Canes Present Asheville Hockey League With $75K Donation

RALEIGH, NC. - Hockey is on its way back to the mountains of North Carolina.

After losing their rink in the destruction of Hurricane Helene, the rebuilding process has begun for the City of Asheville and the Asheville Hockey League, and the Carolina Hurricanes have stepped up to help.

Hosting 100 members from the league at Tuesday's win over the Philadelphia Flyers, Canes President Doug Warf presented them with a check for $75,000 to aid in their process of getting back to playing the game.

"This one was one that was an easy decision for us," Warf said during a press conference held prior to the game. "What we're going to do is not only commit (the funds) but we're going to stand with them as we rebuild it even better."

Initially committing $50,000 from the organization's "Raise Up $1 Million' raffle program to the efforts, the team then offered to match the final $25,000 when the GoFundMe reached $25,000. The National Hockey League also assisted with $10,000.

"It's a great thing to have the Canes lean in and help us try and rebuild. Asheville went through a tough month," Asheville Hockey League (AHL) Treasurer Jay Curwen said. "Recovering from that is going to take years."

In place since 2000, the rink had been used just about every day of the week for both youth and adult league play. With around 1,800 registered members, they'll now have to make the three-hour round trip to Greenville, SC through the spring just to play the sport they love.

"After the hurricane, me and my mom drove around Asheville. Just seeing the devastation, it didn't feel real. I just remember being so sad," 16-year-old Gibby Curwen, a youth player in the league said. "When my dad told me that the rink was destroyed, I didn't believe him at first, because that's my childhood. I grew up with my friends being there. I learned how to play hockey and I learned how to skate there. When I finally saw the rink, just completely destroyed with inches of mud on it, it was just heartbreaking. I couldn't even think."

With hopes of having a rink back up and running within a year, the efforts will begin by finding out if the existing rink is salvageable. Including a playing surface completely covered in several inches of mud, the league, in conjunction with insurance adjusters, engineers, the city, and all other necessary parties, will have to determine whether it's best to rebuild what many have enjoyed at Carrier Park, or start anew.

"The scoreboard is 25 feet tall... there was part of a camper lodged on top of the scoreboard. The flyover bridge is about 18 feet... there was a boat up on it and part of a camper as well. There was an 18-wheel truck leaning up against part of the rink. There were trees down. All of the dasher boards were laid down. It was unreal. Stuff you wouldn't have thought," the elder Curwen detailed of the damage.

While the commitment of funds springboards the process forward, there is still plenty of work to be done. Despite that, all involved with the AHL can see the light at the end of the tunnel and look forward to having everyone back together again.

"There's kids that have never skated before in their life that are drawn to the sport and we have guys in the adult group that were on semi-pro teams, so we've got some real talent (who played in Asheville). That's one of the best parts of it," Curwen continued. "We have folks who show up and they've never skated once in their life and we've got a place for them. It means a lot to the town."

Whether highly skilled or just getting started, Warf and the Canes want to ensure that both have a place to play.

"We have fans on the Coast, we have fans in the mountains. And it's not just a smattering. We have a large fan base. That's what's fun about what we're seeing in Asheville. We want them doing that in Asheville and we want to keep growing it," Warf said of the importance of keeping hockey accessible in the city.

"We don't want to see these as steps back, we see them as steps forward. We're getting ready to launch two rinks right now in Apex that we are building as outdoor sheets. To us, that's ball hockey, that's street hockey, and that should be the basis for what we're doing in the Carolinas. We know that if we need to help in Asheville and the opportunity is there, we're going to follow behind with the same type of help."