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A New Rink Near Kansas City Massively Boosted Try Hockey for Free Participation Numbers

By Dan Scifo, 11/04/24, 3:45PM MST

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A total of 110 kids showed up for the Try Hockey For Free, presented by Discover, event this past weekend

2024 Try Hockey For Free Kansas City Participants

Simon Watson believes the Kansas City metro area is longing for ice hockey.

Watson’s new facility, AdventHealth Sports Park at Bluhawk in nearby Overland Park, Kansas, is providing the space.

The rink hosted a Try Hockey for Free, presented by Discover, event, this past weekend, showcasing the area’s interest in the sport. 

“We’re extremely new, but we pulled it off,” Watson said. “We just opened our doors a week ago, we’re trying to fine-tune things and put processes in place, but considering everything going on, it was a fantastic event, and it went really well.”

Watson boasts a 25-year coaching career and five years as a professional hockey player within the Central Hockey League. This past spring, Watson became the director of ice operations at AdventHealth Sports Park at Bluhawk, and the 420,000 square-foot, multi-sport facility officially opened to the public on Oct. 26.

The park, which hosts more than 35 different community and travel sports, features an NHL/NCAA regulation-sized ice rink that can seat 1,500 spectators.

“Our rink is the shiny beacon of the entire facility,” Watson said. “We’re extremely short-handed on rinks in Kansas City, so this has been a good thing.”

Watson said he had 147 kids register for the event, with 110 showing up. That blew Watson away, as he only expected around 50 kids to participate due to the event taking place only a week after the facility opened.

“Looking at our numbers, it was extremely satisfying to know that we have an eager community for ice hockey and ice sports,” he said. “There’s a drive here for people to be part of it. It was great to see that.”

Watson noted that the registration numbers were around 30 participants prior to the public grand opening, but it increased quickly once community members knew the facility opened. He said that temporary occupancy was given in early October and a youth hockey organization of a little more than 100 players has already formed from 6U to the 14U division.

With another Try Hockey for Free event planned for February, Watson expects a similar turnout between 100 to 150 participants, which is encouraging to him.

“There’s a captive audience for hockey,” Watson said. “There are groups of people in the schools and connections established with our youth hockey programs, and also our social media pushes. It is really driving the interest level up in hockey and that has been really important.”

At the event this past weekend, Watson brought out walkers for the kids who have never skated. The kids with more experience were on a different section of the ice scrimmaging and participating in drills, while in the middle, coaches demonstrated stick handling techniques.

“There was nothing formal as far as coaching and training because there were 100-plus kids on the ice,” Watson said. “We just let it organically take place, which was my objective. I didn’t want to force instruction and just let it take place.”

There is an ECHL team, the Kansas City Mavericks, which plays near the new facility. But Watson said that growth of the game has been restricted in the Kansas City area because of a lack of ice surfaces.

Now with a proper facility in the area, Watson expects participation in the sport to grow tremendously. 

Watson expects the program doubling every year in size, estimating the figure to be around 400 by 2026. Watson said he’ll be ready for the expansion because there’s a second phase of construction at AdventHealth Sports Park, which is expected to include a second ice rink for hockey, along with a studio sheet for figure skating and training.

“We have pretty much every hour of our ice sold moving forward,” Watson said. “And when we get our second sheet, we’ll be able to grow with it.”

Watson added that there’s an eight-week learn to play session, run by the facility that already has 50 participants registered. Between the new facility’s program, the in-house teams and Try Hockey for Free events, there is a prime opportunity to grow the game within the Kansas City area.

“We expect those numbers to climb as we give kids an opportunity to get on the ice and learn the game,” Watson said. “The growth and the opportunity for growth is huge.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.

Photo courtesy Ian Briscoe/IB Photography

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