The Mammoth forward hosted a Girls Hockey Day event to teach hockey and inspire the next generation
It may be the offseason for Alexander Kerfoot, but the Utah Mammoth forward continued his support of the organization’s initiatives to grow the game, even in the summer months. As a part of Mammoth Week – a series of events featuring on-ice clinics, street hockey, giveaways, games, and merch pop-ups throughout the state – Kerfoot hosted a Girls Hockey Day event at the Olympic Oval.
Kerfoot, Utah’s King Clancy nominee and Community-Obsessed Award winner, spent five hours on the ice with nearly 250 girls from all ages and skill levels. After spending time with girls from each of the five different sessions that included Try Hockey for Free, Hockey 101, Girls Continue to Play, and different age appropriate skill sessions, Kerfoot signed autographs and took photos with every single girl in attendance.
“You see all the initiatives that the team’s been doing this whole week and for us to just help out and be involved any way we can has been nice,” Kerfoot explained. “We’ve spent a good chunk of the time here in Salt Lake this summer so to be able to do something like this and build on some of the girls hockey stuff that the team and we have been doing has been nice. It’s great to see the turnout today.”
To help him on the ice, and show girls that they too could become professional players one day, Kerfoot invited PWHL players Hilary Knight and Melissa Channell-Watkins to the event. Knight has seen how quickly hockey is growing in Utah and is excited to support Kerfoot at the event.
“When the Mammoth moved here it was just incredible to have more growth in the mountain region,” Knight smiled. “To have someone like Alex be dedicated to the work in the community and developing girls and women’s hockey is so outstanding. I can’t say enough about it. I’m really excited to be here and be a part of it.”
Kristen Bowness, the Mammoth’s Youth Program Director, has seen Kerfoot’s dedication throughout the last year, especially during the regular season. For every home game in the inaugural season, Kerfoot invited a girls hockey player to watch a Mammoth game on his tickets and take in warmups from the bench.
“His support throughout the whole season with our girls initiatives during the games,” Bowness explained. “It was so fun to hear the girls in the locker rooms afterwards how cool it was, and just the opportunities that he’s able to provide for us.”
“It’s special, it happened organically, how it came about,” Kerfoot reflected on his involvement with girls hockey. “It feels like they’ve really latched on to it and we’ve loved having the girls out to the games. It was something that at the end of the year, we talked to (the organization) about it and really wanted to allow for (more) exposure for more of the girls. You can only have so many girls out to games so to be able to get on the ice with them and do a day like this, it’s allowed us to reach more people.”
The Girls Hockey Clinic was one of eight events throughout Utah. Once the week is done, the organization will have held Mammoth Week events in Logan, Provo, Park City, Salt Lake City, Cottonwood Heights, Ogden, Enoch, and St. George. Bowness hopes Mammoth Week shows the state of Utah all the different types of hockey available to play.
“I’m hoping it’s just a great educational opportunity for people to learn that there are so many different forms of hockey,” Bowness shared on Mammoth Week. “We even had a sled hockey clinic too which was a lot of fun. (It) was available for everybody to try. That’s why we’re excited for (the girls hockey clinic). If some girls want to give (the on-ice session) a try, it’s great, but also if they don’t love it, that’s when they could play street hockey.”
Throughout the event at the Oval there were plenty of smiles, cheers, and competition. At the end of the day, it was also an opportunity for Kerfoot to chat with members of the community about how these events impact them.
“We have received such great support from the community and from families all around the state,” Kerfoot reflected. “To be able to see them firsthand, have conversations with them, understand how important it is for them to have a team here, makes it more meaningful for us and makes us feel more connected to the community for sure.”