Tony Giacin

A tradition of youth hockey at Affton ice rink

When Tony Giacin plays hockey at the Affton ice rink, he's continuing both a family and rink tradition. His father, Steve, played as a nine-year-old the year the Affton ice rink opened in 1971.

Now, Tony is a center on the Affton American 10-and-under select team that plays in the Squirt division of the Central States Developmental Hockey League (CSDHL). That's a nine-team league with teams from Chicago, Indianapolis and Madison, Wis.

Steve Giacin is now the coach of Tony's team. Steve said the 14-member team will play "close to a 60-game season" by the time play stops in February, 2002. That will include 24 league games, played on a home-and-home basis.

Tony is a fifth grader at Point Elementary School in the Mehlville School District. He started skating when he was two years old. He's been on a youth hockey team for eight years.

The Affton rink fields teams in all four youth divisions of the CSDHL. Besides the 10-and-under Squirt division, there is the 12-and-under PeeWees, 14-and-under Bantams and 17-and-under Midgets.

St. Louis actually has two teams in the CSDHL's Squirt and PeeWee divisions. The others come from the Chesterfield Ice Complex.

Tony said he likes hockey because "there's lots of action and it's a fast game." He said, "I'm not the fastest player but I'm fast enough. As a center, I'm a play-maker and control the puck."

Tony isn't the only hockey player in the family. His younger sister, nine-year-old Taylor, plays on a traveling team in the Mite League at Affton. Taylor started as a figure skater but decided she wanted to play hockey also.

Caroline Campbell

One of Tony's teammates also is a girl and a former figure skater. Ten-year-old Caroline Campbell started in figure skating when she was three but turned to hockey the next year. "I still do a little figure skating, but I like hockey better," she said.

Coach Giacin said Caroline was being modest about her figure skating. "She skates competitively there also," he said.

At the height of 4-foot-10 and at 83 pounds, she's got the strength and speed to keep up with the boys on the select team.

Asked about the future, Caroline said she hopes to go to college in either Minnesota, Wisconsin or Michigan. "They have women's teams in college at schools there," she said. She hopes there will be a women's pro hockey league in operation by the time she finishes college.

Otherwise, "I'd like to be a veterinarian," she said.

Ryan Reel

The goalie for the Squirt team is Ryan Reel. He's a fifth grader at Point Elementary School. The 10-year-old has been playing hockey for six years and been a goalie for five.

Coach Giacin said Ryan "is an excellent goalie." Ryan said he enjoys "making saves." In addition to practices on the Affton rink ice, Ryan said he plays roller-hockey in his neighborhood and also attends summer camps.

Chris Breunig

Ten-year-old Chris Breunig lives in Belleville, Ill. But, he transferred to the Affton team three years ago. The league has a one-move rule where players can transfer from one rink to another just once.

The fifth grader plays left wing for the Affton team. Like some of his teammates, he'd like to play pro hockey when he gets older. "Hockey gets in your blood," he said.

He said the ability to skate fast "probably is the number one asset." He considers himself to be a fast skater and a good passer.

Fifth grader Daniel Weber said he likes the fact that hockey is a "physical game." Also, he said, "It's a fast game and has a good flow to it."

Daniel said he thinks his best assets as a hockey player are "screening for the goalie on defense and passing." By "screening," he's talking about getting between his goalie and the opponent to break up a scoring try.

Daniel Weber

Other members of the Squirt team are Brian and Patrick Sheehan, Drew Smegner, Brandon Richards, Eric Viehman, Christian Herbosa, David Green, Brian O'Rourke and Mike Vishnevetsky.

Hockey is a sport that demands a lot of time. In addition to the games, the players practice from two to four times a week.

But, Coach Giacin makes sure school work comes first. "We have a team rule that a player can't practice unless he or she has all homework done," he said.

Several of the players said they don't need a team rule because their parents already have that rule at their homes.