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Subban Brings Blueline Buddies to Newark

In a press release put out by the Devils today, PK Subban has announced that his “Blueline Buddies” program will be coming with him to Newark.

PK started the program in Nashville while he was with the Predators and will continue it in New Jersey with the Devils. He had previously mentioned this in a preseason fan event.

The program brings four guests hosted by Subban to the Prudential Center to each Devils home game. The four guests consist of “two police officers from the precincts throughout Newark, and two youth from the Newark community.” They will then be treated “to dinner provided on behalf of Prudential Center’s concessionaire partner, Legends.” They will also “enjoy the game in great seats” and meet Subban both before the game and after it. Also, every attendee “of the program will receive a custom, one-of-a-kind Blueline Buddies t-shirt” courtesy of Adidas – with whom Subban works very closely as a spokesperson.

According to the press release, the program begins tonight with the home game against the Arizona Coyotes.

Furthermore, the press release states that later this year, “the Devils Grassroots department will host a charity hockey game with law enforcement, where proceeds will go back to the program.”

The press release says that the idea for the program, which Subban started in Nashville in cooperation with the Metro Nashville Police Department, came to him while watching the news. He felt that he wanted to do his part “to try and make a difference.” He began the program to bring together members of the Nashville police force “with a mentor or representative from a local organization and an underprivileged youth.”

Subban was quoted in the press release as saying: “I think it’s important for athletes to set a tone in a way that we’re looking to build bridges. That doesn’t take away from anybody’s right to do what they want to do or how they want to exercise their rights as an American citizen, but I think it’s really important for us to be role models in terms of building bridges and being a part of the solution to social issues and different things that go on in our community.”

The release mentioned that one of Subban’s best friends is a police officer and that the goal of the program is to build a rapport between youth and law enforcement.

Subban mentioned that “our law enforcement, these are people that leave their houses and may not come back at the end of the night. That’s the job that they have, so to make them feel good, and to also be able to help underprivileged youth that don’t get an opportunity like everyone else, that come from broken homes, it’s win-win.”

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Brodeur Goes into Canadian Sports Hall; Smith to Play in Canada-Russia Series

Martin Brodeur, three-time Stanley Cup champ, four-time Vezina Trophy winner, Calder Trophy winner, the NHL’s all-time wins and shutouts leader, Olympic gold medalist and Hockey Hall of Famer, has yet another set of accolades to add to his list. He was enshrined into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame earlier this morning in Toronto.

The Devils great was also awarded the Order of Sport in Canada.

According to the Hall of Fame’s website, Brodeur went in with other members of the Class of 2019, which included: freestyle skier Alexandre Bilodeau, para Nordic skier Colette Bourgonje, builder Doug Mitchell, rowing builder Guylaine Bernier, female hockey player Jayna Hefford, swimmer Vicki Keith and water polo player Waneek Horn-Miller.

In an interview on the Devils’ official app and website with Amanda Stein, Brodeur said “it’s a great honor” and that he does not really consider himself a “big athlete” due to him playing a team sport and not an individual sport like many of the others inducted.

On the topic of international competition, he told Stein that the Team Canada jersey was special to him because of his father. Denis Brodeur, of course, represented Canada in the 1956 Olympics. Brodeur told Stein that he did not really think the Olympics were in his future due to being a professional athlete. When the NHL let its players go to the Olympics, it was a dream come true for him.

In his conversation with Stein, the former Devils netminder also touched on being a recipient of the Order of Sport in Canada. This award recognizes athletes who have given back to their communities and Marty mentioned that, as a professional hockey player, making so much money, you need to give back. He said that he gave back in his playing days and tries to give back today. He clarified that his work is done, not just in New Jersey, but also in his hometown of Montreal.

Marty joked in his induction speech that “as a hockey player, you don’t really think about sports. It is a game.” He mentioned that “winning is all fun, but what you do for your fans is more important” as he discussed working with kids who were and are fans of his.

In other Devils news, Ty Smith will be representing the Western Hockey League (and serve as one of their captains) during the Canada-Russia Series in November. This is according to a report by Peter Robinson on the Devils’ official app.

The Canada-Russia series, which pits an all-star team from each of the three Canadian Hockey League major junior leagues (the WHL, OHL and QMJHL) against a touring team of Russian junior all-stars, serves as a bit of a tune-up for the World Junior Championship that takes place the week after Christmas. Smith plays for the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL.

On the topic of the World Juniors, Mark Hunter, co-owner of the London Knights of the OHL and general manager of Team Canada, was quoted by Robinson as saying that “Ty Smith is going to be a big part of our team. He and (Detroit Red Wings prospect) Joe Veleno were there last year and wouldn’t have liked how it ended. We’ll be counting on them to lead us.”

For his part, Smith told Robinson: “It was still a great experience, I’m looking forward to getting another opportunity especially with what happened last year. We weren’t happy with the result.” (Canada lost in overtime to Finland in the quarterfinals and ended up finishing sixth in a tournament that is extremely scrutinized in the nation.)

Congratulations to both Martin Brodeur and Ty Smith on these well-deserved honors.