Kraken Players Help Spread Gift Of Ball Hockey 

Kraken forward Ryan Winterton never had NHL players come to his school while growing up an hour outside of Toronto, but remembers how excited he’d be even getting to meet local major junior-level hockey products.

So Winterton understood why about 60 fifth-and sixth-graders at Rainier Prep Middle School, in the South Seattle/Burien area, seemed so eager to be on an outdoor ball hockey court this week with him and Kraken teammate Tye Kartye. The duo helped the team’s One Roof Foundation (ORF) philanthropic arm organize a Kraken Power Play PE Takeover visit to the school so they could lead a ball hockey skills segment and engage with students.

“There was a little road hockey rink in I guess what was their outdoor play area, and me Karts got to play with them for about 30 or 40 minutes,” Winterton said. “You could tell how much they loved the setup and us being there.”

This visit, supported by Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, the team’s Medical Services Provider, is part of ORF’s ongoing commitment to expanding access to hockey by donating ball hockey equipment to schools across the Puget Sound region and throughout Washington State. The program aims to introduce more youth to the game, encourage physical activity, and create inclusive opportunities for play regardless of background or experience.

The Rainier Prep visit marks a major milestone in this initiative, as ORF donates ball hockey kits to 20 new schools across the state—bringing the total number of participating schools to over 350 title-1 schools and nonprofits since our inaugural season.

“They were really excited,” Kartye said. “And they were really into it, so that made it a lot more fun. They were into playing hockey and into asking questions.”

In fact, organizers had worked with the students to prepare a list of four questions to ask the Kraken players.

“A lot of them wondered whether it hurts to get hit and stuff like that,” Kartye said.

His answer? “I told them we’ve got a lot of equipment for a reason.”

Mike Moya, the school’s physical education teacher and athletics director, said the students were very excited about the visit and about ball hockey in general. Rainier Prep introduced ball hockey as a two-week PE session last year, but now, with help from equipment donated by the Kraken and ORF, it will start an after-school ball hockey program for 25 students running twice a week for two months.

“For our students, it's kind of like a great equalizer, because it's new to all of them,” Moya said. “And so, they all get to start on level footing, which makes it very engaging and interesting for them, rather than some students being very good at something right away, and some students, you know, still learning. Everybody's kind of learning straight from the get-go, and it's made them really excited about it.”

Moya said the equipment donation also helps make the sport more accessible to kids at the school who ordinarily would not have had a chance to try ball hockey.

“This is a Title 1 school, so yeah, financials are usually an area that can be challenging for our community,” he said. “Which is again great when we have partners like the Kraken who are able to support us with different programming that helps kids who don't necessarily have the resources to get out there and try these things on their own.”

Winterton appreciated his role in the day’s events, knowing that getting to be out on a court with NHL players is something kids ordinarily wouldn’t get to do. He said he tried just running around supervising them for a bit, but eventually got restless and had to pick up a stick and take some shots.

“It's kind of crazy how it switches kind of full circle,” Winterton said, remembering his days interacting with junior hockey players in his youth. “It's like you grow up watching the (OHL) London Knights. And then obviously, my last (OHL) year, I ended up playing there. Just the full circle is kind of crazy. Now I'm here, and yeah, it's pretty crazy. Just being like a role model to the younger guys is pretty special.”