For Canadian-born kids, the coming of summer is usually accompanied by a new pair of soccer or baseball cleats.

However, for the 31 kids who gathered in Rivière-du-Loup, Que., on April 24 and 25, the season brought skates instead of shoes as part of Hockey Canada Foundation’s Dreams Come True program.

Thanks to a partnership with Bauer Hockey, 25 skaters and six goaltenders ranging from six to 12 years old were equipped from head to toe with brand new gear for next season.

The program is available to both boys and girls and Hockey Canada, in partnership with Hockey Quebec and local minor hockey associations, as well as social organizations, found underprivileged youth who could benefit from the program.     

“We all know the costs related to hockey, so with the help of Hockey Quebec, we gathered this great group of kids that all play in the Bas Saint-Laurent region and who we felt needed some support for next year,” says Ludovic Lord, manager of recruitment initiatives with Hockey Canada.

Since its inception seven years ago, the Dreams Come True program has helped more than 800 players across the nation in purchasing new hockey gear and providing support for registration fees and other costs that can prevent young Canadians from playing organized hockey.   

In addition to paying for the new gear and next season’s fees, the Hockey Canada Foundation made the experience even more incredible this year with an additional gift.

“In addition to their previous presents, we also provided each kid with two tickets to a TELUS Cup semifinal game,” says Lord. “For most of them it was a first time experience at witnessing such a high-level of hockey, so they were pretty much in awe the whole game.”

The next morning, the kids got their own chance to hop onto the ice at Centre Premier Tech, not only to show off their new equipment, but also to flash their moves in front of their parents and Hockey Canada instructors on hand.

With the help of eight volunteer minor hockey coaches from the Bas Saint-Laurent region, the Hockey Canada staff ran a 90-minute practice to help the kids with individual skills and skating drills, all the while participating in fun and educational mini-games.

While most of the kids in Rivière-du-Loup had ended their seasons a few weeks earlier, for others it was a very different scenario.

“Our program has a recruitment part of it happening for the game, as well as a retention part of it,” says Chris Bright, executive director of the Hockey Canada Foundation.  “This year we did actually have some kids who were new to the game, so their first steps onto the ice were through the Dreams Come True program, and it was fantastic.”

Most kids had shown up to the equipment-fitting session with one parent on Saturday, but the Sunday on-ice session included a crowd of parents, grandparents and siblings who tagged along to share in the excitement.

“It’s always a pleasure to see them step onto the ice for the first time,” Bright says, “and to stare at their eyes and try to imagine what’s going through their head.

“Of course you think of your own days as a child and you can imagine what it must be like for these kids to be a part of something this great. It’s a pretty warm feeling.”