HADLEY — Posing for pictures, signing autographs and participating in crafts and other activities, Blades, the mascot for the Boston Bruins, and more than 20 University of Massachusetts hockey players, thrilled hockey fans of all ages at the Hadley Public Library Tuesday afternoon.
One of just 12 libraries across the state awarded an hourlong visit from Blades this summer, as part of a long-running partnership with the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and the National Hockey League team, numerous children, and their parents, many wearing Bruins and UMass hockey sweaters, T-shirts and other gear came out to show their love for the sport — and got the added bonus of interacting with the college athletes.
“We’re season ticket holders, so it was nice to see everyone again, and to see the rookies who haven’t yet hit the ice,” said Rylan Waskiewicz, 15, of Sunderland, after making her way around the community room to meet up with Blades and the players.
Joined by siblings Cash, 10, and Mack, 8, the Waskiewiczes had posters signed and got to chat with the players while making bead bracelets and unique Bruins fan buttons, coloring a goalie’s mask and playing a game of Jenga and competing in a tug of war.
“I love seeing a lot of the players, and I liked playing the games and getting signatures,” Mack said.
“It’s kind of like fun to see all the people again, and the new people,” Cash said.
“When You Read, You Score!” is the name of the summer reading program that encourages children to continue reading, with a poster outlining the favorite books for Bruins players and a special library poster featuring Bruins player Jeremey Swayman.
“We want this to be so much fun,” said Celeste Bruno, communications director for the state library board.
Bruno said the idea is to get children motivated to keep reading over the summer and to avoid the so-called “summer slide” that can occur when they are not in school.
The state, Bruno said, received 120 applications from libraries to be part of it. Before coming to Hadley, the state officials and Bruins representatives had been in Russell, where Blades met with patrons at that town’s library.
As the event began, Blades arrived and all the players introduced themselves, and then a Bruins-specific quiz was conducted by Karen Traub of Shutesbury, an MBLC commissioner, before a group photo was taken.
Emily Dattilo, youth services coordinator at the Hadley library, said the special storytime was an opportunity to supplement the regular summer reading program, which has about 100 children participating.
Dattilo said staff had written an essay explaining why the library should be selected, and once they were chosen families, she said, became even more engaged.
The event was expected to be big, she said, both for Bruins fans and because of the popularity of UMass hockey, which won a national championship in 2021.
Among those who came to the event was Jessie Labonte of Chicopee, who brought her son, Brantley, 5. He previously got to stay at the Mullins Center, the UMass hockey team’s home rink, with his Mighty Mites youth hockey team.
On this day, getting to meet Blades and having the college athletes help him color in the goalie’s mask was both a surprise and a thrill for Brantley.
“I was excited,” Brantley said. “This is the best ever.”
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
