Former Avalanche forward Pierre Turgeon retired from a 19-year NHL career a year ago, but he still spends as much time at ice rinks as he used to.
He coaches girls hockey for the Colorado Select 16-under Triple-A team, and three of his four children play for local youth programs. One of his twin daughters, Elizabeth, is a star forward on his Select team, which travels around the nation and is considered one of the country’s best.
Turgeon, 38, said placement in the right league is a big key to players enjoying the experience.
“You don’t want to be where you’re not supposed to be,” Turgeon said. “You want to play where you fit. If you’re an A-level player, that’s where you should be. And have fun. Who knows, after that? Next year you could be in Double-A, because kids jump levels all the time.”
Elizabeth’s twin sister, Alexandra, is the one child in the family who does not play hockey.
“I love seeing that she’s interested in different things,” Dad said.
Turgeon, who grew up in the small town of Rouyn, Quebec, excelled at hockey and baseball as a youth. He led his Little League team to the Canadian championship and a trip to the 1982 Little League World Series.
He urges parents to have their children take the summer off from hockey. He knows that at the elite levels (Double-A and Triple-A) it becomes more difficult to do so.
“At the higher levels, tryouts begin in July or August, so that makes it tough,” he said.
Like many Canadian youngsters, Turgeon said a frozen pond was his playground. In addition to skating four or five times a week in his youth program, he would play on the pond almost every day, sometimes up to six hours.
He said youth programs should limit ice time to “four or five times” per week, and leave it up to the child if he or she wants additional time to skate on their own. All area rinks offer public skating (no sticks or pucks) and some have hockey drop-in (informal scrimmage) or stick-and-puck (skill development and shooting) sessions.
