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In Plymouth, Mich., USA Hockey's National Team Development Program recently held a Teddy Bear Toss during their Under-18 squad's clash with the University of Maine. Scoring that first goal is something that can really get the juices flowing. Players want to be that guy to tally that first goal. "There were some dibs getting thrown around on who would score [the first goal]," said U-18 forward Case McCarthy said. "Cole Caufield wanted to score it pretty bad. I was just messing with him, saying that I'd score just to get under his skin a little bit." The Boston Universit y commit did just that, unleashing 'Teddy Time' a little more than five minutes into the first period. "It was a cool experience," said McCarthy, who's eligible for the 2019 NHL Draft. "To be able to set that off, you kind of think you're going to do it with a goal like that." Players are often happy to help in the clean up so that the game can resume in a time- ly fashion, although t h e y d o s o a t t h e i r own risk. " I t w a s c o o l t o see all the guys out there helping to pick u p t h e t e d d y b e a r s f o r a g r e a t c a u s e ," McCarthy said. "It was funny, I was helping to pick up and move some and got hit with a few more." One place where the Teddy Bear Toss hasn't caught on is at the National Hockey League Level. The leagues cites both fan and player safe- ty as reasons why it does not allow even the most cute and cuddly foreign objects from being tossed onto the ice. In addition, delay- ing the game likely wouldn't sit well with local broadcasters. Still, it's fun to imagine what a Teddy Bear Toss would look like at Madison Square Garden or the United Center. How many toys would be collected and distributed to kids for the holidays? The celebrations that would ensue after an Auston Matthews goal would be something to behold. Even without a Teddy Bear Toss on NHL teams' promotional calendars, the tradition that sprung up 25 years ago is not going away anytime soon. And by the Hershey Bears' count, the event is getting better, bigger, and fluffier every year. S o i t 's b e s t t o d u c k a n d c o v er. T h o s e teddy bears are likely to keep coming, fast and fur-ious. P BONUS DIGITAL CONTENT Riley Barber's goal on Dec. 2 unleashed a world-record torrent of teddy bears raining down from the rafters at the Giant Center, the home of the AHL's Hershey Bears. Trevor Zegras and the rest of his NTDP teammates helped pick up bears at the Plymouth, Mich., based event on Dec. 7. 42 // JANUARY 2019 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM