Lethbridge Hurricanes visit Chinook Regional Hospital to drop off teddy bears

The fur flew as the Hurricanes hosted the annual Teddy Bear and Toque Toss on Friday. The 'Canes were out delivering the goods on Monday.

The fur was flying last Friday when the Lethbridge Hurricanes hosted their annual Teddy Bear and Toque Toss.

Kayden Longley scored the goal that sent the teddies tumbling to the ice.

In all, 3,651 stuffed toys and 945 toques were collected.

It’s a moment Longley will never forget.

“(That) feeling is pretty special. Big goal, kind of once a year. You look forward to that game. (It’s a) very special feeling, and I’m kind of happy that happened like that,” said Longley.

As part of the Teddy Bear Toss, Hurricanes players made their annual visit to Chinook Regional Hospital.

They were there to drop off toys and brighten the day of some of the younger patients.

“It’s a really special day for us, to be able to come out here and visit some people. And we are fortunate enough to give a couple people some stuffies here and try to give them some joy,” said Owen Berge.

The visit is one of the players’ favourite community service projects.

The game itself is fun, but the visit puts the reason behind it into perspective.

“It’s obviously extremely special. These kids … it’s an honour to be able to come here and hopefully make their day better in any way by giving them these teddy bears,” said Luke Cozens.

The Chinook Regional Hospital was in dire need of new toys.

Last month, a call was put out after the hospital ran out of its toy stock early.

But the shelves are stocked once again, so every child who visits the hospital can receive a little extra comfort.

“It’s a great tradition that we have here in Lethbridge. We were dwindling really heavily on the stuffies. So it’s great that Lethbridge came together and donated to the kids in need,” said Chinook Regional Hospital child life specialist Tara Deheer.

The toys and toques will be donated to 18 organizations across southern Alberta.