Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/215772
Hunters at Heart Products of Duluth Denfeld continue to give back to the sport they grew up loving By JESSI PIERCE J amie Stauber still remembers stashing his hockey stick and skates in snow banks along the route to church with his five brothers, John, Jim, Dan, Pete, Robb and Bill. The puck-playing siblings couldn't stay away from the outdoor rink at Piedmont Heights in West Duluth on any given day. Before the Staubers, Gary Harker would skate blocks from his house to the Wheeler rink through frozen alleys, digging pucks out of the snow to use on the ice. They're memories relatable to plenty of hockey players in the state of Minnesota. But what sticks out for Stauber, Harker and a slew of other products from the Duluth Denfeld Youth Hockey Association is how much the game actually taught them. How much it encouraged them to give back to the sport they grew up loving. "It's remarkable to think people and hockey can leave such an impression and be such an influence on a person's life," said Harker, a former coach and rink manager now scouting in the NHL. "But that's exactly what hockey did. It encouraged me in ways I never thought possible and to be that type of influence in other peoples' lives. What better way to influence than through a game you love. It's where I learned the importance of so many things like friendship and respect. "Those are some of the things that stick with you long after you step off the ice." Few people play a bigger influential role in a child's life than parents. Dan Stauber, Jamie's younger brother and current men's head hockey coach at University of Wisconsin-Superior said his dad, along with plenty of other fathers, are the reason he was able to play hockey growing up. Not just by putting money into the game, but putting work into facilities and the association, too. The Staubers' father, Del, and USA Hockey National Coach-in-Chief Mike MacMillan's dad, Ron, were in charge of the Piedmont Heights outdoor rink as managers. Del became the youth association president. Current Denfeld boys' high school head coach Kevin Smalley's dad ran the rink at Marott Park. Don Olson, now 10 MINNESOTAHOCKEYJOURNAL.COM // DECEMBER.2013 PHOTOS SUBMITTED TO MINNESOTA HOCKEY JOURNAL PARENTS LEADING THE CHARGE