Former Red Wings Goalie Chris Osgood to Speak Wednesday at Bird Elementary

Three-time Stanley Cup Champion and Plymouth resident Chris Osgood will visit Bird Elementary in Plymouth on Wednesday as part of the Detroit Red Wings School Assembly Program sponsored by the Detroit Red Wings Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and The Kroger Company of Michigan, according to a news release.

The program, which is free to students but closed to the public, will take place from 2-3 p.m. in the school gymnasium. Former Red Wing Jiri Fischer visited Smith Elementary students in January this year as part of the assembly program.

Osgood and the Red Wings School Assembly Team will introduce more than 600 elementary students to the sport of hockey through a youth street and floor hockey initiative. The Wings will provide equipment and hands-on instruction to familiarize kids with the sport of hockey and to encourage an active and healthy lifestyle.

The School Assembly Team opens every program with an interactive lesson on exercise and healthy eating, followed by an energetic hockey shootout competition pitting students against teachers. Each school receives two full sets of floor hockey equipment complete with hockey sticks and nets courtesy of the Detroit Red Wings Foundation, as well as a Red Wings folder and a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan keepsake magnet that lists five fun afterschool activities.

Last season, the Red Wings School Assembly Team visited 100 local schools, reaching more than 40,000 students and providing 200 sets of equipment to physical education departments throughout southeastern Michigan. Notable players and alumni such as Niklas Kronwall, Valtteri Filppula, Daniel Cleary, Todd Bertuzzi, Kris Draper, Chris Osgood and Kirk Maltby have each attended an assembly.

A special fundraising initiative administered by the Red Wings School Assembly Program in 2011-12 helped local students raise more than $75,000 for a variety of charitable endeavors by selling tickets to Red Wings home games. In addition, more than 1,000 students who sold at least four tickets as part of the initiative were invited to attend a special open skate event at Joe Louis Arena last season.

This season, the Red Wings School Assembly Team plans to make 115 appearances. The most up-to-date schedule can be found at www.DetroitRedWings.com/schoolassemblyschedule.