Octogenarian is a Lifelong Rink Rat Who Shows No Signs of Slowing Down
Goalie Norm Dann aims to start a hockey league for
seniors who still want to lace up their skates
Norm Dann is not unlike many senior citizens in Florida
who lead active lifestyles. Among the pursuits of that
collective elderly group, many play golf on the links,
play shuffleboard on cement courts or pitch horseshoes
into a sand pit.
Not Dann. He prefers to lace up his skates, don more
pads than any other hockey player on the ice and stop
pucks as a goaltender. Oh, and nowadays he even wears
a mask.
Even at the ripe old age of 80? Yes, at 80, he noted with
an air of confidence. As if age would provide a valid
excuse for him to stop playing. For Dann, that is not
going to happen anytime soon — or anytime later, for
that matter.
If anyone seeks an introspective reason why he still
plays or wants to speculate on any kind of theory about
trying to prove something to others, forget about it. It’s
simple really.
“I’ve just always loved to play,” Dann reasoned. “It’s a
great sport.”
Apparently, there are other senior citizens who share
that sentiment. That is why Dann has organized teams
that have played in 60-and-over, 65-and-over and 70-
and over tournaments throughout the U.S. and Canada
over the past two decades. It also is why he is in the
early stages of forming a 60-and-over league at Florida
Hospital Center Ice, the newly opened ice and sports
complex in Wesley Chapel.
“I’m trying to get a ham-and-egger league going for
mornings,” said Dann, who lately has been dropping
off newsletters in Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills, two
communities with increased populations of snowbirds
each winter.
“The reason I’m doing this is because I’m selfish,” said
Dann, not one to mince words. “If I don’t do it nobody
else is going to do it and then I don’t get to play. I’m
trying to promote old-timer hockey, plain and simple.”
Among the older players who back Dann’s idea is longtime
local hockey standout Neil Armstrong, a former
Canadian minor league player.
“Norm’s passion and love for the game of hockey keeps
him actively involved in tournaments all over the U.S.
and Canada,” said Armstrong, who at various times has
been a teammate and opponent of Dann’s. “He’s been a
pioneer and organizer for amateur hockey in the state
since the 1970s.”
22 Community Magazine November 2017