When the Dallas Stars are within the postseason, Al Montoya stated everybody wins, particularly the neighborhood.
Montoya is the primary Cuban-American to play within the NHL and is at present the Dallas Stars Vice President of Cultural Development and Technique. Montoya is obsessed with rising the Stars and the sport of hockey with under-represented communities each domestically and internationally.
“We simply got here again from a visit to Mexico Metropolis and we can be going again there quickly,” Montoya stated. “For us, that is actually a possibility to essentially present what we have been doing and get our message throughout.”
That message is that hockey is a sport for everybody. Their mission is to convey that message to kids who could not in any other case have had entry.
“We launched a Be taught to Play program. It is a six-week program for youths from 4 to 10 years outdated in Mexico Metropolis. We began it in April and they’re going to graduate from this system in Could. This can be a likelihood for them to be launched to the sport that we love a lot and provides them that likelihood to play,” Montoya stated.
50 children are a part of this system, in partnership with the Nationwide Hockey League.
Regionally, Montoya has labored with the Boys & Ladies Membership of Better Dallas to accomplice within the free Future Stars initiative, introducing hockey at faculties and services throughout the area. The Future Stars program has grown from two places in 2023 to 9 places in 2024. The applications obtain assist and tools to implement weekly youth hockey applications in underserved communities.
The group added the Stanley Cup Playoffs present an enormous enhance in fan engagement and neighborhood outreach. The amplified consideration and consciousness have elevated the fundraising efforts of the 50/50 raffle at residence video games. Fifty % of the jackpot proceeds raised profit the Dallas Stars Basis, nurturing and enriching the lives of North Texans by Youth Hockey, Group Engagement and Well being and Training.
The Dallas Stars are within the second spherical of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in opposition to the Colorado Avalanche.