Corey Wheelock, a 13-year-old first-year Bantam B player from St. Cloud, Minn., doesn’t care if no one knows or if the whole world knows about his prosthetic leg. He just goes about his business of having fun with his friends while he plays hockey

The Hoffman Estates Park District’s arena in Illinois is proclaiming Feb. 18-24 as “Girls Hockey Week” in an effort to bring more young girls into the sport from the Chicago area.

Zach Muth, 10, used a love of hockey to help him fight through leukemia and the Make-a-Wish Foundation gave him even more support when they arranged for him to skate with the Detroit Red Wings.

A 10,000-seat arena served as host for more than 250 players at the inaugural Cross-Ice Hockey Jamboree, which was a part of the third annual Hockey Day in Michigan and the inaugural Hockey Weekend Across America.

In a Suburban Hockey School effort to change pace from it’s “Learn to Play” clinics for children ages five through seven, a “Play to Learn” program was introduced last summer in Detroit to rave reviews from the kids and their parents.

The city of Sacramento is about as far away from a hockey hotbed as you will find in the continental United States. Despite that, the Capital Thunder Youth Hockey Association has continued to serve the community of Sacramento with youth hockey for over a decade.

The Erie (Pa.) Lady Lions have seen an explosion in its enrollment numbers for girls hockey at all age levels and continues to expand it successful program.

The arrival of the Phoenix Coyotes in the Valley of the Sun sparked a hockey movement among the youth in the state and the PF Chang's Tier I hockey organization is reaping the benefits.

An USA Hockey Magazine article prompted Gerry Letourneau and Ken Nadeau to help start the first Learn-to-Skate/Instructional Hockey Program for Children with Disabilities in the state of Rhode Island.

About 35 years ago, Russ Schultz helped start the Baldwin Blackhawk Hockey Association. Now at 74 years old, he appears at the United Civic Center every single day to make sure the arena is operating smoothly and all the events are moving forward as scheduled.

The holiday season is about so much more than receiving gifts. It’s truly about giving. Along those lines, Hockey has Heart - a Michigan-based non-profit organization formed by members of the amateur hockey community throughout the state - is directly involved with helping a family in need.

The Fresno Junior Hockey Club is one California organization serving youth in the greater Fresno area, which has managed to produce some of the country’s best talent despite its humble beginnings.

Ron White has been with the Southwest Youth Hockey League in Lakewood, Calif., since its inception 12 years ago, and has played no small role in the continual success of the league.

Long-time hockey enthusiast Larry Braun is doing his part to help hockey grow in Wyoming through playing on local adult teams and helping the Pinedale Hockey Association.

With the help of grassroots organizations like the Santa Fe Youth Hockey Association (SFYHA), perceptions about the sport are changing one child at a time in city and across New Mexico.

Margie Lowndes of Elkhorn, Neb., has been heavily involved at various hockey levels in Nebraska throughout the years. Her latest undertaking is being the commissioner of the Omaha Gladiator Athletic Association in the Midwest Amateur Hockey League.

Playing pond hockey becomes a little more challenging when you live in northern California where even in the middle of winter, it’s unlikely you’ll find an expanse of frozen water large enough to skate on. But Mattia Bortolotto and his father found just enough to lace up the skates.

Hockey in the state of Colorado is hardly a novelty. The Rocky Mountain state has typically had one of the strongest traditions throughout the country in the area of grassroots development of youth hockey. One of those associations leading the way is the Arapahoe Youth Hockey Association (AYHL), otherwise known as the Arapahoe Ice Warriors, located in the metro-Denver area.

Mike Knuble won’t ever forget his youth hockey days. Even as he became a star on the high school, college and professional level, the Grand Rapids, Mich., area native vowed that he would give something back to the youth hockey players in the area.

New for the 2007-08 season is a single league for the AA level, servicing the entire state of Florida called the Statewide Florida Hockey League.

The growth of girls hockey in the West is an exciting development for Rick Van Fleet, commissioner of the two-year old Western Girls Elite Hockey League and also director of hockey operations for the Arizona Girls Youth Hockey Association, based out of Phoenix and home of the Arizona Selects.

The Little Caesars and Compuware Bantam Major 93s teams could have saved themselves a lot of time and travel if they had just stayed home in Detroit last weekend. Instead, the rivals drove to the Chicago area to face each other for the third time this season.

New indoor facility helps youth hockey stay active and attract more competition to Pinedale Hockey Association.

You could say that Joel Breazeale is a big man in West Michigan hockey, especially when he splits up one of the two rinks at Georgetown Ice Arena in Hudsonville, Mich., in to separate sections for tiny youth players in the Grand Valley Amateur Hockey Association.

On a 90-degree day in late summer that hardly screamed hockey, All Seasons Ice Rinks in Naperville, Ill., was alive with the sport. Outside a team of young boys went through dryland training in the recently paved parking lot. Inside both rinks were active with teams beginning their tryout process.

His business career brought Mike Sullivan to the Milwaukee area six years ago. His work with the Phoenix Force youth hockey organization especially gives Sullivan incentive to stick around the area.

Joe Rogers has only full normal use of one hand, his left. His right hand, with which he catches, is deformed to the extent he only has two fingers from a birth deflect. But the birth defect didn't slow down his dream of being a hockey player.

How can Chris Chelios sit in a crowded restaurant on a Saturday morning only miles from his hometown in the Chicago area without being hounded for autographs? The answer is pretty easy, actually. This Chris Chelios is not that Chris Chelios.

His actual name is Emmanuel Hall Robert McLean. But in Omaha, he’s affectionately known as Motto McLean. Whatever you call him, he’s one of the pioneers of youth hockey in the Omaha, Neb., area.

Born in a goat barn and raised on donations, Missoula youth hockey thrives. 

Dean Wilson has been a familiar face in the coaching ranks in Fargo, N.D., for more than a quarter of a century. And he expects to be hanging around for some time to come.

Despite its short history, the Anaheim Junior Ducks have quickly established themselves as a model organization within the hockey community in southern California.

The Muskegon Winter Sports Complex in Michigan’s Laketon Township is a unique facility with three outdoor ice-skating rinks, but the most intriguing part of the facility its 50-year-old Zamboni machine.

Years of service across a broad range of jobs leaves Massachusetts hockey with a valuable advocate in Nick DeMarco.

Two 15-year-old American players, Jon Merril from Michigan and KJ Tiefenwerth from New York, recently completed the 2007 IIHF Hockey Development Camp in Vierumäki, Finland.

Tiefenwerth finished the camp as the No. 7 scorer (7 goals, 6 assists) and Merril netted 5 goals and 3 assists. Learn more at www.iihf.com through stats, notes and camp facts.

ESL Sports Centre, youth hockey programs have much to be thankful for thanks to Ray Maluta's work as a coach, manager and volunteer.

The hockey programs at Mennen Arena in Morristown, N.J. have kept growing and growing, along with their home ice.