The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) Goals & Dreams fund, and its ambassadors are well into the “10 countries in 10 days” tour in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the much heralded program.  The tour passed the midway mark on Tuesday with a stop in Prague, Czech Republic, followed by a visit to Trnava, Slovakia, on Wednesday. When the tour is complete, 360 sets of hockey equipment will have been donated to local grassroots hockey programs along the way thanks to the NHLPA Goals & Dreams program.

The tour, which is visiting countries in Europe and North America, began last Friday in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, and the tour has since featured stops in Helsinki (Finland), Moscow (Russia), Riga (Latvia), Prague (Czech Republic), and Trnava (Slovakia).

In addition to the five countries already visited, the tour will also see the group make stops in Bosnia, Germany, and New York City in the United States, before concluding in Toronto, Canada on November 22nd. Along the way, the group has been joined by numerous former players who are eager and excited to play a direct role in giving back to the grassroots hockey programs in their native lands. Players such as Pavel Bure, Jyrki Lumme, Esa Tikkanen, Martin Rucinsky, and Zdeno Ciger have helped with the donations thus far on the tour, with John Slaney, Adam Graves, John Vanbiesbrouck and Kevin Weekes taking part over the next few stops.

The tour has definitely seen its share of star-power as they have traveled along the way. 15-year NHL veteran and 2002-03 Lester B. Pearson Award recipient, Markus Naslund welcomed the crew at their first stop, in his hometown of Ornskoldsvik, Sweden. A few days later, Russian hockey legend Pavel Bure joined the tour when the group landed in Moscow, Russia. Both players had illustrious careers in the NHL and both were, and continue to be, great supporters of the NHLPA Goals & Dreams program.

“This team that’s going to get the equipment is going to keep trying to produce more hockey players, but they’ve seen a big drop-off lately,” said Naslund, speaking outside of his childhood rink about the importance of the NHLPA Goals & Dreams donation of 50 sets of hockey equipment to Ornsköldsviks Hockeyklubb. “They’re really excited though.”

Prior to the stop in Moscow, the group took part in a donation ceremony at the IFK arena in Helsinki, Finland. Two programs, the Vantaa Icehearts and Elomaa School received 20 and 5 full equipment sets respectively. In addition to Christian Ruutu and Esa Tikkanen, Jyrki Lumme was in attendance for the donation. Much like Naslund, Lumme was ecstatic about the chance to be involved.

“I think it’s huge. All Finnish kids follow the NHL, it means a lot. It definitely shows that the players really care about what they do and it’s a great program, especially in Finland,” Lumme said on Saturday in Helsinki.

NHLPA Goals & Dreams Ambassadors, Devin Smith, Matt Langen, Rob Zamuner and P.J. Stock have seen some extremely grateful and enthusiastic young hockey players during the first half of the tour. Along the way, they have been sure to emphasize NHLPA members’ belief in the importance of affording many more opportunities to children who wish to play hockey, while encouraging children to have fun while playing this great game. Former NHL player, Arturs Irbe spoke glowingly of what the NHLPA Goals & Dreams program has done for children in his home country of Latvia and the influence that NHL players have.

“For the kids, NHLer’s and hockey players in general, they mean a lot. They look at them, not as regular people, but built bigger than life. Sometimes you have to take responsibility on that and cherish those times, and if we can give kids those wings, those chances, those dreams and let them feel that it’s possible to accomplish them, to give them that feeling, that’s the most exciting thing to come out of this program.”

To see video, browse pictures, read daily blog updates and get up-to-date information on the NHLPA Goals & Dreams “10 countries in 10 days” tour, please visit the tour website at: http://www.nhlpa.com/10in10. You can also follow the tour on Twitter @nhlpanewmedia.