Cleveland Monsters expand youth hockey programs across Northeast Ohio

Cleveland families will have more ways to get a child on the ice this fall, as the Monsters expanded their Mini Monsters Learn to Play program to three Northeast Ohio sites and paired it with a full slate of summer skating opportunities. For parents weighing cost, access and convenience, the big takeaway is simple: the club is turning youth hockey into something more reachable across the metro area, not just something centered in one rink.

The fall Mini Monsters program, presented by University Hospitals, will run at Winterhurst Ice Arena, Cleveland Heights Recreation Center and the newly added John M. Coyne Recreation Center. It is scheduled twice a week from September through December and is open to children ages 3 to 13, giving the Monsters a wider entry point for families looking for a first hockey experience. The program is run in partnership with Ohio Hockey Project and is built as a simplified introductory pathway focused on basic skills, teamwork and sportsmanship.

That expansion matters because it marks a clear step up from last fall, when Mini Monsters was offered at two locations. Moving to three sites gives the Monsters a broader footprint across Northeast Ohio and creates more chances for young players to stick with the sport without families having to build their schedules around a single rink. In a market where hockey often competes with other youth sports, that kind of access can decide whether a child tries the game once or keeps coming back.

The summer side of the plan is just as pointed. The Monsters said their annual on-ice camp will be led by Stanley Cup champion Jock Callander and Monsters goalie coach Brad Thiessen, a pairing that gives kids direct instruction from recognizable hockey voices with professional credibility. The club also will host a special all-girls clinic through its Girls Grow the Game platform, another entry point designed to broaden who sees hockey as a sport for them.

The calendar also keeps a memorial thread running through the organization’s youth work. The annual Kivi Day goalie clinic and front office day of service will return in August in honor of Matiss Kivlenieks’ birthday, linking development with community service in a way that has become part of the Monsters’ identity.

For the franchise, this is more than offseason programming. It is a year-round relationship play, building future players, future fans and future rink families at the same time.