Penguins' Prospects Coach Local Kids At Brookline Dek Hockey Rink
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Penguins' prospects are on the bench, and they're the ones doing the coaching!
The dek hockey rink in Brookline is one of six city rinks built by the Penguins Foundation, with six more on the way. Wednesday was Youth Camp day.
Prime Penguins' prospect Brian Dumoulin likes to see the kids have fun.
"They all have a lot of energy and as a kid that's kind of what you want," he says. "Going to the game, and getting into the game. So it's kind of fun to come out here and be energized by how much energy those kids have."
The dek hockey players range in age up to about 12, at the oldest. That's not much younger than some of the Penguins prospects. Kasperi Kapanen, this year's round one draft pick, is just 17-years-old.
But that's not the case with Pens assistant coach Rick Tocchet. The kids he's coaching are too young to have ever seen him play.
"It's fun," Tocchet says of the Youth Day event. "I remember when I was a kid, we played in the street. And to have this facility is pretty amazing."
The fence is lined with proud parents and faithful fans.
Maclain Robertson gets sideline support from his mom, grandmother and great grandmother.
"Oh, he's been pumped," says his mother, Dawn Robertson. "He's been up since 9 o'clock this morning asking if he could come down early, really early to come down. So he's been ready. He's excited. He's been excited all week for it."
And that's what it's all about.
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