St. Paul, Minnesota – Wild Hockey is committed to making the game accessible to all players. This includes removing cost barriers and enabling access at a very young age.

“I want to train so I can be a great figure skater when I’m older,” said 7-year-old Petra Maldonado.

Petra is trying out the Wild’s “Hockey is for Me” program and already has big dreams.

“I want to play for Edina High School and for the Hornets,” Petra said.

One of the many reasons she fell in love with the sport is because she is surrounded by kids who look like her.

“It’s a program for 5-8 colored kids. We’re trying to expand that side of the game because hockey is primarily a white sport,” said Gabby Billing.

According to USA Hockey, 86% of Minnesota players age 8 or younger are white.

Billing hopes their program can change those statistics by removing barriers to skating – like cost. They provide all the equipment for free, and when they complete this program, they can move on to the Little Wild program and beyond for free.

“If they like hockey so much that they want to continue in their youth organization, we try to support them there as well,” said Billing.

Petra’s father Roger was also on the ice. He wants her to learn this sport much earlier than he did.

“If we want to make a difference with these numbers, we have to reach them when they are young – at 4, 5, 6 years old, and that’s exactly what we’re doing here,” Roger said.