Former Red Wing Jiri Fischer to Address Smith Elementary Students Today

Former Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jiri Fischer will visit Smith Elementary in Plymouth today as part of the Detroit Red Wings School Assembly Program.

The assembly, which is not open to the public, will run from 1:30-2:30 p.m. today in the school gymnasium.

Fischer and the Red Wings School Assembly Team will introduce 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, according to Red Wings officials. 

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 keepsake magnet that lists five after-school activities.

According to the team, 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 Plymouth resident Chris Osgood, Niklas Kronwall, Valtteri Filppula, Daniel Cleary, Todd Bertuzzi, Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby each have attended an assembly. 

Smith Elementary isn't the only Plymouth-Canton school to host the program this school year; The Red Wings School Assembly Team will stop at Bird Elementary on Feb. 13.