Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman promotes community involvement to younger hockey players

Nearly two and a half hours southeast of East Longmeadow, the Spartans faced off against the Dennis-Yarmouth Dolphins.

Amidst an entertaining second period, the Spartans went down a goal early, but the fight in their hearts did not dim. 

Aidan Fisher, sophomore for East Longmeadow, is able to tie up the game later on in that period, the assist coming from LePage.

The Spartans scoring was not yet done for the period. 

With just a few minutes left in the second period Aidan Fisher’s shot is unable to be controlled by the Dolphins’ goalie and the rookie LePage buries his fifth goal of the season. 

LePage’s resilient goal proved to be the most important goal of the game, as for the rest of the game the Dolphins were unable to score again, making LePage’s goal the game-winner.

The Dennis-Yarmouth crowd grew silent for their home team, while the few East Longmeadow fans let their team hear their appreciation for the hard-earned win.

The East Longmeadow fans who’d driven so far to watch and support their team had lit a fire under the boys and led them to victory.

For the rookie LePage, the energy from the crowd especially felt surreal. To contribute directly to a win for not only the team, but its supporters and his community, only motivated him more to want to get points on the board and strive for the team’s success.

“It brings people together to watch us play,” LePage said. “It’s cool to see how many people are there, especially for rivalry games.”

Like many athletes, LePage finds inspiration and motivation from the community that supports him and his team and the players he looks up to.  LePage  remembers East Longmeadow native Frank Vatrano making his NHL debut with the hometown team Boston Bruins back in 2015. 

“It’s cool to see that someone local has achieved their goal of going to the NHL, and it motivates me to do better,” LePage said of  Vatrano, who now plays for the NHL’s New York Rangers.

 Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman found motivation in the same sources. 

“I understood what impact they had on Anchorage alone, and it was amazing because all the sports articles, the newspaper, and the TV ads had all these guys just being super great ambassadors for the town,” Swayman said. 

“That really fired me up and gave me a sense of what I could accomplish, not only for my family and myself, but for the town alone. I think that was a great motivator for me to get to that next level and make sure that I make the NHL.”

Referencing Scott Gomez, Brandon Dubinsky, and Joey Crabb–NHL players from his own hometown of  Anchorage, Alaska, Swayman said, ““He was in my exact same shoes, wearing the same jersey, why can’t I make the NHL as well?”

Now, Swayman actively tries to make his mark on today’s Alaskan youth hockey players, just as other Alaskan NHL players had done for him, pushing the right agendas on what steps must be taken in order to not only become better hockey players, but better people. 

“I want to make sure that I’m always available to kids and whenever I can get around my personal training schedule,” Swayman said. “I want to be able to go to rinks and just be showing a face, always supporting local tournaments, local charities, anything like that to expand the brand of Alaskan hockey.”

Swayman and LePage also noted thean impact his high school hockey team had on his community and peers.

“It meant more than playing just for the team; it was for the alumni, alma mater,” Swayman said. “It was a really great experience because I’d walk into class and all of my classmates had been at my game the day before.”

Like LePage, Swayman noted that his high school games were “rivalry based.” j

Rivalry games have been described by LePage as being an “electric and buzzing,” atmosphere, and have contributed to his motivation to play high school hockey.

The cycle of youth sports as a whole is a beautiful thing, with countless factors that go into motivating, supporting, and encouraging youth players to continue playing and getting to the highest level of playing capability. 

It’s NHL role models such as Swayman that are great contributors to supporting youth hockey and doing all that he can to ensure all youth hockey players can enjoy the game and possibly pursue it to a higher level.