January 7, 2016 | Valerie Fortney | Calgary Herald
He was a kid with few prospects, getting into trouble with the police as he flirted with gang life. He was only eight years old.
“Everything a family would need was an issue,” says Malik Walker of his early years growing up in poverty. “When my parents split up, that was when my anger spilled over to fights with my mom, fights at school.” Then someone offered Walker a helping hand — or in this case, a hockey stick. The boy who had hardly skated was soon playing on a team, thanks to the Hockey Education Reaching Out Society, better known as HEROS (oldsite.heroshockey.com), an organization that brings the game to at-risk youth. No surprise that a decade later Walker laughs when asked if his beloved game is more than a sport to him. “Hockey is a way to bond and build healthy relationships,” he says. “Just having the chance to be a kid when things are tough can change the direction of a life.” The start of a new year is a busy time in this city for hockey kids. Over the Christmas break, the Mac’s Midget World Invitational featured some of the country’s best male and female prospects competing. Starting Friday, Esso Minor Hockey Week (hockeycalgary.ca) will see up to 12,000 boys and girls from across the country — cheered on by more than 20,000 spectators — converge on 50 arenas around the city as 650 teams play 900 games. “It’s the big exciting week for hockey kids and fans,” says Kevin Kobelka of the tournament that has been in the city for 46 years, the past 35 with Esso as its lead sponsor, noted for being the largest minor hockey tournament in the world. According to Kobelka, who serves as executive director for Hockey Calgary, the sport has never been more popular among local youngsters. “We’ve seen a five per cent increase in registration this year,” he says of its various hockey programs. “We had the big Mac’s tourney over Christmas, but now this one focuses on all the kids — it doesn’t matter if you’re at the lowest or the highest level of hockey playing.”

CALGARY.; JANUARY 07, 2016 — Kevin Hodgson, director of operations for Hockey Reaching Out Society, middle, with Malik Walker,18, left, and Blaze Prairie Chicken, 12, at Ernie Starr Arena in Calgary. Photo by Leah Hennel, Calgary Herald For City story by Valerie Fortney