First-year Devil Tariq Hammond getting a good read on Binghamton

(Photo credit: JustSports Photography/Binghamton Devils)

 

Tariq Hammond’s volunteer excursions typically follow the same pattern. He will read to school children, answer questions about life as a hockey player and repeat the same process over again.

 

 

That was the format at CR Weeks, Deposit Elementary and Olmstead Elementary, all located within 30 miles of Binghamton, where he spent the better part of his rookie season with the Devils’ AHL affiliate this past year.

Despite the routine feel of these volunteer experiences, one moment stands out for the defenseman. Just like a game schedule, some editions on his school-visit slate pack an inescapably greater magnitude.

“I once read to an entire school,” Hammond told Pucks and Recreation, “which was stunning that the school arranged for me to read to that large a gathering of school children.”

That school was Chenango Forks Elementary, a Binghamton institute with an estimated K-through-5 enrollment of 700 students. The student-teacher ratio there is 14:1, meaning Hammond had the average classroom size multiplied by 50 during his drop-in.

“Luckily, I didn’t stumble too hard over the words,” he laughed when reflecting on that unexpected task.

Stumbles or not, that community involvement was enough to garner the Calgary native his team’s nomination for the AHL’s Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, given annually to an AHL player for contributions to the local community and charititable organizations. (The 2019 award has since gone to Landon Ferraro of the Iowa Wild.)

Before his notable achievements this year, Hammond was extensively involved in his amateur and collegiate stops. By the time he turned pro last spring, it was almost second nature for him to devote his time in Upstate New York.

Moreover, he had established a niche in promoting reading. Hammond played for the Okotoks Oilers of the Alberta Junior Hockey League from 2011 to 2014, and used that opportunity to volunteer in local literacy programs.

 

(Photo credit: JustSports Photography/Binghamton Devils)

 

“Volunteering is something I like doing,” he said. “I think it helps make the kids’ day, and it certainly brightens my day. It is easy to do, but it goes a long way and impacts everyone involved.”

As his hockey career progressed, Hammond continued to build a remarkable service resume. During his days at the University of Denver, where he won a national title and later captained the Pioneers, he built sustained relationships in the area that have continued post-graduation.

“In the offseason, I often spend much of my time in Denver,” he said. “I connect with alumni that used to play for Denver. We organize charity hockey tournaments. One of them is called the Dawg Bowl which is often used to benefit former hockey players with life-threatening illnesses. In fact, last year the tournament raised money for the Humboldt Broncos.”

Now in its ninth year, the Dawg Bowl will take place from June 20 through June 23, with 42 teams in seven divisions. The beneficiary, a member of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, experienced a tragic bus crash that killed 16 people and injured 13 others when a semi-trailer truck struck their northbound coach bus near Armley, Saskatchewan, in 2018.

To honor the survivors and commemorate those who have died, the highlight of the Dawg Bowl this year is the Survivor Game, where all the participants will wear Humboldt jerseys. Beyond the games, fans indulge in food, live music and a kid’s zone to raise money for a good cause.

Just as Hammond wasted no time constructing a strong rapport with his Mile High community, he jumped right into the Binghamton area this past year. He explained that the B-Devils form partnerships with individual schools and offer the chance to get involved in different schools.

Besides learning more about his own off-ice passions, Hammond has extended his teamwork with fellow New Jersey hopefuls.

“I often volunteer with a few teammates,” he said, “and it is cool to get away from the rink to see a different side of my teammates than what I normally see.”

Beyond these insights into his colleagues, Hammond also relishes the chance to interact with local schoolchildren.

(Photo credit: JustSports Photography/Binghamton Devils)

“All of the kids I read to are different, and I enjoy meeting each one,” he said Hammond. “They often ask funny questions about life as a hockey player, and it is enjoyable to see what they say.”

Beyond the Devils’ reading program, Hammond has also participated in the Toys for Tots Spaghetti Dinner and the Devils’ booster-club meetings. His involvement continues a strong tradition of the Devils’ commitment to delivering a memorable holiday season.

For 17 years, the local AHL franchise has partnered with the Binghamton, Endicott, Johnson City and Vestal Police Departments to offer this dinner to benefit the Broome County Toys for Tots program. The partnership dates back to when the league returned to the city in 2002 with the Senators, who arrived five years after the Rangers departed.

Since becoming New Jersey’s farm base in 2017-18, the Binghamton Devils have followed that precedent. The Toys for Tots program collects unwrapped toys to deliver to families in need during the holiday season. In his first shift, Hammond and other Devils players served an Italian dinner to generous donors and supporters.

Both the dinner and the Booster Club Meetings meaningfully impacted Hammond. “The team does a lot for the community and the Booster Club does a lot for the team,” he said. “Getting to know them has been influential for me to just simply say thank you for their support of the Devils.”

With 2018-19 behind him, Hammond has exhausted a one-year minor-league contract with the Devils. But whether he is back in Binghamton or taking root elsewhere this fall, one can expect him to continue devoting his time to community service and honing his skills on the ice.

“Hockey players and athletes make a huge impact in their community,” he said. “The fans show up for our games, which is why it is always better to play on home ice. The fans care about you. It is only right to get involved in your community for the fans who spend their time coming to watch you play. Your presence really grows around the town, and it goes a long way in making a difference.”

-          John Morton

Nolan Zajac, David Carle follow family history to Frozen Four

David Carle’s businesslike approach is such that he resists savoring the anecdotal garnish he and his team helped to create so far in 2015-16.

