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Play hard and compete, while keeping things fun with a heavy dose of sportsmanship at the same time.

The Punch-Kick Hockey League (PKHL) in the metro Detroit area seems to have it just right.

Formed in 2007 as one squad, the PKHL has expanded into five teams for the current campaign, which begins Sept. 4 when the Green team takes on the Sky team to start a 24-game, 30-week schedule. Four of the five squads then qualify for the playoffs, which culminate in the championship game on April 30.

The other three colors/teams are Yellow, White and Orange, though all uniforms utilize the same logo with the PKHL lettering and old-fashioned looking boxer figure.

The league’s workmanlike, average Joe approach is epitomized in its championship trophy, the Karlander Cup, which is named after longtime minor league hockey player Kory Karlander, who has more than 1,000 pro games on his résumé.

Karlander, 41, currently a free agent, has played nearly two decades of hockey, mostly in Michigan outposts of Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Northern Michigan University in Marquette. Although Karlander never made it to the NHL, he still plays the game at a high level. He earned ECHL first-team honors in 2010-11 by scoring 34 goals with 46 assists for 80 points in 71 games.

More importantly for the PKHL, Karlander epitomizes someone who plays the sport for the love of the game and not necessarily for fame, glory or riches. Karlander, as a December 2012 USA Today article pointed out, “has no trouble relating to younger players.”

“When we met Mr. Karlander and presented him the trophy, he was floored that we did something like this in his honor,” said PKHL president Jason Mills, noting they also retired Karlander’s jersey No. 33. “We did it because he’s the perfect example of what this league is all about.”

The PKHL consists of high-level players, like Joel Higuchi along with Jason and his brother Justin Mills, who also serves on the league’s board of directors. But there are also many newer players as well. The league’s challenge is to merge its top players as seamlessly as possible with those who are still learning the game’s finer points.

The PKHL will look to achieve that balance via its preseason draft and an annual reshuffling of players based on their status as either “franchise” or “role” players. The league also offers summer sessions to help players improve and a report card of sorts to evaluate their play.

It’s the league’s philosophy of decency and fairness that appeals to players like Nick Candela, who has played for the team since its inception and now serves as the Yellow club’s goaltender.

“Guys see the camaraderie we have and want to be part of it,” Candela said, explaining the growth of the PKHL from a handful of players to more than 50 in just six years. “This is going to be special compared to other leagues in the country.”

It’s the type of people that play in the league that will likely make it special, said Candela, who is a firefighter. He said escapism and fun play a large role in the PKHL’s success.

“When we’re playing, we’re just 5-10 minutes away from what’s going on in the world,” Candela said, mentioning the tough times in nearby Detroit that have rippled through the entire state. “And playing hockey helps us take our minds from the crap going on.”

These guys are still playing to win, though, and they all want to become the first PKHL club to raise the Karlander Cup, a 25-pound trophy purchased on eBay. Like other elements of this league, there’s more to it.

In order to make it special, the cup was stained in red mahogany and contains panels on which the annual champions names will be engraved for the next 60 years, in similar fashion to the Stanley Cup.

That’s no coincidence, as the PKHL was able to have part of the trophy made and engraved by the same professional who worked on the famed Cup.

It’s just an example of how things have come together for the PKHL and its mission statement seems to say it all:

“The PKHL is an independent community emphasizing camaraderie, sportsmanship and parity while acknowledging that hockey exists in the lives of our members for the sole purpose of recreation and enjoyment. Nothing is more important than the love of the game of hockey.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.