Pats hand out teddy bears to kids at Regina General Hospital

Members of the Regina Pats made a special visit to the Regina General Hospital on Tuesday.

The players got the opportunity to personally give teddy bears thrown on the ice at last weekend’s teddy bear toss game to kids fighting illness in the hospital.

Members of the WHL team spent about an hour and a half visiting with kids and their families.

Pats forward Riley Ginnell made the annual Christmas hospital visit for the first time as a junior hockey player and said it was a special moment to be able to put some smiles on the kids’ faces.

“It’s just nice we can come in here and wish them a Merry Christmas and happy holidays and do our part in the community,” he explained. “It’s special to see some kids excited and get a little boost of joy during these hard times.”

While patients got a heads up that members of the Pats were coming to the hospital on Tuesday, Ginnell said some kids were still surprised to see the players when they showed up.

“A couple of the girls were pretty excited. We saw some babies as well and it’s special to see the parents (as well),” he said. “It’s awesome to bring a sense of joy to a tough spot. It’s really special to help out in a community like this.”

Ginnell added the visit really helped put things in perspective.

“You go through your life and you don’t really know how bad it can be when you aren’t doing as well. I just hope they can all get better and enjoy Christmas a little bit,” Ginnell said.

Ginnell said his mom works in health care and noted it was nice seeing how those people work with such young kids.

Because of hospital policy, no pictures were allowed to be taken of the kids receiving the teddy bears.

Members of the Regina Pats were at the General Hospital on Dec. 13, 2022 to give kids toys thrown on the ice during the teddy bear toss. (Regina Pats/Submitted)