Tom Gullen (TG): Do you remember your first steps on the ice?

Evan: While I don’t recall my absolute first steps on the ice, I do remember my early days of playing house league and loving to skate (but falling down a lot), feeling the cold air on my face in the rink, those distinctive rink smells, and of course the fun times with teammates.

TG: Describe the path you took as a young hockey player?

Evan: I started off on figure skates in a community learn to skate program. Very quickly, after I saw the older kids with their hockey gear and sticks, I wanted to try that. I moved on to house league in Evanston and then played travel hockey in Wilmette and Northbrook before two years playing AAA for the Chicago Young Americans. I played for Evanston Township High School for 9th and 10th grade before going to prep school in CT for 11th and 12th grade. From there it was off to Notre Dame.e a lot about leadership and hard work on and off the ice.

Saturday, August 1 at, 2:00 p.m. It is marked on my calendar. Blackhawks vs. Oilers. Kane vs. McDavid. Toews vs. Draisaitl.

On March 12, our lives changed in many ways. Sports disappeared; sports on TV, sports that kids played, sports that we played.

But we are slowly getting back to the games we love. We first got back to golf, and we are now back to hockey. Live sports are back, and yes it is weird to see a PGA Tour event with no fans, or Wrigley Field with no fans. However, we can adjust.

Over the past two months we have cautiously returned to the ice. We started slowly, holding our sessions to no more than 20 on the ice at one time during the month of June. In July we moved to Phase 4 where we have permitted more kids on the ice. The Winnetka Ice Arena has just hosted the Impact Hockey Camp over the past three weeks. A special shout out to Paul Schwartz, manager of the Winnetka Ice Arena, for having a well-crafted plan for use of the facility.

Moving forward, it is the Club’s intent to offer a full season of hockey for both House and Travel levels. We are excited about welcoming all players for the 2020-2021 season. Please know that in preparing for this season, we have been working closely with USA Hockey / AHAI, the leagues we participate in, and the Illinois Department of Public Health to help us create a safe, valuable and fun experience for our players.

September 12

FREE Come Try Hockey & Girls Rule

September 12-26

House Preseason Clinic ALL LEVELS

September 12

Bantam House Evaluations Begin

September 26

Squirt & Pee Wee House Evaluations

The A Step aHead partners are excited to announce the 10th year of our program! We are proud of the work that has been done to educate our youth hockey community about sports safety and provide free baseline neurocognitive testing. We look forward to another 10 years of working to keep our athletes safe while they play the game they love.

This year the free baseline testing will be offered from August 1 through November 30, 2020. We will continue to offer the testing at select Athletico clinics.