Erik Cole is a pioneer of sorts. Although he won’t admit it, the star forward for the Montreal Canadiens was one of the first hockey players to come out of the Oswego, NY. area.
“I came out a small town in Upstate New York and there really wasn’t anybody in front of us to look up to,” said Cole, who has played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League (2001-2012) with the Canadiens, Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers. “I began skating when I was about three and eventually found our way to professional hockey.
“I eventually made it through and all the way to the NHL. I feel as though I’m a real strong product of my environment.
“I had great coaches during my minor hockey and high school hockey career in Oswego. I played in the Oswego Minor Hockey Association.
“I also played a split year in Junior B hockey in Ontario. Then it was on to the USHL and finally on to Clarkson University.”
Cole was selected by the Hurricanes as the 71st overall pick in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. He scored his first NHL goal on Oct. 24, 2001 in a Carolina victory over the Minnesota Wild.
The 6-2, 205-pound forward remembered his days playing youth hockey in Oswego.
“We had to travel quite a bit playing youth hockey,” said Cole, who shoots lefthanded. “There were some local teams in the Fulton and Syracuse area.
“But we also had to travel to the Utica/Rome area and it made for a lot of long, snowy road trips. There were a lot of long weekends spent in hotel rooms and hockey rinks.
“I thought it was a great experience for all of us. You make a lot of friends along the way.
“The whole experience was probably the greatest gift my parents could have given me.”
Cole also understands the sacrifices his parents, as well as other parents, made along the way for him and his friends.
“I grew up in a real fortunate situation,” remembered the 33 year-old Cole. “It didn’t matter what the cost was because any kid that wanted to play got to play.
“But today it seems to be different. It continues to become harder and harder for parents to be able to afford for their kids to play hockey.
“It’s an expensive sport with the equipment and travel and all. That’s why we came up with an idea to give something back to the Oswego community.”
Thus came the formation of the Erik Cole Dream Big Foundation.
It was during the Hurricanes drive to their Stanley Cup Championship of 2006 that Cole agreed to support a local community project back in his hometown of Oswego to help restore the Oswego Public Library. Along with his wife, Emily, Cole pledged $1000 for every point he scored during the 2005-06 hockey season.
He had a record career-high year contributing 61 points to the championship season. Cole’s pledge of $1000, though, was conditioned upon the community matching his pledge.
The Oswego community responded and the Public Library received approximately $120,000 thanks to Cole’s efforts. That summer, the library held a golf event as an additional fundraiser. Cole lent his name and support to the event and the Erik Cole Score for Oswego golf event was held at the Oswego Country Club.
The event was an immediate success, raising over $25,000 for an event that was put together in less than two months
The following year Cole decided to hold his own “Score for Oswego” golf event and identified the Oswego Minor Hockey Association as the beneficiary of this event. The golf tourney was held with nearly $30,000 for the OMHA.
It was during this time that Cole decided to create a foundation that helped other children realize their dreams. A year later, during the summer of 2008, the Erik Cole Dream Big Foundation was created and held its first annual golf event.
“We just want to give kids from our area the opportunity not just to play hockey, but to look at other avenues in which to spend the money,” stated Cole, who played three seasons for Clarkson University. “It’s an easy way for me to go back to Oswego every summer and say ‘thank you’ for the way I was brought up and the success I’ve had.”
To date, the Foundation has raised over $150,000 for the local community. Cole’s goal is to maintain the foundation long after his NHL playing days are over.
This year’s event will be held from Friday, Aug. 10 through Monday, August 13 and includes a 3-on-3 cross-ice hockey tournament, a special sled hockey tourney as well as the annual Golf Classic.
For information on the event contact Tim Graber, tournament director, at 315-591-2906 or email at [email protected].
