Jay Feaster still smiles about the scene he witnessed at Centennial Middle School.
"There were so many kids stopping the principal and the assistant principal and asking, 'Can I go to PE today?'" said Feaster, the Tampa Bay Lightning's executive director of community hockey development. "They were pumped up."
Feaster got the 200 kids pumped up by bringing street hockey to physical education classes at Centennial. It was one of the first outreach efforts by Feaster, whose role will eventually take him to more schools in Pasco, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee and Polk counties.
Lightning owner Jeff Vinik brought back Feaster, who served as the team's general manager from 2002 to 2008, to spread hockey fever among its youngest fans.
"He (Vinik) genuinely loves the game and he wants to create that same love and passion among kids," Feaster said. "It's a matter of getting sticks in the hands of kids and getting them to realize they have a place to play."
The Lightning also supports youth teams in street hockey and ice hockey, including travel teams, club teams and the 17 club high school teams across three counties that compete each year. It wants to increase play among boys and girls and had a series of activities at the Ottawa game to generate interest among girls.
But the team is looking to do more than just promote play. Under Feaster's leadership, it also will bring an education component to its outreach efforts. In the latest collective bargaining agreement, the National Hockey League and the NHL Players Association agreed to fund a Future Goals Program.
Partnering with EverFi, a digital education company based in Washington, D.C., the league, including the Lightning, will use hockey to teach kids about digital citizenship. Interactive gaming components will include lessons about websites to avoid, properly using social media and dealing with cyberbullying.
Next year, the program will transition to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) lessons. The Lightning have given the EverFi representative office space in the Amalie Arena.
To underscore the educational aspect, the Lightning had Harvard graduate and current center Alex Killorn come out for part of the daylong activities.
"He was talking to the kids and watching as they went through the program," Feaster said of Killorn.
Other participants included former Lightning forward Jassen Cullimore and goalie Mathieu Garon, who took the kids through various street hockey drills. Of course, the introduction to street hockey is designed to eventually draw them to playing on the ice.
Rick Dubaj helped draw the Lightning to Centennial. The Massachusetts native who played on frozen ponds as a child now has his son Nick playing on a travel team. Dubaj said he reached out to the team to spark interest among Nick's friends because an ice rink is under construction in Wesley Chapel.
"Many friends of my son have always expressed interest, but not having a rink nearby made it difficult for them to try the sport," Dubaj said. "For me being Nick's coach, I want to get local kids exposed as soon as possible to get them skating and playing the game.
"We've had Nick's friends over and had some good street hockey games in the driveway, so I know the desire is there. Put them on the ice and they'll be hooked for life.
The team donated equipment to the school for continued hockey exposure, and by the end of the Oct. 10 visit at Centennial, a number of students were pressing principal Ricky Saylor to form a street hockey club. It was a sign of a successful mission for Feaster, the GM who guided the on-ice personnel decisions during the Lightning's 2004 Stanley Cup Championship season.
Every student received an invitation to participate in a skills clinic two days later at All Sports Arena in New Port Richey, and when a student from Centennial came out for the clinic, Feaster knew the team had a formula that would continue to work in the months to come.
Contact Ernest Hooper at ehooper@tampabay.com. Follow @hoop4you.