Terry Conners Rink was packed to the brim on Thursday for a special event honoring Darien's Hayden Thorsen.
"This is so much bigger than any of us could have imagined," said Thorsen's friend Cooper Cleaves.
Over 2,000 strong were in attendance to support the HT40 Foundation's first Shoulder Check Showcase. It was a night to honor number 40, Hayden Thorsen, who passed away unexpectedly last year at the age of 16.
"He is literally everything that this movement is trying to be and what every kid should try to be," Cleaves said.
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The goal of the HT40 Foundation is to inspire a culture of support through simple acts of kindness that can make all the difference.
"You can see if you're hurt physically sometimes but mentally, it's very hard to see that and to see the signs," Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad said.
"It's just bringing awareness to the fact that being a man and being mature is about checking in, it's about talking about your feelings," Rangers forward Chris Kreider said. "It's about looking out for the people around you as well as yourself."
Sports
Some of the area's brightest youth players hit the ice with NHL stars, united as one hockey community.
"Around here, it's a really tight knit group and really tight knit community, especially in the hockey world itself, so it's one of those things to see how many people come out to this and show their support, it's really special," Panthers goalie and Darien native Spencer Knight said.
Players wore a blue patch on their shoulder, reminding everyone of the power of a shoulder check.
"Having everybody then spread it to their club teams and all of that," Thorsen's friend Jack Genovese said. "Everybody checking in on each other no matter what it is, whether it's weekly, monthly check in, I think the message will be spread very well."
