'Hockey is Canada': Charity sends 10 teens to their first Leafs game

JaveriaMehmood, 18, expected her first time puttingon a pair of skates to be her last.

"The first time I went [on the ice], I thought 'I know nothing, I'm probably going to quit on the first day,"'she toldEli Glasner on CBC'sHere and NowThursday.

Having grown up inPakistan, shenever had the chance to skate until she moved to Canada lastyear.

But through the Toronto-based group Hockey 4 Youth,a charitable organizationthat provides new Canadians and low-income youth the opportunity toplay hockey for free, Mehmood'sbeen honing her skills on the ice.

Javeria Mehmood learns to play hockey

6 years ago

Duration 1:02

Javeria Mehmood learns to play hockey

"It feels really awkward when you're born and raised in a separate country, and you're trying to be more comfortable but you don't know how, and then suddenlysomeone comes and they are like, 'We are with you, we are going to help you,"'she said.

Mehmood was one of 10of the program'sparticipantswho experiencedtheir first livegame in the cityThursday, where they watched the Toronto Maple Leafs face Minnesota Wild at the Scotiabank arena, allfrom a donated private box.

All 10teens arenew to Canada, having moved here in the past year from Pakistan, Jamaica,Turkey, Somalia, Syria and Zanzibar.

Although the Leafs lost 4-3, Thursday markedtheLeafs'"Next Generation Game,"focusedon celebrating young fans. Kids from various programs across the city came out to cheer on Toronto's home team.

"They were cheering so loud, they were so into it," saidMoezineHasham, executive director and founder of Hockey 4 Youth. "Really, this is an opportunity for these newcomer youth to experience something that is so Canadian."

Only 1% of new Canadians get to play

Hashamsaid 71 per cent of new Canadians have interest in playing the sport, but only about oneper cent gets to try.

"Hockey is Canada, it's engrained in our culture,"Hashamsaid."And we don't often think about who's being left out of the sport."

On average,Hashamsaid playing a season of the sport costs roughly $3,700, a figure many families can't afford.

But with the help ofMaple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) and otherindividual and corporate donors, teens 14 to 18 getthe chance to participate in Hasham's 18-week program.

And atthe beginning of April, participants from all five Toronto schools involved in the program will play in their first-ever tournament.

"They learn self-esteem, they learn respect,they learn about discipline. But at the same time, they're developing friendships with youth from other countries," Hashamsaid.

'This is something that is made for me'

Mehmood said she has fallen in love with the sport, andhopes to continue playingthroughout university.

"This is something that is made for me," she said. "I'm not leaving it."

But Hashamsays even if participantsdecidethey won't ever go further withhockey, the organization's main focus is integrating teens into a community.

"Young people, like Javeria, who want to continue playing, that is fantastic. But she's also going to go on to do greater things, she's going to use hockey as that foundational tool,"Hashamsaid.

"It's powerful."