Preds Get in the Halloween Spirit with Annual Hospital Visit

Following a Friday morning practice between home games, members of the Predators swapped their sweaters and skates for inflatable turtle shells and faux mustaches.
It may sound strange, but it was truly a sight for sore eyes as the Preds were able to resume their pre-pandemic Halloween tradition of visiting patients and spreading smiles at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt for the first time since 2019.

"It's always fun," said Filip Forsberg, who also participated in the event in previous years. "I wish it wouldn't have to be here - obviously, I wish all these kids were healthy - but we're just very happy we can do something to cheer them up, and we're having a blast while we're doing it."
Forsberg was joined on the visit by teammates Dante Fabbro, Colton Sissons and Cody Glass. The four players spent over an hour in the hospital's Seacrest Studio playing BINGO, signing autographs, meeting patients and their families, and sharing their favorite Halloween memories - and in the spirit of the holiday, they did it all dressed as characters from Nintendo's Mario Kart.
"There's a bunch of us who play Mario Kart on the plane, so [Glass] and I are representing that group," said a smiling Forsberg, dressed as the titular Mario himself. "[Fabbro and Sissons] are honorary guests today."

The live BINGO game was broadcast to patient rooms via closed-circuit televisions so that all patients could participate in the fun. Patients had their own BINGO cards, and winners could call in to the studio from any hospital phone or come by in person to meet the players and claim their Halloween-themed prizes.
Each of the four players took turns calling out BINGO numbers - including a final lightning round by Sissons, who was dressed as Toad and may have a future as an auctioneer in retirement. They hooped and hollered for every winner who called in, with Forsberg vigorously ringing the celebratory cowbell.
"It's something I've always really enjoyed doing, whether it's bowling with kids or skating with them or doing things like this," Forsberg said. "It's definitely something that we want to keep doing, whether it's with the team or on our own."

The hospital visit was part of the Predators 15th Annual Community Relations Week presented by BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. All 23 players on the Preds roster participated in the weeklong event featuring visits to eight different organizations in the Middle Tennessee Community, the Preds Foundation Annual Mike Fisher Clay Shoot fundraiser and a Preds home game against the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 27.

"Community outreach and helping our community is part of our DNA as an organization and core pillars of how we operate," Predators Vice President of Community Relations Rebecca King said. "We are excited to host this important weeklong celebration - it's something our staff and players look forward to every year."