It was a busy July afternoon at the Mariners’ Centre, on and off the ice, when the small group from Yarmouth Hospital Foundation finally made their way around more than a hundred students with hockey sticks to connect with NHLer Ryan Graves. The plan was to make good on a winning bid from the WE CARE Radiothon auction held all the way back in February and everyone was excited to do it.
One of the items listed for our inaugural WE CARE Radiothon Auction was a hockey jersey signed by Ryan Graves— an item that came with a small leap of faith. The shirt wasn’t signed back in February, and the winner would have to wait until the summer to meet Graves and get the shirt signed then. Winning bidder Dr. Brian Moses was content with the conditions and only too happy, once summer came, to collect.
Graves, fresh off his first season with the New Jersey Devils and representing Team Canada in the World Hockey Championship, was back in his hometown to run the Ryan Graves Hockey School — a weeklong hockey summer camp program like the ones he grew up going to, or like the ones that Jody Shelley previously hosted. “I would like to follow in his footsteps for doing good things here,” said Ryan. “I’m super proud of being from here. The community is awesome here.”
The Ryan Graves Hockey School is his way of giving back to the local community and he was only too happy to take a little time out to support Yarmouth Regional Hospital. “It’s awesome to get home and to support my hometown, for sure,” Ryan said, meeting with Dr. Moses to sign and hand over the jersey. “The hospital helps everyone so it’s a big positive to get to help raise money for them.”
Thanks again for your support, Ryan! We wish you the best for your upcoming season!
