Hero encounters

Taylor Pyatt’s a bit of a fixture at the annual Celebrity Skate for Easter Seals Kids.

When the event began a decade or so ago, Pyatt, Alex Auld and Trevor Letowski were front and centre, giving their time without question in support of children with disabilities.

Ten years later and Pyatt is still dedicated to the cause, one that’s near and dear to his heart. The event has grown over the years, and now includes a collection of Staals, his younger brother Tom  and, until this year, Patrick Sharp, Pyatt stands tall as he skates around the Tournament Centre ice with dozens of young fans each year.

“It’s a great event, and to be able to give back a little to the community and help out disabled children is great too,” the 6-foot-4 Pyatt said on Wednesday, the second of three straight days of NHL-related events taking place in the Thunder Bay area.

“We’ve done it for over 10 years now, and some of the kids I first saw when I came out are almost as tall as I am. So it’s good to see kids to come back each year to raise a lot of money.”

The reaction of the kids is priceless, he added.

“That’s really why we do it, to see the smiles on their faces every time they come up. It’s fun to ask the local kids how they’re doing and who they’re playing for. It’s an easy day for us to come out and skate for a few hours just to meet a lot of local kids,” Pyatt said.

And rather lucrative for the Easter Seals, said Rhonda Harrison, senior development officer with the local Easter Seals Ontario chapter.

“It’s a great tradition, it’s been going on for about 10 years now and we had about 93 skaters come out tonight. We raised more than $12,000 for Easter Seals kids.”

The money will be put to great use, Harrison promised.

“Easter Seals helps out families with children with physical disabilities to purchase equipment for mobility, communication devices,” Harrison said.

Local NHLers wrap up their three-day series of events on Thursday at Whitewater Golf Course, where they’ll take part in the Thunder Bay Hockey Celebrity Golf Classic in support of the Health Science Foundation’s Northern Cancer Fund.