The NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund, the largest grassroots hockey program in the world, was proud to provide an assist to El Paso hockey youth and their families through the equipment donation.ĭevin Smith heralds the city as an ideal example of what the player-driven NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund is all about. Additionally, hosting an NHL game in a facility that our organization has essentially built from scratch is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and perseverance that many members of the El Paso hockey community have demonstrated over the past 20 years – and I’m extremely proud and grateful to be part of that community.” Our main goal is to keep hockey in El Paso and make the sport accessible to our community, so hosting an NHL game in our own rink means we’re succeeding. “When we won Kraft Hockeyville, I was overwhelmed by the support we received from El Pasoans and hockey fans around the world. “It’s humbling,” said Tyler Deloach, Director of Operations with the North American Hockey League’s El Paso Rhinos and a member of the El Paso Kraft Hockeyville USA organizing committee. “Kraft has done a great job of doing this.' 'Hockey is a great game and we want to allow as many people to play it as we can,” said Coyotes forward Lawson Crouse. The game, originally slated for 2020, was postponed due to COVID-19.Īlong with the preseason game, the city was presented with $10,000 worth of equipment from the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund, and the El Paso County Events Center, originally built to host rodeos and livestock shows, won $150,000 in rink upgrades.Īrizona defenceman, Shayne Gostisbehere, opened the scoring in the first period for the first NHL goal scored in the history of the city of El Paso. El Paso, a largely Hispanic city along the United States-Mexico border in west Texas, earned the title as 2020's most spirited hockey community in America after amassing the most votes online. Hundreds of communities had entered the Kraft Hockeyville USA 2020 contest – an annual competition sponsored by Kraft Heinz, the NHLPA, and NHL – which asks communities to demonstrate their passion and commitment to the game. It was a game that has long been anticipated by hockey fans in El Paso. 'In our first preseason game at home, you could see how excited the fans are to be back and we're happy to have them back.” It was fun to see the culture and you got a really good vibe that there are a lot of really good people there. You could see the excitement from the people there.

“It was one of those trips where you don't really know what to expect, but we had a good time. 'El Paso was fun,” added Stars forward Joe Pavelski.

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