Pirates in the Kingdom

Portland Sled Hockey Pirates players Dan Sousa and Craig Gray accompanied by Danny's lovely bride Linda took the long drive to the Northeast Kingdom of Burlington, Vermont on September 17th to work with the newly formed Vermont Sled Cats of the Northeast Disabled Athletic Association. President of the NDAA and sled hockey player Patrick Standen, who has played with the Northeast Passage team, has purchased 10 new sleds and equipment. The program is regularly having 10 or more skaters turn out for its practice. The Vermont Sled Cats will follow the model of the New England Bruins, Portland Sled Hockey Pirates, and the New Hampshire Wildcats in developing an integrated program that encourages players with and without disabilities to play together.

"I am very impressed with the job Patrick has done getting his program off the ground," said Gray, who had visited the Burlington area in January of 2003 and found only the bare bones of a program, but did find Patrick and his enthusiasm. "He formed the NDAA and put this team together in a very short time frame." The Sled Cats are scheduled to play in their first official game with the Connecticut Wolf Pack in the next couple of months and are trying to schedule another couple of games with the new program in Bangor, Maine.

Danny and Craig ran a practice that consisted of skating drills, passing drills, shooting drills and a scrimmage (photos.) Danny found there to be the makings of some pretty good players in the Vermont mix. "They skated very well and its obvious that these folks have the commitment," he said. Danny is very familiar with start-up programs as he was instrumental in getting the Dallas Sled Stars program off the ground, which is now widely recognized as one of the stronger programs in the United States.   

Ever the strategist, Danny calculated that Ben & Jerry's was only 1 mile off the route to Burlington and convinced Linda and Craig that no trip to the Northeast Kingdom would be complete without the obligatory stop.     

Return to Maine Sled Hockey Home Page

Maine Sled Hockey Program
255 Pine Point Road, Scarborough, ME 04074
207-883-0420    207-885-5593 Fax
www.mainesledhockey.org
MaineSledHockey@maine.rr.com
Copyright © 2005, Maine Sled Hockey Program

Fast Facts: Sled hockey is one of the fastest growing disabled sports in the world with new sled hockey programs and sled hockey teams showing up everywhere. There are about 50 adult sled hockey teams and junior sled hockey teams in the USA. Sled hockey is played in several countries. Sweden claims to have originated sled hockey. The US Sled Hockey Team won the gold medal in the 2002 Paralympics. The Prudential Northeast Sled Hockey League is the first organized adult sled hockey league in the USA. Sled hockey players are extremely committed to the sport of sled hockey and regularly teach sled hockey clinics and participate in sled hockey outreach events and sled hockey exhibitions. Anyone wishing to try sled hockey should have ample opportunities to play.