PARK CITY, Utah — While his teammates on the Utah Hockey Club were spreading community cheer on Sunday at the Olympic Oval in Kearns, forward Nick Bjugstad took the cheer on the road.
The Minnesota native partnered with Park City Reads and MIND to visit with kids and sign autographs at the Skullcandy headquarters in Park City.
"It's awesome as an athlete to be able to get out in the community for me," said Bjugstad. "It's special to intermingle with the kids."
Before a screening of Inside Out 2, Bjugstad offered advice and inspired those in attendance that they could do anything that they put their minds to.
"When I was a kid and an athlete came and visited the school, it was exciting for me, and I loved it, so [it's nice] to put some smiles on some faces," he shared.
Bjugstad coming and inspiring the kids drew respect from the MIND mentors.
"I think it's cool seeing that professional athletes have had similar experiences to me and to tell younger kids it's really important to emphasize those stories," said MIND mentor Seth Rothchild. "Knowing that he's had experience with this kind of thing is really cool."
