Harlan Pratt’s first season as the executive director of Aspen Junior Hockey will unfortunately be remembered for having come in the middle of a pandemic. Yet, the native Canadian and former professional player lauded the AJH youth for their dedication this past year, despite the limited ice time.
“It’s not easy. Nothing in life is easy. But our kids were able to skate pretty consistently last year, which I thought was pretty awesome,” Pratt said earlier this fall. “From an overall standpoint, our kids finished with a normal season in an abnormal year, if that makes sense. And then this year, we’ve been able to get kids on the ice. We started skating Aug. 30, which is rolling into September and it’s pretty sweet to get kids on the ice as early as possible.”
While the pandemic is certainly not over, as rules remain in place locally to guard against the spread of COVID-19, Aspen Junior Hockey is already humming along at a pre-pandemic pace this fall. It started with the Back to Hockey night and the handing out of the annual Daily Sportsmanship Awards, which are sponsored by the Daily family, led by John Daily and his brother, the late Art Daily.
The 20th annual Woody Creek Distillers Stirling Cup was held Sept. 17-18. One of the organization’s largest fundraisers, it included a fly fishing excursion that Saturday and the usual golf tournament the next day at Aspen Golf Club.
“Pretty fun day, for sure,” Pratt said. “There is such a good support of community, and within that community it’s supporting the youth and other small, local programs. It’s pretty special. It makes it a pretty neat place for kids to grow up.”
This year there will be a second part to the Stirling Cup festivities with an alumni weekend scheduled for December, done in partnership with the Colorado Avalanche. AJH also partnered with the Avs and their Mile High Mites program this fall, which kicked off Oct. 11.
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Members of the Colorado Springs Tigers enter the ice to play the Mountain Select in the U14 AA championship game of Aspen Junior Hockey’s annual Fall Faceoff hockey tournament on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021, inside the Aspen Ice Garden. Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times.
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The Colorado Springs Tigers, in yellow, play the Mountain Select in the U14 AA championship game of Aspen Junior Hockey’s annual Fall Faceoff hockey tournament on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021, inside the Aspen Ice Garden. Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times.
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The Colorado Springs Tigers, in yellow, play the Mountain Select in the U14 AA championship game of Aspen Junior Hockey’s annual Fall Faceoff hockey tournament on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021, inside the Aspen Ice Garden. Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times.
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People watch as the Colorado Springs Tigers, in yellow, play the Mountain Select in the U14 AA championship game of Aspen Junior Hockey’s annual Fall Faceoff hockey tournament on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021, inside the Aspen Ice Garden. Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times.
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The Colorado Springs Tigers, in yellow, play the Mountain Select in the U14 AA championship game of Aspen Junior Hockey’s annual Fall Faceoff hockey tournament on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021, inside the Aspen Ice Garden. Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times.
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The Colorado Springs Tigers, in yellow, play the Mountain Select in the U14 AA championship game of Aspen Junior Hockey’s annual Fall Faceoff hockey tournament on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021, inside the Aspen Ice Garden. Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times.
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This upcoming weekend will be the second of three straight weekends of the 28th annual Fall Faceoff, a series of tournaments held as another major fundraiser for AJH. The higher-level AA teams competed this past weekend.
From a competitive standpoint, most AJH teams are off and skating in a season that typically runs until spring.
Of note, this coming January will mark the 50th anniversary of Aspen Junior Hockey. Pratt said there are many festivities planned to celebrate the milestone, including throwback jerseys for the athletes to wear.
acolbert@aspentimes.com
