A few days ago, a special charity event ran at the Skating Pavilion in Staten Island. With so many people still recovering from Hurricane Sandy, Ranger center Brad Richards got some teammates together and organized a free hockey clinic at the skating rink in Charleston. Richards was joined by captain Ryan Callahan, Marian Gaborik, Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Anton Stralman, Brian Boyle, Taylor Pyatt, Carl Hagelin and Jeff Halpern.

They ran two separate one hour clinics for 110 skaters including St. Joseph By The Sea’s high school hockey club. It was all for a good cause with more than 500 spectators paying a donation fee that helped raise $14,000. Such an event impressed Sea’s coach Anthony Larca.

“These guys were great. I want to thank them. They did an amazing job. Every single kid here had fun,” said Larca, who made sure to thank Pavilion owner Sal Tirro. “These guys went above-and-beyond signing autographs and then helping out the kids. It was a great thing for them.”

For the 11 Rangers who remain locked out, it was an easy decision to give back to the community. Especially in such a dire time for some Islanders who lost homes and suffered immeasurable damage.

“We’re a tight-knit group. Most teams I’ve ever played on, it wouldn’t be too hard to get guys to do this,” said Richards. “We live in a community and play in front of great fans and live in a great city, so it’s not too hard to make that decision to come out and do something like this.”

“I was back home (Rochester, N.Y.) and I was obviously watching the TV and watching the news and it’s unbelievable what this storm did and how many people were affected by it,” Callahan expressed. “For us to come here and put some smiles on some people’s faces and raise some money, we’re happy to do it and glad we can.”

One such young skater who will never forget it is 11-year old Vincent Barone, whose family in Great Kills had their basement and bedroom damaged.

“It was the best. I never thought I would be skating with them and I was talking to them like a friend,” said the St. Clare’s sixth-grader and Great Kills resident. “I liked the passing drills with [Gaborik]. I told him he was my favorite player and he was really good. He said thank you and I have a lot of talent and I’m pretty good, too.”

“It’s devastating to see this disaster to come through New York and see people without homes and losing power and seeing people dying. It’s awful,” Gaborik said. “You try and help any way you can. Hopefully, they get back on their feet soon.”

Such an event demonstrates why we love hockey players. Even during a challenging time without hockey, their hearts are in the right place. More than you can say for the faulty leadership that’s allowed another work stoppage, further hurting the sport.

With the exhibition taking place this weekend in Atlantic City featuring some of the players who took part in last Friday’s charity event, it’s a reminder of all that’s good.