A Father's Final Assist
Eight years after his passing, Larry Hendrickson's foundation continues to unite thousands of adaptive hockey athletes and families at the world's most inclusive hockey festival.
Larry Hendrickson was Minnesota hockey royalty. He dedicated his time and nearly limitless energy to high school hockey, USA Hockey, the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota North Stars programs and was inducted into the Minnesota Coaches Hall of Fame in 2010.
He ran in the highest echelon of hockey circles. He coached future NHL player Steve Christoph in high school. One of Larry’s sons was named Minnesota’s Mr. Hockey and went on to play and coach in the NHL. Hockey legend and “Miracle on Ice” coach Herb Brooks was often at the Hendrickson home.
“Herb was a guy that was around our house a lot,” Larry’s son Danny said.
“We had a pool, and they would be talking hockey. We were just young kids around, them drawing plays on a picnic table and having a Coors Light, just doing their thing.”
Even with the accolades and acquaintances collected over a lifetime, Larry believed his life’s greatest accomplishment was the foundation he started in 2011. The Hendrickson Foundation’s mission is to enrich the lives of individuals with disabilities and their families through the game of hockey.
“It was the thing he was the most proud of when he passed away eight years ago,” said Danny who now serves as the foundation’s executive director.
The foundation’s “Super Bowl” is an annual adaptive hockey festival.
During the last weekend in May, the Hendrickson Foundation hosted their tenth annual Hendrickson Foundation National Hockey Festival, also known as “Hendy Fest”. On May 28th, over a thousand youth and adult athletes arrived in Blaine, Minnesota to kick off a three-and-a-half day hockey festival unlike any other in the world.
“It’s the biggest, most inclusive hockey tournament when we talk about the disciplines that we support in the world,” said Danny.
Athletes competing in sled hockey, warrior hockey, blind hockey, deaf/hard of hearing hockey, and special hockey arrived in Blaine from all over the country. The Nashville Sled Preds youth team attended.
“We had 90 teams. We had 1,500 athletes. We had 170 games over the weekend,” Danny said.
Despite the name, the Hendrickson Foundation National Hockey Festival is not about Larry or the Hendricksons.
“Larry said this has to be fun, and it’s about the athletes and their families, and we’ve always looked at it like that,” Danny said.
“Every decision has to be based on how do we impact each athlete and each family. And we’ve never swayed from that philosophy.”
The weekend centers around community and competition. It’s a giant undertaking for the foundation, its sponsors, and over a hundred volunteers, but the priority is always the athletes and their families.
“I watch the parents who have been through different challenges and the joy they have on their face,” Larry’s son and Predators assistant coach Darby Hendrickson said.
“You see people engaged and in the moment, which is wonderful. Whether it’s sled or special or the warriors or blind or hard of hearing or deaf, I watch the parents. I watch the joy on their face. I watch them supporting their children. All the things they’ve been through, it’s a moment where they’re not thinking about the different times they’re in the hospital, a different time they’re with a specialist. They’re just in the moment, and their son or daughter is competing.”
The Faber family experienced that joy watching their daughter Paige compete in special hockey at this year’s festival. Paige’s brother Brock had just recently wrapped up a postseason push with the Minnesota Wild and was part of her cheering section.
“Brock Faber obviously won a gold medal on the men’s [Olympic] team,” Danny said. “We got a gold medalist that’s out there cheering on his sister, just like she cheered him on in Italy.”
“It’s a family affair, and the Fabers are just one example.”
The Foundation is also committed to helping athletes expand their skills. In the summer, they host a sled hockey combine in Ely, Minnesota that focuses on on-ice skill work, off ice strength and conditioning, and character development. Last year Josh Pauls, captain of the gold medal winning USA Paralympic sled hockey team and Erika McKee, one the best female sled hockey players in the world, attended.
“We don’t mess around,” Danny said when it comes to investing in the athletes and recruiting top-tier talent to help out.
