Texas Stars and Cristopher Nilstorp Announce “Torp’s Tots”

Teams around the AHL are no strangers to supporting different charitable causes. Many, if not all, do a couple jersey auctions throughout the season to benefit various charities. They understand it’s important to give back. But teams are getting more and more involved. Sometimes the initiatives come from the players themselves.

Today, the Texas Stars, AHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars, announced a new program initiated by goaltender Cristopher Nilstorp. The program is called “Torp’s Tots” and the focus is to benefit children with serious illness. Nilstorp, a native of Malmo, Sweden, is in his second year with Texas and wanted to do something positive.

After the start of the season, he approached team officials with an idea. He wanted kids suffering from a serious illness to be able to come out and take in some hockey. So, he personally purchased four 24-game partial season tickets. For 24 of the remaining 33 games, Nilstorp will use the tickets to bring out kids and their families.

“First of all, it’s very painful for me to see any children dealing with a serious illness,” said Nilstorp in a Texas Stars press release. “I think if we can get some of these kids to our games and give them some good experiences, maybe put some smiles on their faces, it will mean a lot for me and my teammates. I had a friend whose little brother died at an early age. That has given me energy and I hope we can give these kids some energy to continue to fight for their health.”

Hopefully bringing these kids and their families out to a Texas Stars game will give them a break from the stress and let them just be kids. Sometimes something like this is all it takes to make a positive change. It’s great to see the team supporting a program such as this one.

There will be three main recipients for the tickets: children and their families who are associated with Muscular Dystrophy Association, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Austin & Central Texas and R.O.C.K., Ride On Center for Kids. The tickets could also go to local hospitals treating kids with other series illnesses. The first game will be tomorrow night, November 8th, as the Stars host the Milwaukee Admirals.

Photo Credit: Texas Stars