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The Shoulder Check has outgrown its own ice.
What began in 2023 as a way to honor Darien hockey player Hayden Thorsen, who died by suicide at 16, has grown into one of Connecticut's premier summer hockey events.
Now, it has become big enough to move from Terry Conners Ice Rink in Stamford to Martire Family Arena at Sacred Heart University for its fourth annual edition, with NHL Network broadcasting the showcase live for the first time.
The fourth annual Shoulder Check Showcase is scheduled for Thursday, July 30, with puck drop at 6:30 p.m.
The game will feature NHL players from 13 teams and multiple countries, the most teams represented in the event's history.
"It's awesome.
It's great," said Hayden's father, Rob Thorsen, who founded the event and mental health initiative in his son's memory.
"We can do so much more with the new facility.
It's opened up so many more possibilities, like NHL Network being able to televise it.
The reach is exponential, which is fantastic." Final rosters will be announced next week, but players expected to participate include Trevor Zegras (Flyers), Chris Kreider (Ducks), Adam Fox (Rangers), Brett Pesce (Devils), Spencer Knight (Blackhawks), Matt Rempe (Rangers), Shayne Gostisbehere (Hurricanes), Shane Pinto (Senators), Will Smith (Sharks), Ryan Leonard (Capitals), Mason McTavish (Ducks), Cutter Gauthier (Ducks), J.T.
Miller (Rangers), Pavel Dorofeyev (Rangers), Matty Beniers (Kraken), Denver Barkey (Flyers), Frank Vatrano (Ducks) and John Hayden (Kraken).
In previous years, the showcase was livestreamed.
This year, it will air nationally on NHL Network.
Brian Boyle, Cory Schneider and E.J.
Hradek will handle the television broadcast for NHL Network.
The Darien High School student broadcast crew, which has covered the event since its inception, also will call the game from an adjacent booth.
The showcase sold out each of the past two years at Terry Conners and is nearing another sellout in its new, larger home.
"We never thought it would get this big this quickly," Shoulder Check board member Gary Zegras said.
"One day, maybe we could play it at MSG.
You never know.
The support has been so incredible.
We'd like every NHL team to participate." Before puck drop, players will gather at center ice for the event's signature moment, the Shoulder Check pledge.
With each player placing a hand on the shoulder of the teammate beside him, they repeat: "I promise to reach out, check in, make contact." Fans are encouraged to arrive early for a full slate of pregame activities.
Parking opens at 3:30 p.m., while a beer garden and midway will operate from 4 to 6 p.m., featuring a performance by The Zambonis.
Arena doors open at 6 p.m., with puck drop set for 6:30.
One of the most popular traditions at Terry Conners was the players' walk into the rink, giving fans an opportunity to interact with NHL stars before the game.
"We're not losing that," Zegras said.
"Guys spending time with the fans is one of the great things about this event, and we figured out a way to do that at Sacred Heart.
"NHL players are used to being pampered, but last summer they weren't just using the high school locker rooms at Terry Conners.
We had them outside in a tent in the heat, and none of them complained once.
They just said, 'Whatever you need us to do.' NHL players are the most amazing people when it comes to that kind of stuff." The midway also will feature a Hockey Hall of Fame exhibit showcasing five of the sport's premier trophies though not the Stanley Cup along with games for children, food and merchandise.
Nonprofit partners TK Foundation, which supports Gold Star military families, and Live Free, which supports families affected by pediatric cancer, will return.
New partner Be The People, a national organization, also will have a significant presence.
Thorsen said the event's growth from an idea inspired by Hayden's friends into a showcase now attracting more than 20 NHL players each summer still catches him by surprise.
"I don't think we could have imagined where we'd be today when we started this," he said.
"But I do remember after the first year saying, 'Wow, wouldn't it be cool if this was on TV one day?'" Both Zegras and Thorsen said the event's impact now extends well beyond the game itself.
Parents frequently reach out seeking advice, and, perhaps most encouraging, young men have begun asking how they can bring the Shoulder Check message to their own teams and schools.
"That really goes to show that this message is reaching the people who are probably some of the hardest to reach and engage in this kind of conversation," Thorsen said.
"This idea lives at a level where we're all qualified to do it.
It's really just about trying to be human with one another.".