Thanks to the hospitality of a handful of people like Terry McDonald, some hockey players from around the world felt right at home in Wasatch Front homes this past season.
As part of a billeting program in conjunction with Utah's highest-level youth hockey team, McDonald and several other families hosted athletes from Montana to Sweden so they could play for the Northwest Regulators, a Utah-based Triple-A midget team.
This is the second year the Regulators have been in operation and have used a billet program. The recruited players stay with host families from Davis County to the southern part of Salt Lake County. While they were brought in to play for the Regulators, they are also required to attend either high school or college during their stay. Billet families are compensated about $250 a month, paid by the student-athlete.
This past season, players came from Sweden (a pipeline made possible by Swedish head coach Rikard Gronborg), West Virginia, Iowa, Montana and Colorado and stayed with eight families. The elite team, which finished about 50th in the country, also had players from Utah, including McDonald's son, Colton. The McDonalds ended up hosting two 18-year-old players — Tommy Lindholm from Stockholm and Tony Moser from Billings, Mont.
With the name Mike Holmes, it sounds and seems fitting that Bountiful's Holmes, the Regulators' trustee, was in charge of finding homes for the foreign and out-of-state players who range in age from 15 to 18. He usually starts by asking local players' parents, but that's not a requirement.
"Most of them have kids that participate in the hockey program, so they are ready-made people," Holmes said. "We just have too many kids and not enough ready-made people, so we have a problem finding families."
With that in mind, Holmes is extending an invitation outside of his hockey group to interested billet families. The requirements, he said, are pretty simple: The family must "have a home" and be "stable." He added that it can be "a real learning experience" for both parties. The program runs from September through mid-March.
"I think there's several benefits," he said. "It's obviously a stretch having a new face in your home. They're all from different cultures. ...
"All of these kids are pretty good hockey players," Holmes said. "A good chunk of them are destined for college and junior ranks, possibly pro. We're dealing with the cream of the crop."
Colton enjoyed having a couple of his teammates bunk up at his Cottonwood Heights house for seven months.
"It was a lot of fun," he said. "It gives you a chance to get to know people from different parts of the country and different parts of the world. ... It starts out as roommates. It's like one big family at the end."
Blending in not just one new face but two was a rewarding challenge for the McDonalds. Terry went from having three teenagers — two boys and one girl — to five in a matter of weeks last fall.
Now that it's over, she can look back and laugh.
"It was a good experience," she said. "They were good kids, and it's fun to have them in your home."
This was the second time Terry hosted hockey players in her home, and she plans on doing it again this upcoming season (beginning in late summer). That will help fill the void that Colton, a defenseman, will leave when he departs for Calgary, Canada to play for the Bonnyville Pontiacs, a Junior A team he recently earned a spot on.
"I've done it two years, so I would do it again," she said. "I don't really want to have two kids ... that got (to be) a little much."
Especially when it came to keeping up with two new appetites. The $250 per player vanished quickly in the checkout line.
"Just grocery shopping alone is nuts," she said.
Terry warmed up right off the bat with her new Swedish "son," although he sometimes kept her up at night using the computer in her room. She laughed that Moser was a bit scared of her at first, but they eventually bonded as well and, "by the end, he was giving me grief — in a good way."
"The positives (about the experience), you get to know these kids," she said. "They kind of just bring something different to your family. It teaches my kids to reach out a little bit and befriend them and get along with different personalities."
And the negatives — aside from the supermarket shopping sprees?
"I really didn't have too many major issues," she said. "It's just an additional worry."
On top of worrying about two more kids, she also had to remind two more teenagers to tidy up their basement room. She found out that kids from all over don't eagerly make their beds each morning, either.
"They're typical teenagers," she laughed. "They don't help out a lot."
Overall, though, she believes everybody involved came away with mostly good memories.
"I hope they liked it at my house. I think they did," she said. "You always have great expectations. I think if they get to Salt Lake, they'll give me a call and come stay with me."
Terry's 14-year-old daughter made one request for the next newcomer. Nichole jokingly asked Terry, "Can we get one Chase's age (16) next year?"
"And I said 'no."'
Makes sense. It's a hockey billeting program, after all. Not a matchmaking service.
Families interested in participating in the billet program can contact Mike Holmes at mholmes@nwregulators.com. The team is looking for a dozen or so host families for the upcoming season.
Northwest Regulators roster
Name Position Hometown
Soderqvist, Anton Goalie Stockholm, Sweden
Walker, Chris Goalie Danderyd, Sweden
Barto, Billy Defense Dillon, Colo.
Bengtson, Gustav Forward Stockholm, Sweden
Brendel, Spencer Forward Hailey, Idaho
Carpenter, Kevin Defense Parker, Colo.
Garson, Ross Forward Faribault, Minnesota
Halloran, Alex Forward Draper
Harris, Donnie Defense Fort Ashby, W.V.
Jung, Chris Forward Sandy
Levitan, Chad Forward Hailey, Idaho
Lindholm, Tommy Forward Stockholm, Sweden
McDonald, Colton Defense Sandy
Moser, Anthony Defense Billings, Mont.
Newell, Drew Forward Salt Lake City
Roberts, Jordan Forward Littleton, Colo.
Seastrand, Benjamin Forward Salt Lake City
Taylor, Paul Forward Helena, Mont.
Webster, Kenny Forward Sgt. Bluff, Iowa
Gronborg, Rikard Head Coach Stockholm, Sweden
E-mail: jody@desnews.com