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Welcome to the 2016-17 Season!

By GPYHA, 09/02/16, 11:30AM EDT

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GPYHA Board Welcomes Members to the 2016-17 Hockey Season

The GPYHA Board welcomes you to another season of hockey with the Jr. Bears. We are thankful and appreciative that you have placed your trust in our organization to deliver a rewarding and positive hockey experience for your family. Our membership has never been larger and our organization has never been stronger!

Each player's development, regardless of their level, is the most important consideration in the everything the board does. We strive to offer your child the opportunity to maximize their talent as a hockey player while building character and long-lasting friendships in a safe, organized environment.Your board and coaches have been working hard to deliver on these goals during the weeks leading up to the start of our season and will continue to work hard throughout the season. Below are some important details and highlights for our upcoming season.

More Ice Time, More Touches

With our highest number of travel teams ever (18), we have purchased more ice time than ever before at our two home rinks of Lynch Arena and Meehan Auditorium (Brown). To accommodate all our players and teams, we have also added ice time at The Rhode Island Sports Complex 146, Adelard Arena-Mount Saint Charles, and Driscoll Arena in Fall River.  The mission of our organization is to bring the love of the game to all skaters within the Bear's organization and this investment in ice time enables that.

More Skills Development Opportunities

To complement the quality instruction that GPYHA coaches provide during regular practice sessions, we have contracted DAJ Hockey, led by Dave Jensen (NHL, Olympian) and Glen Featherstone (NHL), to run run both our on-ice and off-ice skills programs for Mite Smythe level and above. We believe this investment will provide our children with the best on and off-ice instruction in New England. Get to know Dave and Glen HERE.

Specialized Skills Development

We will continue our efforts to provide specialized skills training for our players. DAJ will host checking clinics this season for our Pee Wee and Bantam players. We plan to provide 8 or more goalie clinics run by former Colgate University 4-year starter, AHL and European goaltender, and current Assistant Coach at Bentley College, Steve Silverthorn. Our goalies might like to see Steve in action.

Tournaments

We will also continue to host jamborees like our Winter Classic and our use of the Mitey Boards for our House and Mite players. Come March, the Annual Nathan Crowell Tournament for our travel teams will showcase their development over the year. And of course, travel teams will be engaged in tournaments throughout New England and beyond.

House League, Instructional and Special Hockey

Bringing the game to new skaters and teaching the Bear's travel hockey players of tomorrow to love the game of hockey remains a top priority. Programs will begin mid-October at Lynch and Meehan under the direction of our network of coaches. Tell someone about the game and bring them into the Bears family - Registration is open for these programs now!

Due to our committed volunteers, coaches and membership, we as an organization are able to invest in our children through these various programs and instruction. If you have not already heard from your coaches, they will be contacting you this week, as some of our travel teams start the season shortly.  We are looking forward to a positive, challenging, and rewarding year for your children. We wish you a great season and if there is anything we as a board can do to help improve your child's hockey experience, please let us know.

Sincerely,

The GPYHA Board