Along with the combine and Hendy Fest, the Hendrickson Foundation supports adaptive hockey programs throughout Minnesota. They are committed to removing any barrier that might keep someone from participating.
“[Larry] had a vision, and he wanted to help,” Darby said.
Larry’s vision grew from small seeds planted after a terrible tragedy.
In his late 20s, Larry suffered a devastating hockey injury while playing seniors hockey. He broke his neck during a game, and his condition was so critical he was given last rites. The hospital where he was treated had never seen a patient recover from this type of injury.
They hadn’t met tenacious and driven Larry Hendrickson.
Larry spent nearly a year in a full-body cast and halo working tirelessly on his recovery. During that long recovery, a friend mentioned the sport of sled hockey to Larry. This brief conversation put adaptive hockey on Larry’s radar for the first time.
Larry’s accident also marked a spiritual awakening.
“He began to think about his life and what he could do to help others,” Danny said.
After his recovery, Larry remained committed to pursuing strength in body and mind.
“He used his body like a temple,” Danny said of his dad.
“How strong can I make it? How strong can I make my mind as well?”
Years later, Larry converted his garage into a gym and invited hockey players of all ages and skill levels to work out together there. His commitment to strength didn’t go unnoticed by Herb Brooks. When the opportunity came to help Brooks’s 1980 Olympic hockey team get stronger, Larry donated his gym equipment to the team who didn’t have the budget to buy new equipment outright. Later in his career, Larry would work with Brooks as a strength coach for the Minnesota North Stars.
After his impressive coaching career ended, Larry launched the Hendrickson Foundation in 2011. Larry decided it would be a family affair.
Darby explained how that conversation went.
“When he first started, he didn’t say ‘Can you help?’ He said, “You guys are gonna help.”
The foundation is now a part of the Hendrickson DNA with each of Larry’s four adult children playing a role in the foundation’s work.
Moving to Nashville to serve as an assistant coach for the Predators has changed Darby’s hands-on availability, but that hasn’t diminished his commitment. He missed this year’s Festival because he was serving as an assistant coach for Team USA at IIHF Mens World Championships, but he makes himself available whenever his schedule allows.
“I do my best in a support role to help in any way I can, whether it’s adult tournaments, different events. Obviously a lot of years I was in Minnesota. I was able to help and be present, but if Danny needs something he reaches out,” Darby said.
On a personal level, the lessons Darby learned from his father helped shape his own coaching experience in Minnesota and now in Nashville.
“How you are as a team, every different part of the game, how you work, there’s a lot that probably goes back to Herbie [Brooks] and my dad,” Darby said.
“I’m not his personality,” Darby said. “But he had a positive influence on people. He was strong in his beliefs. There’s a number of things that come out.”
Larry’s influence in Nashville is perhaps more clearly revealed through Andrew Brunette. Larry and Bruno became friends decades ago and remained close until Larry’s death.
Danny explained how that friendship came to be.
“In 2004 you have the lockout. Darby’s pro career is going to transition a little bit. My dad was kind of a band-aid [high school] coach and Bruno was his assistant. Never missed a practice.”
After the high school games, Danny and Darby would find Larry and Bruno hoping to break down the game as a group.
“They didn’t want to see us. ‘Get out of here, Darby. We’re talking high school hockey.’”
“They were best friends and we’re like ‘Can we just hang out with you after the game?’ And they wouldn’t let us,” the brothers reminisced.
“So Bruno’s coaching career started with my dad, and now he’s made it to Nashville,” Danny said.
Darby hears echoes of his dad at the rink in Nashville every now and again.
“Sometimes when [Bruno] does talk, I’m like ‘Oh, is that my dad? I’ve heard this before.’”
To learn more about the Hendrickson Foundation and the events and programs they support, check out their website at hendricksonfoundation.com. For more information about sled, blind, deaf/HoH, warrior, and special hockey opportunities in Middle Tennessee, contact USA Hockey’s disabled hockey disciplines program.