Quote:CREATIVE PROMPT- OK, that's a pretty sappy prompt. Maybe you want something a little more fun. Fine by me! Your player has gotten the opportunity to host a youth event at the start of this season to get the kids excited about the power of sport and the spirit of unity. Hurrah!

Written Task:  What activities, sports, or games do you have prepared for your group of kids to teach them the values your player lives by? Are you trying to do meaningful team building exercises with lessons that last a lifetime, or something stupid like trying to sneak the kids into the back door of a casino? Your call. Go wild. (150+ words)

First, I get all the kids together on skates and on the ice. Then I dump as much mud and rocks and stones and muck as possible on one end and have different kids stand closer to the blueline than others. There’s no reason behind which kids start close and which start far. At the other end of the rink, I put a number of buckets with money in them. The number matches the number of kids divided by two. When I blow the whistle, the kids are to skate as best as they can through the mud to get the money in the buckets.

When the exercise is over, I imagine I get some questions.

“Why were some of us deeper in the mud than others?”
Because life’s not fair. Sometimes you’re going to have to work harder than the guy next to you for the same or even no reward.

“Why is there mud? Why not just make it a straight race?”
Because life’s not a cakewalk, and hockey’s no different. You’ll have obstacles that aren’t only in the way, but are determined to reach out and grasp your ankles and keep you where you are. You want to get to where you’re going? Scrape through the mud. Everyone in the stands thinks you can’t do it. It’s not going to be pretty. But when they see you at the end of that rink with a trail of mud behind you, they’ll know what kind of person you are.

"Why aren't there enough buckets for all of us?"
Because it just so happens you may crawl through that mud, make it to the ice, and then bust your ass to get to the other side just to see nothing there. If you aren't willing to be happy with your effort alone at the end of the day, then you should quit now while your jersey's clean.