The third-year Denver Pioneers assistant coach is bound for his first Frozen Four at Tampa’s Amalie Arena. That means his first involvement in a game at the home of his brother, minute-munching NHL rearguard Matt Carle’s, longtime employer. Not to mention, the home of the team that made him an honorary pick after a heart condition abruptly cut off his playing endeavors prior to the 2008 NHL Draft.

As long as there is another game to prepare for, those tidbits take the trunk in his vehicle.

“It could be in Seattle, for all I care,” Carle said in a phone interview with Along the Boards.

“If it was played in Philadelphia or Chicago, it would be just as special,” he added matter-of-factly. “The venue and the connection, it just happened to be a coincidence.”

But he had enough charity to humor the human-interest hankerings of his inquisitor by allowing, “Does it make for a better storyline? Yes.”

Carle simply wants to do his part to pen the tale that the Denver faithful has yearned for over the past decade. When the Pioneers meet North Dakota next Thursday evening, it will be their first Frozen Four faceoff since the elder Carle was a collegian 11 years ago.

“We both pride ourselves on trying to get to Frozen Fours and put banners up in our buildings,” said the younger Carle of the participating programs. “When we play each other, it’s never going to be a meaningless game, and this is going to be another great chapter.”

One that will not avoid evoking a previous chapter, even if the bulk of the acknowledgment is left to the audience and detached narrators.

Surname symmetry

Facing none other than North Dakota, the 2004-05 Pioneers defended their national title with a 4-1 victory in that year’s championship bout. In doing that, they matched UND’s second-best all-time count of seven national titles. Only Michigan boasts more banners, with nine to its credit.

But neither program has been back to the title game since. North Dakota has ventured to six more semifinals, including three with the help of brothers Travis and Darcy Zajac. But the artist formerly known as the Fighting Sioux last played on an April Saturday when Denver repressed Travis Zajac and company.

The youngest of the four Zajac brothers, Nolan, seeks to prolong that futility for the newly christened Fighting Hawks. The senior blueliner was 12 years old when his oldest sibling supplied UND’s only goal in its 2005 shortcoming.

He is now nearly twice that age as he pilots the Denver defense back to the national semifinals. For him, this comes after three previous NCAA regionals yielded a 1-3 record and no Promised Land passports.

“It just shows how hard it is to get to the Frozen Four,” he told ATB.

A reality that one might not think would strike the mind of a Zajac so easily. The aforementioned Travis brought UND back to college hockey’s closing weekend as a sophomore in 2005-06, leading the team with 29 assists on the year.

The first-line center tallied a goal and two assists in the eventual 6-5 semifinal loss to Boston College. He would subsequently forego the second half of his NCAA eligibility, signing with the New Jersey Devils that offseason.

The BC Eagles would likewise terminate Darcy’s freshman and sophomore campaigns in a 2007 and 2008 NCAA semifinal rematch. UND did not return to that platform until year after Darcy graduated.

In 2012, Kelly Zajac partook in a landmark phase of the Union Dutchmen’s rise to prominence. The starting center led his team with 34 assists in his senior campaign, which culminated in Union’s first Frozen Four experience. His college career would end with a 3-1 semifinal loss to Ferris State.

The youngest Zajac was apt to note that Union on that foundation en route to the 2014 championship, albeit two years too late for his brother.

“All of my brothers have made it to the Frozen Four,” Nolan said. “Hopefully, I’ll be the one to bring it all the way home. They could never finish it off. I kind of want to learn from those a little bit.”

Of his Denver team, particularly himself and his fellow seniors, he added, “We’re hoping that we don’t need to take that step where we have to lose to know how to win.”

Papa Pioneer

The Zajacs’ father, Tom, had a delectable Denver career in his own right. Per the Internet Hockey Database, he turned in back-to-back 33-point campaigns as a junior and senior.

But in terms of group glory, the future patriarch of the Zajac hockey factory ran into a bout of ill fortune. When he enrolled in 1973, the Pioneers were coming off a loss to Wisconsin in the preceding NCAA championship. They had just been to three consecutive national semifinals and five in the previous six years.

However, they would not reach that stage again until 1986, then went another 18 years before finally winning the title in 2004. That undoubtedly emboldens Nolan’s energy when he speaks of the team’s collective desire to achieve fulfillment for the university’s alumni.

“He’s pretty pumped right now to watch these games,” he said of his father, who will be in attendance next week. “I know my brothers are happy for me, too. I’m not sure who exactly they’re going to be rooting for, but I think they’re just looking forward to some good games.”

Unfinished business

As a specialist in defensive tutelage, Carle has worked closely with Zajac since returning to his alma mater at midseason in 2013-14. It is therefore easy to believe the former when he insists that the latter set family pride aside in this past weekend’s West Regional.

“Our players don’t think about stuff like that,” Carle said. “We were focused on our process because our whole team has the same desire.

“Ultimately, we wanted to get back to the Frozen Four.”

Carle also maintained that the two have not reminisced on the last time their bloodlines were simultaneously represented at that stage. Although, in terms of opposing North Dakota yet again, he offered, “I guess when you look at it, it’s fairly fitting.”

But even while taking a mental breather to delve into his dense family history when pressed, the youngest Zajac kept his head on a swivel, tilting toward the present and immediate future. He reaffirmed his status as a determined Denver senior at the climax of his career.

“It’s awesome to get there,” he said. “But we still have a long way to go.”

This article originally appeared on Along the Boards