CHL Mississippi RiverKings

RiverKings players visit Presbyterian Day School

Published on February 24, 2004 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Mississippi RiverKings News Release


MEMPHIS, Tenn.—Memphis RiverKings forward Jonathan Gagnon and defenseman Jasmin Gelinas visited with 65 enthusiastic fifth-grade boys at Presbyterian Day School in Memphis on Monday as part of the Newspaper In Education (NIE) program with The Commercial Appeal.

The 15-week NIE program distributes Saturday and Sunday copies of The Commercial Appeal to participating classrooms. Teachers also receive a "Reading, Writing & RiverKings" workbook with weekly activities to be used, along with the newspaper, as a classroom tool.

The two players introduced themselves and gave the children the opportunity to ask questions.

Gelinas told the students he had been skating since he was about three years old.

"Pretty much where we're from, hockey is a religion," Gelinas said. "They put skates on us as soon as we're able to walk."

A great deal of the hockey fever in Canada is due to the weather, Gagnon said.

"Right now there's four feet of snow back home," Gagnon said. "Because there's lots of ice and snow, there are outdoor rinks everywhere."

Community Relations Director Michael Rice told the classes that officials freeze the puck, which is made of vulcanized rubber, to keep it from bouncing on the ice. During a slapshot, the puck may travel up to 100 miles an hour.

The boys had several questions about the players' injuries and the fighting aspect of hockey.

"There are guys on the team whose job is to make sure the other team doesn't abuse our good players," Gagnon said. "That's their job, to fight."

Gagnon went on to describe his position. "The job of a forward is to create some opportunities to score offensively," he said.

The students also wanted to know about the players' role models.

"I would say my dad off the ice, but on the ice I'd have to say Raymond Bourque, who played for the Boston Bruins," Gelinas said.

"My parents had the greatest influence on me early in life," Gagnon said. "My mom would probably be my role model. She's a really successful woman."

After the question and answer session, Rice divided the class into two teams, with Gagnon on one and Gelinas on the other. For the majority of the rest of the period, the students played an animated game of board hockey. Moving down the length of the rink, scoring and making saves were accomplished by correctly answering questions taken from Sunday's Commercial Appeal.

Questions came from a wide range of articles and newspaper sections, and included questions ranging from the price of a Toyota Tacoma 4x4 advertised in the paper and the name of the country that recently reported an outbreak of the Bird Flu; to questions about the controversy surrounding Memphis Light, Gas, and Water company; "See Rock City" paintings on barns throughout the South; the Olympic boxing trials; the injury of Philadelphia Flyers player Jeremy Roenick; and much more.

The game ended 2-0 in favor of Gagnon's team. When it was over, the players autographed bumper stickers (and a couple of students' MYHL Memphis Blues jerseys) for the class.

"The kids were smart," Gagnon said afterward. "They seemed happy to see us and were really into the game."

"It's always nice to interact with the kids," Gelinas said. "It reminds us of when we were that age."

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Central Hockey League Stories from February 24, 2004


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