Minnesota Hockey partners with Defending the Blue Line

Defending the Blue Line was created by a group of Army National Guard soldiers from Minnesota.   The main focus of DTBL is to ensure that the children of our nations’ heroes are afforded every opportunity to play the game of hockey, regardless of the hardships they may face. 

 

“With the help of Minnesota Hockey, our goal is to make the hockey community aware of the needs of our military’s children,” said Shane Hudella, President of DTBL. “One of our projects is creating a large enough network to offer transportation assistance to and from the rink on a limited basis for those families that have a deployed service member.” 

 

Highlights of DTBL include: Financial Assistance - Through fundraisers, corporate sponsors, and private donations, DTBL will assist with registration fees and equipment costs for young players whose parents are actively serving in our Armed Forces; Ride to the Rink Initiative – A volunteer pool of adults is being established to help drive young players to the rink for a practice or game if one of their parents is deployed; Operation Ice to Sand - DTBL has teamed up with KwikRink to send a synthetic ice rink to one of the operating bases in Iraq, along with some skates and sticks. This will present the unique opportunity to see some of our soldiers skating in the desert between missions.

 

The partnership with Minnesota Hockey will include assistance in marketing and creating awareness for DTBL.

 

“What these soldiers are doing to ensure that these boys and girls get on the ice this winter is quite noteworthy,” said Mike Snee, Executive Director with Minnesota Hockey.  “By working together, we can raise awareness of DTBL and reach more families and players in need of our help.”

 

Defending The Blue Line is a non-profit organization with the goal of ensuring military members’ children have the chance to participate in hockey across the state of Minnesota. 

 

For additional information about DTBL please click here.