Some guys just get it.
Pavel Datsyuk, the superstar of few words, has taken a couple weeks out of his summer for the past three years to give back to the community and provide a lucky group of kids with a unique hockey school experience.
Just outside of his hometown, Ekaterinburg, in Russia – in a setting that resembles Ontario’s Muskoka cottage country – Datsyuk ran two one-week camps that included instruction from NHL coaches, European players and a mixed martial-arts trainer.
“He continues to change my opinion of how people behave,” said Todd Woodcroft, a longtime NHL scout who has been involved with the camp since Day 1...
“The kids have complete access to Pav,” Woodcroft said. “We’ll walk in for a 40-minute break for lunch and he’s in there goofing around with the kids. He’ll just go around and sit at the tables and goof around with them.”
And while the purpose of the camp is to provide the kids with professional training ideas and a once-in-a-lifetime experience, Datsyuk’s other main message is that hockey is just plain fun.
“It’s all positive; it’s all with smiles,” Woodcroft said. “I think a lot of times the kids there aren’t used to having the positive stuff. Pav must have said it a million times: ‘Hockey is fun. Fall down, get up. It’s OK if you fall down. If you miss it’s OK. You can still smile because you’re lucky to play this game.’ It’s cool to see a guy like that who gets it.”
The guy gives back and does it with that same goofy smile. Gotta love Pavs.
Edited by Doc Holliday, 28 September 2010 - 04:25 PM.
