Continued on Page 5
FEBRUARY 2023