NEW YORK RANGERS ANNOUNCE ANNUAL DEREK BOOGAARD YOUTH HOCKEY SCHOLARSHIP
NEW YORK, July 13, 2011 – To honor the legacy of former Rangers left wing Derek Boogaard, the New York Rangers have announced that they will present two scholarships annually for Rangers Summer Youth Hockey Camp to children from the Defending the Blue Line program. Defending the Blue Line is a nonprofit organization created by soldiers with the goal of making hockey accessible to children of our nation’s military heroes, a program Derek supported wholeheartedly throughout his hockey career. Throughout the 2010-11 Season, Boogaard donated four seats at every Rangers home game for military families to attend as part of a group which he dubbed “Boogaard’s Boogaardians.”
This year’s scholarship recipients are two 8-year old boys from New York City who each have family members currently serving in the military. The boys will be attending the week-long camp from July 18-22 at the Madison Square Garden Training Center in Tarrytown, NY. Current Blueshirt center Derek Stepan, also an advocate of Defending the Blue Line, and defenseman Michael Sauer will be visiting the camp on Friday, July 22nd.
Rangers Youth Hockey Camp provides children with top-level hockey instruction with a focus on team participation and personal development. The Derek Boogaard Youth Hockey Scholarship will be awarded annually to honor Boogaard’s memory and continue the Rangers mission to help grow the game of hockey by making it accessible to all.
For more information on the Derek Boogaard Youth Hockey Scholarship, or to cover Rangers Youth Hockey Camp, please contact Lauren Buchman Lauren.Buchman@msg.com
