• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
Hockey Cares

Ekholm’s Hockey Camp Initiates Change Back Home

By David Carlsson January 27th, 2017

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

P.K. Subban isn’t the only Nashville Predators to make an impact as an elite-level hockey player, earning elite-level paychecks and, consequently, carrying an idolized persona. Now, Subban’s teammate Mattias Ekholm has decided to give back to society, more specifically to the hockey community of his childhood team, Mora IK, in Sweden.

Together with Mora IK and Dalakraft, Ekholm has launched “Ekholm’s Hockey Camp” for kids and teenagers in Mora. But it’s not just your regular hockey camp. Their expressed goal is to run the “cheapest hockey camp in Sweden.” For a modest price tag of 1500 Swedish Crowns (roughly $150), people will be able to participate for a week. And the Nashville defenseman himself will be one of the instructors.

This is not only a nice gesture, and a token of gratitude, towards Ekholm’s hometown. It also signifies the change that needs to be done when it comes to making hockey affordable for everyone.

Economic Aspect

“Youth sports is supposed to be fun and accessible for everyone,” Mats Bengtsson, the CEO of Dalakraft, says in a press release. “In ‘Ekholm’s Hockey Camp’ players from all parts of society converges and get to experience a top-level hockey camp.”

Ekholm's Hockey Camp

Mattias Ekholm (Photo/Wikipedia Commons)

Let’s stop at the phrase “all parts of society.” We all know it’s mainly socio-economical differences that divide one part from the other — so is the case in Sweden at least. According to a report by the National Sports Federation in Sweden from 2009, hockey is the most expensive sport that you can play, with an estimated annual cost of over $1,000. Further on, since 2009, the price surely has gone nowhere but up.

Looking at this, hockey evidently isn’t for everyone, since everyone simply can’t afford the costs that come with the game. In fact, few can. Ekholm isn’t the first person to notice this, of course, but he is one of the first to try to do something about it.

The More the Merrier

If you’re reading this you might think, “this is nice and all, but why is it important?” Ekholm put the answer to that in good words via his Instagram account, when he spread the news of his hockey camp.

“I can honestly say that some of my most memorable moments in hockey is all the summer camps and tournaments back home in Sweden as a young kid,” Ekholm wrote. “With that said I’m very pleased and excited to announce that this summer we’re starting a summer hockey camp for only 150$. We want to bring more kids to hockey and hopefully, this is one step towards that!”

Ekholm's Hockey Camp

(Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Introducing more (and new!) kids to hockey sounds fantastic for the sake of the game and of society. The rink should be a place where different people meet, and an extended and diverse span of players will only improve the quality.

Of course, hockey will never be free of charge. There is no such sport, I think. But with small yet progressive steps, like the ones Ekholm exhibits here, hockey hopefully some day can be “for everyone”, and not just in theory.

Let’s just hope there will be more NHL players to follow Ekholm’s lead. Perhaps you readers can think of more cases similar to this one? Please share them with us.

  • Tags
  • Mattias Ekholm
  • P.K. Subban
  • Youth Hockey
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 16th 6:10 PM
Hockey History

25 Best Senators’ Memories From 25 Years at Canadian Tire Centre

Jan 16th 6:00 PM
Anaheim Ducks

Ducks Prospects: Colangelo, Andersson, Drew & More

Jan 16th 5:50 PM
Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks Need Taxi Squad to Drive Better Results in Net

Jan 16th 5:40 PM
Women's Hockey

Toronto Six 2021 Season Preview

Jan 16th 5:30 PM
Winnipeg Jets

Jets Have a lot of Options to Deal With Laine

Jan 16th 5:20 PM
Dallas Stars

Stars’ COVID-19 Cases Could Cost Them

Jan 16th 4:25 PM
Column

Maple Leafs News & Rumors: Campbell, Andersen, Tavares & Robertson

Jan 16th 4:15 PM
Tampa Bay Lightning

Lightning Look to Benefit From Week Off

Jan 16th 3:05 PM
Montreal Canadiens

Josh Anderson’s Canadiens Debut Should Make Marc Bergevin Proud

Jan 16th 2:55 PM
Other Leagues

OHL Would Benefit From 24-Game Season

Editor’s Picks
World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information