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Despite Draft, Possums Adult Team Keeps Coming Back
The core group of around five players has been together about 15 years.
“Win at home, get killed on the road.”
That’s a pretty funny motto for any adult hockey team. It’s even more humorous when it’s the mantra of a team named the Possums after the frequent road kill victims.
The guys who play for the Possums in the Kansas City Ice Center Adult Hockey League in Shawnee, Kansas, certainly don’t lack a sense of humor.
“We’re just out to have a good time with guys we enjoy being around,” team captain Jeff Smith said. “People who are puck hogs or don’t pass or jerks on the bench or want to fight, they don’t stick around very long. We’ve basically established a rapport with a bunch of people.”
Since the team was established about 15 years ago, there has been a core group of around five players who are mainstays with the Possums every season. That doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it is when you consider that the league holds a draft prior to every season, and team rosters are ever changing.
Prior to each season, the league runs an evaluation skate-around to rate the players based on skill level, generally from 1-5 (5 being the best). The team captains then draft and have an “ability cap,” and aren’t able to pick all 4s or 5s. The high picks have to be offset by taking some 1s and 2s.
“We end up having really close teams, and it doesn’t get very chippy,” said Smith, who is 46 and the team’s goalie. “You don’t have the college kids coming in and blowing everybody out, that sort of thing. I really enjoy it.”
Max Utsler is in his second stint with the Possums and relishes every chance to play with the guys.
“The captains in our league do a really, really good job to try to have eight competitive teams,” said Utsler, who has been on the team for about nine years. “They won’t let anybody load up.”
Smith attempts to draft the same guys every year, but that can be difficult.
"I have had to fight that battle a couple times, but the nice thing is we’ve got that core of four or five guys that I will battle to make sure that we don’t break that up,” Smith said. “Some of the other ones come and go depending on if they move or want to play on a different team — lots of different things happen. But the nice thing about the draft is I can keep that core group, and I can add higher- or lower-level players to balance it out as needed.”
Utsler, who is the oldest player on the Possums at 67, is aware how he fits onto the team.
“I know I’m the lowest rated player on our team, maybe in the whole league,” Utsler joked. “So I play an important role, because it allows us to have some really good guys on the team.”
The Possums range in age from about 30 to late 60s, with the average in the 40s.
“If the team was all 22-year-olds, I wouldn’t want to play on it,” Utsler said. “But it’s an older group, and I imagine we are the oldest team in the league.”
Utsler loves the on-ice chemistry and camaraderie with his teammates. The guys have played together long enough to know one another’s tendencies.
“When we get into the attack zone, everybody knows I’m not going to try to handle the puck,” Utsler said. “I just try to go in front of the net and get in the way of the goalie. I might get a rebound every three years or something like that.”
Smith is hoping to keep the Possums together for years to come. He always looks forward to hitting the ice with the core group of players.
“We’re best friends. We’re hockey buddies,” Smith said. “We know each other’s families, and we get together outside of hockey.”
Utsler, who didn’t learn how to skate until he was 29, doesn’t want to compete on any other team than the Possums.
“If this team disbanded and all these guys moved out of town, I’m done,” Utsler said. “I guess I can civically say I’m not interested in making any new friends. ... I just really like these bunch of guys, so that keeps me coming back.”
Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.
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Playing hockey can play a big role in staying healthy as an adult
Adult hockey not only promotes a healthy and active lifestyle, it requires it. As adults get older, they increasingly need to emphasize regular exercise and a nutritious diet. There’s no easy way to go about it—but there is a fun, challenging and rewarding option that sticks with you for life:
Hockey.
That’s right. Hockey is part of the perfect prescription for an adults’ health regiment. Just ask Olympian and former NHL player Steve Jensen.
“Physical fitness is something we should all be thinking about as we get older,” says Jensen, a longtime certified USA Hockey coach/official. “There’s no better activity than hockey to stay in shape.”
Dr. Michael Stuart, chief medical officer for USA Hockey, says the positives of playing hockey are contagious.
“Participation in ice hockey provides all the benefits of exercise while building friendships and ensuring a fun time,” says Stuart, who is also the vice-chair of Orthopedic Surgery and the co-director of the Sports Medicine Center at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Dr. Stuart and colleague Dr. Edward Laskowski of the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center sketch out specific benefits for hockey players:
- Prevents excess weight gain and/or maintain weight loss.
- Boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good” cholesterol, and decreases unhealthy triglycerides, a cominbination that lowers your risk of cardiovascular diseases.
- Stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed.
- Improves muscle strength and boosts your endurance.
- Relieves stress by helping you have fun and unwind, connect with friends and family, and be part of a team.
- Involves physical activity that can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep.
“Playing adult hockey is a great way to feel better, gain health benefits and have fun,” says Stuart, who also emphasizes maintaining a balanced diet. As for safety concerns, he adds: “The risk of injury is small in no-check, adult hockey games, but players should wear high-quality, well-fitting equipment, including a helmet and facial protection.”
The Minnesota-based Adult Hockey Association is starting to see employers embrace hockey as a health and performance benefit for its workforce. Some businesses are beginning to subsidize hockey registration fees for employees because they feel the activity fits the policy of their wellness programs.
“It’s not a lot, but we’re starting to see more and more trickle in,” says Dave Swenson, the AHA’s secretary treasurer who also serves on USA Hockey’s Adult Council and Minnesota Hockey’s Board of Directors.
Swenson wants this trend to continue growing, not just to see the number of players rise, but to reward players for committing to a healthy lifestyle.
“I’m hoping employers think about that a little more,” Swenson adds. “It’s not just softball leagues anymore. There are recreational hockey opportunities out there for adults.”
Hilary McNeish, a longtime player, ambassador, and current executive director of the Women’s Association of Colorado Hockey, says she sees the positive results in women’s hockey every day.
“There are so many benefits,” says McNeish, “but the quote I hear most from ladies is: ‘It’s like working out a lot, but it’s so fun, it doesn’t feel like working out!’”
Aside from the physical health gains, there’s also a mental side to the story that’s special to hockey players.
“There are so many positive experiences that come with it,” adds McNeish. “Being able to play a sport that so many deem difficult is also great for the mind and wonderful for your personal attitude.
“It’s great to see the looks from people when you can say, ‘I play hockey’”
