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Sports

Plymouth Whalers Election Day Sticks and Pucks Session a Landslide Hit, Attendees Say

Young players, families enjoy Tuesday morning session at Compuware Arena.

Based on the mood of the electorate on Tuesday at , the Plymouth Whalers Election Day Sticks and Pucks session was a landside hit.

Here’s a sampling of opinions from the parents as they watched their sons or daughters participate in an informal skating and hockey session with the Whalers, followed by a pizza party:

Colleen Higgins, Rochester, MI (Brendan, 10 and Ryan, 8):  “Ryan plays house out of the Onyx, Brendan plays out of the Detroit Skate Club for the USA Patriots.

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“It’s all worth it.  They love hockey and they love the Whalers, so playing with them (at the sticks and pucks session) gives them a great opportunity. We try to provide them with different, fun things to encourage them to play the game.

“It gives them more of a chance to goof around and just have fun with the game versus having the game being completely structured and always having a practice and always having a game.  It’s something fun. We’ve been watching the Whalers since Brendan was born.  For them to come out and play with the Whalers is a real treat.

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“My younger son (Ryan) really likes Danny Vanderwiel.  It’s one of those things – these kids pick somebody and they kind of run with it.  Tyler Seguin was always my older son’s favorite.  He’s having a real fun time watching Tyler play in the NHL.

“We’ve been coming here since Brendan’s been real young.  James Wisniewski’s always been one of my favorites, so we’ve grown up with the Whalers.  It’s nice to watch them go from this level into the NHL.”

Greg Still, Plymouth (nephew, Jacob Lahti, 5):  “He’s having a good time and so am I watching him.  The attraction is he’s so pleased to be here.  He loves watching the Whalers and we love watching the games.  He loves seeing the Whalers close up.  He’s a big fan of (Whalers captain) Beau Schmitz.  He had the opportunity to have Beau lace his skates this morning and Jacob was in love with that.” 

Wendy Kime, Canton (daughter Maggie Kime, 6, son Andrew Kime, 4):  “We’re all Whaler fans. Andrew plays here out of the mini-mite program and Maggie plays for the Livonia Lady Knights.  My daughter’s done this before and likes the interaction with the players.  I think she likes the fact that the guys are younger and she can relate to them.  The Whalers (as a group) are very down-to-earth, very even keel.” 

Michelle Sibley, Farmington Hills (sons nine-year-old Garrett and five-year-old Gavin): “I love the fact that this is completely interactive and they get excited about playing hockey.  Practices can be a little boring at times, so they love coming out and interacting with the players.”

There was even a light Detroit Red Wing connection to the session:

Erica Blashill, (son Teddy) wife of Red Wing assistant coach Jeff Blashill“This takes up some time in the day with a day off from school.  He got some extra ice time, which I think is always important to him.  He got some energy out and made some new friends and introduced them to me downstairs.”

“Teddy follows the Whalers.  If you look on his arm, he’s got a temporary tattoo.  He doesn’t have a favorite Whaler (laughing)…he’s probably picking out one as we speak.  “It looked like there was a lot of activity on the ice and a lot of energy. The players seemed like they were into it.  I think it’s cool that my son can identify with younger hockey players and look up to them.”

John Sweeney, Livonia (grandson Aaron Blight, 5):  “This was fun and he had a ball, skating with the Whalers. He’s part of the Learn-to-Skate Program here (at Compuware Arena) and plays on the mini-mite team here.  The Whalers are all his idols and he had a ball skating with them. 

“It’s a Whalers de-jour.  Mitch Heard used to be his favorite Whaler, but now I think it’s Jamie Devane.  Last week he was skating with Devane and learned how to pass back-and-forth.” 

Deb Bjorge, Northville (nine-year-old Seth, seven-year-old Ryan): “It’s the novelty of being able to skate with the Whalers.  It’s big with these guys to try to steal the puck from one of the Whalers.  We come to three or four games a year and follow the team closely. They love all the Whalers and they love the game.

“We done this over a couple of years and it used to be just Seth.  Over time, Ryan is old enough and it’s a big deal for him, because he watched his brother skate with the Whalers and now he gets to. 

The Whalers Sticks and Pucks sessions happen periodically over the season.  Check out www.plymouthwhalers.com for more information.

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