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Fresh off another Florida Everblades Kelly Cup championship, hockey excitement continues to grow across Southwest Florida.
One local academy is hoping to turn that momentum into the next generation of players.
At Southeast Elite Hockey, players of all ages are learning from former professionals, junior players, and collegiate athletes with one goal in mind: building a pipeline for hockey talent along the Gulf Coast.
"We train beginners to NHL players," founder and former Everblades captain Ryan Brindley said.
Brindley, who has called Southwest Florida home for more than two decades, said he founded the academy after recognizing a need for high-level hockey development in the area.
"We have amazing coaches.
We got guys that stay in the area after they play for the Everblades, which I did, and just love the community," Brindley said.
"I've been here 22 years, not going anywhere.
So I get to do what I love for a living, and it's a ton of fun." This summer, the academy brought together its youngest players with older athletes already competing at higher levels of hockey.
The older players spent time coaching drills and sharing their experiences on and off the ice.
For academy player and coach Grady Shaw, giving back is part of the experience.
"Growing up wasn't always top of the line.
And then came here to the Academy last year.
Really brought up my game to the next level," Shaw said.
As a coach, Shaw says developing young players starts with something more important than perfecting their skating or shooting.
"We want it to be fun, energetic, leave a good impact on them, like the game of hockey.
And then we develop the skills from that," Shaw said.
That mentorship is something younger players say motivates them to keep improving.
"They're like the next level, and we're trying to get to that level.
Keep moving up.
Moving up," young academy players Cade Miller and Parker Laux said.
For many of the campers, simply getting to learn from older players and former professionals has become one of the biggest highlights of the summer.
"It is very awesome to learn from them.
Learning from everyone has taught me more skills, and I think I'm getting more advanced," camper Finnegan Davis said.
Brindley believes those relationships are one of the academy's biggest strengths.
"It's as good as any in North America.
I mean, we really do have some experienced guys," Brindley said.
"They get to see the NHL guys, the college guys.
They're around there.
They come in.
The alumni come back.
So that fuels that little incentive.
But, to see the improvement of the kids, that's what it's about." Beyond developing hockey players, Brindley says the academy is focused on teaching life lessons that extend far beyond the rink.
"Realistically, you're just teaching, you know, be a good teammate, dedication, work ethic," Brindley said.
And for the youngest players, that's exactly what makes them eager to lace up their skates each day.
"It's just fun to play hockey," campers Finnegan Davis and Kaleb Berman said.
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