Red Wings, Lalonde Host "Street Hockey in the D"
With head coach Derek Lalonde and his son on hand as an ambassador, the Red Wings hosted their annual "Street Hockey in the D" event Wednesday morning at the Adams Butzel Complex in Detroit
Photo by author - Red Wings, Lalonde Host "Street Hockey in the D"Wednesday morning, head coach Derek Lalonde helped the Red Wings host their annual "Street Hockey in the D" event at the Adams Butzel Complex on Detroit's west side. Lalonde and the Red Wings joined forces with Jason McCrimmon—the NHL's 2023 Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award winner for his non-profit work with the Detroit Ice Dreams to bring hockey to the children of Detroit—to put on the event.
Lalonde, McCrimmon, and a team of volunteers ran a group of kids ranging from age six to 14 through a series of passing, shooting, and stick-handling drills, acquainting the group with the basics of the game. But Lalonde wasn't the only one doing the educating. After Kendrick Lamar's Drake-aimed diss track turned song of the summer "Not Like Us" came across the speakers to the delight of the assembled children, Lalonde revealed with a smile that he had learned of the feud between Lamar and Drake that very morning, thanks to his pupils.
More earnestly, Lalonde expressed his excitement at the chance to engage in this sort of community outreach program. "[I] did this event last year," explained the soon-to-be third-year head coach. "I've gotten to know Jason extremely well. [He's] so genuine. Love doing this. I brought my younger son last time, brought my older son this time, and we had a blast. This was awesome."
Of the chance to introduce a cohort of children to the sport, Lalonde said, "it's everything. You've gotta start somewhere, and...it's a blast...to see the kids into it. One kid wanted to play immediately but doesn't like the ice. Little problem there, but a great day."