There's a commonly-accepted stereotype in the hockey world that it's a sport for the white, the suburban, and preferably the wealthy.

Luckily, the diverse array of kids who first try the sport in the Minneapolis Dino Mights program don't know anything about stereotypes, they just know that when they get together with other kids, and take their first strides across an ice rink, it's great fun.

It's that common denominator – fun – that has made Dino Mights a great success for more than a decade, and fun is what's creating one of the fastest-growing and most diverse youth hockey programs in Minnesota at neighborhood rinks throughout Minneapolis.

Scott Harmon is currently the executive director of Dino Mights and has done pretty much every job in the organization over the years. He points with some pride to the 220 kids that will participate in the learn-to-skate programs they offer in the Powderhorn, Phillips and Central neighborhoods.

Just as the ethnic and economic demographics of Minneapolis have changed in the 30 years or so since hockey stars like 1980 gold medalist Mike Ramsey and 1985 Mr. Hockey Tom Chorske were coming out of the city's neighborhood hockey programs, so are the hockey programs in the city changing. Harmon says they serve a diverse and mostly low-income group made up roughly of one-third African American kids, one-third Latino kids, and one-third others. He said it's not uncommon when he meets with parents for them to ask, "Do black kids really play hockey?"

USA Hockey, the sports national governing body, answers that question with an emphatic yes. Their "Hockey is For Everyone" initiative features NHL notables like Sidney Crosby, Evander Kane, Jarome Iginla, Jordin Tootoo and Joel Ward, along with Willie O'Ree, who made his debut with the Boston Bruins in 1958 and is known as the "Jackie Robinson of hockey." Minnesota Hockey executive director Mike Snee, who doubles as a Minneapolis hockey parent, notes that advertisements for the initiative will be running during select Minnesota Wild games this winter.

Snee applauds efforts like the Dino Mights, which includes academic and faith elements as well, and says the key to its success is a network of dedicated volunteers who go out into the neighborhoods and literally knock on doors of interested parents in order to get more kids out on skates and involved with the game.

Steve Jecha, the president of the Minneapolis Storm youth hockey program, which encompasses the Southwest and Washburn neighborhoods, directs a 640-member association (bigger than the youth hockey program in Minnetonka, he notes) which is one of the most diverse in Minnesota. This year the Storm sent out hundreds of fliers printed in both English and Spanish encouraging kids to try hockey. He said cultural barriers are few (although he admits they need more Spanish-speaking volunteers to help advise potential hockey parents with a limited command of English). To eliminate some economic barriers, the Storm owns some 40 full sets of hockey equipment that they rent out to players for $10 per season, to allow them to try the game for little cost, and to be safe while doing so.

The Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board does separate but similar work, organizing indoor and outdoor leagues for all ages, and offering options where kids can try the sport and play a full season of hockey for roughly $100.

The biggest frustration for Jecha and others involved with the Storm is not getting kids to play, it's that high school hockey programs are the ones that get noticed in the newspapers and on TV via the legendary state high school hockey tournament. By the time many of those 640 players from Minneapolis are ready for the high school level, many of the best have scattered to private schools or public school programs outside the city. But that does nothing to diminish the diversity, and the fun, found at the youth hockey level.

"People think hockey is dead in Minneapolis, but we're growing like gangbusters," Jecha said.

And just like that, another stereotype is gone.