Nashville Predators Players Give Back During Teacher Appreciation Week

On Friday the Nashville Predators capped a special Teacher Appreciation Week celebration, after spending the week delivering lunch to some of Nashville's most deserving people.

From Monday to Friday, the Preds and partner Hunt Brothers Pizza thanked faculty at five local schools, handing out pizza and snacks from partners Christie Cookie and Frito-Lay.

Of course, the gesture wouldn't be complete without some help from the boys in Gold - starting with defensemen Roman Josi and Ryan McDonagh at Hillsboro High School.

"We're just trying to give something back to all the wonderful teachers that we have here in Nashville," Josi said. "There's pizza, there's some gifts and we're just happy to be out here thanking them for everything they do for our kids, for our future, and it's been a fun day."

"It's great for me and Roman to be here helping out the community," McDonagh said. "It's always nice to get out and see the people that are truly making a difference in our community here in Nashville and we're very thankful for the opportunity."

The weeklong initiative served a deeper purpose, too.

The five schools - Hillsboro High, Christ Presbyterian Academy, Julia Green Elementary School, J.T. Moore Middle School and St. Paul Christian Academy - were all neighbors to The Covenant School and felt the impact in the days and weeks following the tragic shooting.

"Obviously in this area these teachers have been through a lot and we know how important they are to our community and to the youth of Nashville," forward Matt Duchene said at Julia Green. "To come out and do something like this can maybe take away some of the stress of what's going on. So, we're happy to be here and happy to be doing this."

Defenseman Mark Borowiecki, just days after announcing his retirement, showed his appreciation alongside his former teammate.

"They deserve everything that's coming to them and all the credit in the world for the job they do," Borowiecki said. "They're teaching and safeguarding our most precious asset, our children. So it's really just a small token of our appreciation today."

At J.T. Moore Middle School, where forwards Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen posed for photos and handed out lunch, Principal Gary Hughes said the appreciation was certainly felt.

"We really appreciate the Preds players and Hunt Brothers Pizza for coming out and just recognizing what a tough job our teachers have," Hughes said. "The teachers really have the hardest job. They're doing the real hard work in the classrooms and they just need to be boosted up and lifted up and praised for all the great things they're doing. So, this has been so great for us."

The weeklong initiative was an extension of the Preds Foundation's Feeding the Frontlines program, which has recognized more than 2,400 local teachers with special lunch deliveries since March 2021.

Click here to learn more about the program.