In the 54-year history of the Buffalo Sabres, few players have had more of an impact on the blue and gold than Dominik Hasek. 

Fan polls consistently place the charismatic goaltender with the unorthodox style of stopping pucks among their all-time favorites, typically ranking behind only Gilbert Perrault of French Connection fame. 

And for good reason. Hasek’s impact goes well beyond his nine seasons in Buffalo, during which time he won numerous individual awards and led the Sabres to the Stanley Cup finals in 1999. 

Even after leaving Buffalo in 2001, Hasek has remained connected to the community thanks in large part through his Hasek’s Heroes program. His generous parting gift of $1 million helped kick start what would become one of the marquee diversity programs in the country, giving thousands of disadvantaged youngsters an opportunity to learn to skate and play the game. 

Thanks to the generous support of the Buffalo community, including the Sabres and the NHL/NHLPA’s Industry Growth Fund, it has been the gift that kept on giving.

Qualified participants never pay a penny for equipment, ice time and top-notch coaching. Their hockey journey starts with a six-week Learn to Skate session followed by another six weeks in a Learn to Play session, which is run in partnership with the Sabres and the NHL.

Rather than stop there, the program has recently expanded its goal to getting the kids on a team for the next year. This year marked the first season of fielding 10 & Under teams that competed in local USA Hockey registered leagues. Plans are in the works to add more teams in the future.

In addition to teaching the basics of skating and the fundamentals of the game, each week’s training session incorporates specific life lessons designed to help players succeed on the ice and away from the rink.

Over the course of the six-week sessions the lessons spell out H-E-R-O-E-S, with Week 1 consisting of H for being Helpful on and off the ice; Week 2 is E is staying Engaged on the ice and in the classroom; Week 3 is R for being Responsible; Week 4 is for being Open-Minded; the second E in Week 5 stands for showing Empathy; and the curriculum wraps up with S for staying Strong, even through challenging times. 

“All of them relate back to what our program is all about,” said Chris Howard, the president of Ice Hockey Systems, Inc., who oversees the program and is a member of their board of directors.

With each lesson learned players receive a stamp in their Hasek’s Heroes passports that spells out HEROES. After collecting all the stamps the players receive a special cape signifying the levels they complete in the program, which is presented during a special ceremony where each player takes a victory lap around the rink. Some have even had the opportunity to wear their capes on the ice prior to a Sabres game.

The program operates out of two of the oldest rinks in the city, Riverside Park’s Reuben “Bud” Bakewell Ice Rink and the Cazenovia Timothy J. Burvid Ice Rink in South Buffalo, which are owned by the city of Buffalo and leased to the organization to operate. They work with local schools to identify students of various demographic and cultural backgrounds who fit the enrollment criteria and even hire their own buses to transport the kids to and from the rink.

The impact the program has had on thousands of vulnerable youngsters goes well beyond what they learn on the ice. Through participation in Hasek’s Heroes, players enjoy safe after-school and weekend activities with dedicated mentors and coaches who teach character development and team building skills, all of which can effectively change the future for anyone involved in the program.

“The biggest thing is you’re seeing them fall in love with this game,” said Joe LoTempio, the program coordinator and head coach of the program. “They’re showing up every day after school and there’s a whole handful of them showing up at open skates to keep skating. And when we ended the last program, I was getting tons of emails asking if we’re doing something in the summer. They don’t want to stop.”

One of the program’s most notable success stories is Faustin Ushindi, who immigrated from Uganda to Buffalo with his family when he was 8 years old. His mother signed him up for a summer hockey camp to keep the boy out of trouble while she was working. Less than a year after learning how to play, the youngster made the Wheatfield Blades Peewee Major AA travel team. 

Today, the 17-year-old Ushindi is a senior in high school and playing varsity hockey for St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute in Buffalo and with the Buffalo Regals 18U AAA team.

He credits the Hasek’s Heroes program for not only giving him the opportunity to play hockey but to set him off on the road to a successful future.

“Learning hockey has definitely improved my life in many ways,” Ushindi told NHL.com. “It’s definitely changed [my life in] a lot of ways and given me a lot more opportunities in life that I could [have] never imagined.”

According to Howard, the program has no shortage of youngsters like Ushindi, who only need a little guidance and direction to find their own path to success.

“The game of hockey is so special. It’s played such a special role in all our lives, and we want every kid to be able to experience that. The camaraderie you can get, falling in love with hockey, it is just different,” Howard said. “You can see how it’s become part of Faustin’s life. We want and need more Faustins, not for ourselves but for them.”

For his part Hasek is more than just a generous benefactor. He is an active participant who regularly visits with players, coaches and staff whenever he returns to Buffalo from his home in the Czech Republic. He follows all the players’ progress as they move on through the program and celebrates their accomplishments even from afar.

He evens follows some of the Hasek’s Heroes games, which are broadcast on YouTube complete with a play-by-play announcer and color commentator.

Howard said much of the credit for these and other special touches that make the program so successful goes to LoTempio, who continues to raise the bar by adding these and other special touches that make every member of the program feel like they are NHLers in their own right.

“We feel like we’re just getting started. We have something really special going on here,” Howard said. “Our motto is just OK is not OK. We’re constantly asking ourselves what we can do to make this so special for the kids that they will play hockey for the rest of their lives.”