Dallas Stars forward Wyatt Johnston recorded his third NHL hat trick last night in a 6-3 win against the St. Louis Blues. It was his first at home, which is important here.
As the hats rained down onto the ice in a very loud and joyful American Airlines Center, I started to think: what do they do with all of these hats? I had heard rumors of the process around the league, but it felt like the time to get it directly from the source.
First, the goals.
Johnston extended his home point streak to 12 games with his first of three power-play goals. Oh, and it came with just over one second to go in the period…
Johnston’s second goal was by far the prettiest.
Dallas has been a confident bunch since Jan. 1 — that can happen when you are the best team in the NHL — and that confidence has shown itself in the form of tic-tac-toe goals, especially on the power play.
I mean, come on…
As Mason Marchment went crashing into the Blues net on a breakaway in the third period, the linesman had his arm raised for a delayed penalty. I thought for one second that it would be cool to see a penalty shot.
But then Robert Tiffin and I realized that a power play would instead kill two minutes of important time off the clock AND give Johnston a chance at completing the hat trick — power-play hat trick to be exact.
And, guess what? He did it.
A few more hats than Jason Robertson’s hat trick against the Islanders, eh?
Finally, let’s get to the point of this article. What do the Stars do with all of those hats?!
Stars PR told me they are in fact donated. The Dallas Stars Foundation — an amazing foundation that strives to help those in need — receives the lot of hats and donates them from there.
How awesome is that?
Here’s a blurb about the foundation directly from the Dallas Stars site:
“The heart of the Dallas Stars Foundation is to invest in our communities by creating unique programs that nurture and enrich the lives of those in need. Since our inception in 1998, we have donated more than $12 million to the North Texas community. We strive to enhance the quality of life for North Texans through our three pillars of focus: Youth Hockey, Community Engagement, and Health and Education. These pillars are the focal point of our giving, programs, and initiatives.”
Hat tricks not only give fans a fun night at the AAC, they also go to a great cause.
So, if you are lucky enough to be at a game that features one, be sure to chuck your hat with authority! Also make sure you throw it far enough to reach the ice — some of us have embarrassed ourselves in the past… but don’t worry, fans will relay it if you come up short!
