By Dan Scifo, 02/02/26, 9:30AM MST
In the last four years, Malik Garvin realized the resiliency of the participants involved with the Ice Hockey in Harlem program.
Garvin, who enters his fourth year as executive director of the program, praised the players and families for their love of the game despite significant geographical barriers faced when the program’s home rink briefly closed for a four-year renovation.
“People really embrace and continue to see the developmental offerings, life skills and the opportunity beyond ice hockey that the game offers,” Garvin said. “Our teams don’t win a lot of games, but we have full rosters from top to bottom because the kids and parents appreciate the opportunity to play and love to see the development in each player.”
Ice Hockey in Harlem is a community-based nonprofit organization that offers free ice hockey and enrichment programming to boys and girls who reside in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.
Garvin is a former player within the organization, who went on to play at The Harvey School in Katonah, New York, and then collegiately at Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts.
“I’m very thankful that our program is completely free of charge for the families,” Garvin said. “It’s tremendous.”
Ice Hockey in Harlem started with 40 participants in the winter of 1987 as an after-school program. Currently, it features about 175 boys and girls spread across three rinks in New York City: World Ice Arena in Queens, and Wollman Rink and Gottesman Rink, which are both in Central Park.
“We can only field one team at every age group,” Garvin said. “We just don’t have enough ice, and we also don’t have enough opponents to field a second set of opponents for another team because it would cut our schedule in half.”
Ice hockey programming takes place from November to March, and no experience is required to join the program. All students practice for at least 90 minutes per week, and enrichment programming is provided throughout the year. During warmer months, the organization plays ball hockey and holds a summer camp for one week each July.
“We’re all about creating better people through participation in ice hockey,” Garvin said. “It’s about building our hockey community and giving kids a chance to grow and develop in a safe space. We feel it takes our program to another level.”
Garvin said the program recently expanded its College Exploration Series, which allows older participants to visit colleges and universities. Under Garvin, players have traveled to Harvard, Boston College, Long Island University, Princeton, Williams College, Michigan, Wisconsin, Buffalo State and other schools on overnight trips.
“It’s just exposing kids to the combination of higher education and hockey,” Garvin said. “It’s not the message that you’re going D1, or you’re going pro, but these schools have ice rinks, you can skate, you can play club hockey and be part of it. But of course, your education is first.”
In Michigan, the players met a similar organization at the Clark Park outdoor rink in Detroit. They also interacted with players from Michigan’s hockey team, including Marshall Warren, a supporter of the program who is currently with the New York Islanders organization and was the first Black captain in Boston College’s history.
In Wisconsin, eight girls visited the school and interacted with Laila Edwards, who will become the first Black player to represent the U.S. women’s team at the Olympics. Wisconsin’s coach Mark Johnson also ran a practice with the players.
“It’s all about broadening horizons, which is what our program is all about,” Garvin said. “It’s what hockey can offer beyond wins and losses.”
The organization also receives support from local professional teams, including the New York Rangers, New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils. Garvin said every kid in the program gets the opportunity to engage with at least one of those teams each year.
One of the program’s teams skates in Madison Square Garden during the intermission of a Rangers game every year. Players have watched New Jersey Devils games inside a suite, and the Devils have also offered proceeds of their 50-50 raffle to the program. Groups also watch Islanders games and get the chance to meet players and members of the ownership group.
“We rely on the support of all our partners in many ways, not just in monetary donations, but opportunities to engage,” Garvin said. “When kids get to do stuff like this, they talk about it and it’s something they’ll never forget for the rest of their lives.”
It’s also inspiring for the players and their families. Those kinds of moments and memories are motivating, which keeps Ice Hockey in Harlem growing as the program approaches its 40th year of existence.
“We continue to gain momentum,” Garvin said. “We have a bigger footprint than ever and that’s a great thing because our kids are natural ambassadors for the program. Our logo and name are out there — we have more eyes on us than ever before and it’s created some new and unique opportunities that wouldn’t have otherwise come about.”
Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc
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