an editorial at the Tampa Tribune,

Lightning owner Jeffrey Vinik continues to find ways to benefit the community beyond the excitement his hockey team generates on the ice.

He announced this week that the team will invest $6 million in a youth program that will reach out to 100,000 kids across the Tampa Bay area and include mentoring for 100 at-risk kids. Free sticks and street hockey balls will be provided to students from third through fifth grades.

The program will also provide 10,000 hours of hockey instruction to students and coaches in the area, and expand the number of players in high schools and junior high schools.

The initiative will build a future fan base while giving kids a chance to play a team sport they otherwise might not be in a position to learn.

Hockey is an unlikely sport to blossom in a city where it last snowed in 1977. But through his civic engagement and smart business moves, Vinik has generated a devoted fan base and turned the Lightning into a beloved franchise that made a run to the Stanley Cup finals last season.

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