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JAMESBURG: A ‘Devil’ lends wisdom to hockey league

By Ed Birch, Special Writer
   JAMESBURG — The 58 junior hockey players who participate in the Jamesburg Youth Hockey Program recently gathered for the Saturday morning set of regularly scheduled interleague games at the Grace M. Breckwedel Middle School gymnasium, unaware league officials had prepared a special surprise for them.
   As the early morning games started in their usual fashion, league officials had made arrangements for former New Jersey Devils captain and former New York Rangers defensive star Bruce Driver to lead the players in some floor hockey drills and instruction.
   Mr. Driver, now 50, represents the Newark-based NHL team in one of its many community outreach programs geared at youth hockey.
   The Devils are a big supporter for the youth hockey leagues in the state by providing equipment and group tickets for many of its contests during the season, according to Mr. Driver.
   Organizers said the local program received some support in previous years from the Devils, but this year was even more special.
   Mr. Driver brought his own Devils jersey and hockey stick, arrived some 30 minutes before his scheduled surprise appearance and got onto the floor and participated with the young players.
   ”I grew up in a program very similar to this one in Ontario, Canada,” Mr. Driver said. “Besides school, the only other thing to do where I grew up was play street hockey.”
   The former captain, who stands 6-foot, 1-inch, said he started with the team when it was having a hard time getting wins.
   ”I started playing for the Devils when they did not know how to win,” he said, pointing to the championship ring on his finger from winning the Stanley Cup. “By the time I was traded to the enemy New York Rangers, we were the champions of the entire league.”
   He urged all of the youth league members to pick out the one thing they can do well in their lives and try to excel at that skill, whether it is school or athletics.
   ”There were no days off when I played in the NHL,” Mr. Driver said. “Every day was filled with either games or daily workouts.”
   He then went onto the gym floor and took face-offs and centered “two-on-one” and “three-on-one” drills with the youth hockey players.
   Many of the youth players scored some skillful goals, being set up by the former NHL star.
   ”Some of these kids showed some talent out there” Mr. Driver said. “Who knows, maybe one of these kids will have the ambition and make it into the NHL one day. The Devils can use some local talent on their squad.”