Chance the Gila monster greets kids at the Doc Pearson Community Center as Vegas Golden Knights forwards Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny host a street hockey clinic there on Monday, Nov. 18, 2019, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Vegas Golden Knights forwards Paul Stastny, left, and Max Pacioretty host a street hockey clinic at the Doc Pearson Community Center on Monday, Nov. 18, 2019, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Vegas Golden Knights forwards Paul Stastny, center, and Max Pacioretty work on stick handling with kids at the Doc Pearson Community Center during a street hockey clinic on Monday, Nov. 18, 2019, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Solanch Ramirez, 8, drives during a puck handling drill as Vegas Golden Knights forwards Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny host a street hockey clinic at the Doc Pearson Community Center on Monday, Nov. 18, 2019, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Vegas Golden Knights forward Max Pacioretty enjoys watching kids play street hockey at the Doc Pearson Community Center during a street hockey clinic hosted by him and teammate Paul Stastny, not pictured, on Monday, Nov. 18, 2019, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Kids at the Doc Pearson Community Center play street hockey during a street hockey clinic hosted by Vegas Golden Knights forwards Max Pacioretty, left, and Paul Stastny, not pictured, on Monday, Nov. 18, 2019, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Kids at the Doc Pearson Community Center play street hockey during a street hockey clinic hosted by Vegas Golden Knights forwards Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny on Monday, Nov. 18, 2019, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Vegas Golden Knights forward Max Pacioretty, left, plays street hockey with kids at the Doc Pearson Community Center as Matt Flynn tends goal during a street hockey clinic hosted by Pacioretty and teammate Paul Stastny on Monday, Nov. 18, 2019, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Vegas Golden Knights forward Paul Stastny celebrates a goal by his team as he and teammate Max Pacioretty, not pictured, host a street hockey clinic at the Doc Pearson Community Center on Monday, Nov. 18, 2019, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Vegas Golden Knights forwards Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny with Chance the Gila monster pose with kids at the Doc Pearson Community Center following their street hockey clinic on Monday, Nov. 18, 2019, in Las Vegas. They were there as part of a "Paul & Patches Pals" community program, which aims to improve the lives of kids in Clark County by introducing and teaching the game of hockey to disadvantaged youth. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Max Pacioretty, who was born in Connecticut, knows firsthand what it’s like to grow up in a non-traditional hockey market.
He takes the sport’s diversity issues seriously as one of the few players of Hispanic descent in the NHL. That’s why days like Monday are important to him.
Pacioretty and his Golden Knights teammate Paul Stastny took an hour out of their day to teach street hockey to a group of about 40 kids at Doc Pearson Community Center in North Las Vegas. It was part of their “Paul and Patches” program, which tries to spread the game to disadvantaged youth.
Only a few kids said before the event that they’d played hockey before. Pacioretty and Stastny hope that will change now.
“Obviously, coming from Montreal you never meet a kid that never played hockey,” Pacioretty said. “So to come in a gym full of kids who had never played and at the end say they were looking forward to playing again is really special.”
Pacioretty and Stastny have had their program for two seasons. They teach kids about hockey and then invite them to see the Knights. Many of Monday’s students will attend Saturday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers as the two players’ guests.
They hope those experiences encourage more kids to give hockey a chance at a young age. Expanding the game is important to both of them, Pacioretty said, and they’re willing to give their time to try and make it happen.
“We’ve been so fortunate with what this game has given to us,” Stastny said. “As you get older you realize it’s about sharing the wealth of knowledge that you have and trying to spread the joy this game has given us to others.”
