Highland Park Hockey Giants Get 'Unforgettable' Day From Blackhawks

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Even before the tragic events of July 4 that forever altered life inside tight-knit North Shore community now ripped in two, Highland Park's high school club hockey program had experienced its share of tough times.

Having been shut down in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic and forced to travel out of state to practice and compete for more than a year due to restrictions in Illinois, the Highland Park Giants had been hit hard by challenges that teenagers aren't used to coping with.

So when renovations earlier this year shut down their home rink at Centennial Park, the Giants knew they could be in for another rough season. But then the mass shooting at Highland Park's Independence Day parade took place that killed seven people and injured dozens more, adding to the pain and disappointment for a group of teenagers who had already endured so much.

But this week, the Giants got an unexpected surprise when the Chicago Blackhawks hosted the team at its home training rink in Chicago. A day that players thought was going to involve a team-building exercise and community service project at the Hidden Creek Aqua Park, where players were told they would be cleaning the pool, instead turned into an NHL-level training day that team officials say the players will never forget.

Charter buses carried the team from Highland Park to the Fifth Third Arena community rink that sits in the shadow of the United Center, where the former Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks play their home games. The Hawks were greeted by Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson and first-year coach Luke Richardson before the trip quickly took an interesting and unforgettable twist.

Giants players were told that they would be spending the day as Blackhawks recruits, which meant dressing in the Hawks' locker room and practicing in team-issued custom gear. For the high-school players who typically practice and play their games at Centennial, being treated like rookies at hockey's top level brought on a rush of excitement.

"It was unbelievable and unforgettable," Giants team president Mike Schaffer told Patch on Wednesday. "These kids grew up with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews and for them to meet their heroes —it was an unbelievable and unforgettable experience.

"This is something they will never forget."

Once inside, Richardson told the team they had a couple of visitors who wanted to deliver a few words. That’s when Toews, the Hawks' captain, and Kane walked into the locker room, adding another element of surprise to the day’s events.

That's when Schaffer said the Hawks' 'Woah" moment took place.

“We’re happy to have you guys here at our rink,” Toews told the team inside the locker room before he and Kane made their way around the room, signing each player's jersey and wishing them luck in the season to come. “We hope you guys have fun out there.”

Schaffer said that the plan to surprise the Giants had been in the works after the local hockey program had to reach out to neighboring rinks for ice time due to the team's home rink being unavailable. Not only did not having a hockey home mean the Giants had to leave Highland Park for practice and games, but it also meant that they had to take ice time whenever — and wherever — they could get it.

That has meant practicing sometimes as late as 9 p.m. and in places as far away as Wisconsin and Indiana and playing games at times the Giants aren't accustomed to. But for all the shuffling around, no one could have prepared the Highland Park team for what happened on Monday.

Fifth-Third rink officials told Shaffer that the team could use the Hawks' practice rink with one caveat. It had to remain a secret. Aware of the tragedy the community had gone through in July, the Blackhawks wanted to make sure the players had an experience they would never forget.

As the team's president for the past seven years, Schaffer is accustomed to keeping secrets. But given the fact he had to keep such big news from so many people, including his son who plays on the team, Monday's outing was on a different level.

That really sunk in when Toews and Kane walked into the dressing room that is an exact replica of the one where the Hawks dress at the United Center.

The Giants then took the ice at Fifth Third, where anthem singer Jim Cornelison performed his famous rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” that brings Hawks fans to their feet at home games at the United Center. The Hawks then took part in a scrimmage that featured them wearing their red and black Blackhawks training jerseys.

For Cornelison, who has performed his rendition of the anthem at countless regular-season, playoff, Stanley Cup Final games as well as at outdoor Hawks games, this particular occasion was different than any other.

"The biggest difference is it extends the hockey experience beyond just playing hockey," Cornelison told Patch. "Connecting goodwill and human response to another person's hardship (makes it unique). That is always a meaningful thing to be a part of."

The day-long hockey experience comes nearly four months since the July 4 mass shooting, which Schaffer said that the Highland Park community is still struggling to recover from. While the city and its residents have been working since then to recover from the horrific event, Blackhawks officials hope Monday's experience will be another step in helping the city's travel hockey program be able to move forward.

Especially after the last two years that have proven tough on a close-knit collection of hockey players.

"It's been incredibly difficult," Schaffer told Patch. "These boys want to be together and during COVID, we couldn't even get together. Then we could get together, but we could only get 10 kids on the ice because of rules, and then we couldn't even be in the locker room together.

"So those things being taken away was very difficult. It's just not the same experience for them."

Then July 4 took place in Highland Park, leaving an indelible mark not only on the community but also on Highland Park's youth, which has never experienced that level of hardship. While hockey has been a respite for Giants' players, Schaffer said the mass shooting has led to difficult conversations between parents and their children as everyone in Highland Park continues to move on from the unforgettable tragedy.

Three months later, Schaffer still has trouble putting the past 90 days into perspective.

"To see something like that happen in your community — obviously, we live in a different community where those things don't normally happen," Schaffer said Wednesday. "For the boys to see that and be exposed to the real world, it opens their eyes. But our boys don't know how to deal with those types of situations, and it's just been very difficult."

The Hawks wanted to do what they could to ease some of the community's pain while providing a team that Schaffer says is nomads this season because of the ongoing renovations at Centennial a unique hockey experience they can carry with them this season.

“Hockey is really good at that — supporting in the good times, the fun times, and celebrating,” Richardson, the Hawks coach told reporters on Monday. “But also, coming together when there are tough times and helping people take the next step to get through it.”

Schaffer said that the team has also gotten support from other high school hockey programs at New Trier, Buffalo Grove, Lake Forest, and Deerfield. Under first-year coach Bob Melton, who spent the past two decades at New Trier, the Giants are off to a 4-2 start this season as they continue to stick together following a very trying two years.

While there is still much recovery that needs to take place, the Giants have discovered solace by being together while getting a major assist from their hockey heroes.

"Just getting back onto the ice and being normal has been huge," Schaffer told Patch. "Growing up as a teenager is not an easy thing to do and kids need routines and when routines are disrupted — whether it's being able to go downtown (Highland Park) to eat at Michael's or people being hurt or killed — their routine has been disrupted. It's been God-awful."

"So hockey has definitely been a respite."