Marine hockey team builds deeper bonds for new season

A decade ago, Marine Tyler Bluder revived a hockey team for members of the U.S. Marine Corps. Ever since, players have come together from around the country to rekindle the bonds of brotherhood with sticks and pucks rather than cammies and boots.

On tournament weekends, teammates fly in from around the country to face off against Veteran hockey players representing other branches of service. Instead of staying in hotels, they rent homes together. Instead of eating out, they cook for each other, often with kids and wives in tow.

“We’re a family,” Bluder says. “Once a Marine, always a Marine.”

The Marines team won the tournament 2-0 after scoring a game-winning shootout goal. In addition to the games, the team attended a welcome reception and dinner and the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series™ game at Ohio Stadium.

All expenses were paid by Navy Federal, Bluder’s credit union. It was a “once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Bluder said. “Everyone on the team is a blue-collar guy making ends meet, so this opportunity was amazing. We couldn’t ask for more.”

Honoring the military spirit

Today, the team’s roster includes Veterans from around the country, including the East and West Coasts, Alaska and Hawaii and even Japan. A few active-duty Marines are also on the team, as are a couple retired Navy Corpsmen.

A common bond

With members so far apart, whole-team practice is rare. But they gel at tournament time. “We all have this common bond of being Marines together,” Bluder says, “so we don’t need to see each other and play with each other every single week.”

That bond stretches off the ice too. Some chip in to help teammates cover the sport’s sky-high expense. Many coach youth hockey teams, help Veterans learn the sport later in life and contribute to the Marine Raider Foundation, which supports members of the elite special operations unit.

And if a teammate is having a problem, someone will “put a 911 out” and, often within hours, a member of the community responds, whether by making a call or searching the barracks. “The help and support out there is fantastic,” Bluder said.

The best part about participating in this year’s Vets Showcase tournament was the space it opened up for even deeper connection, including around challenges like depression, unemployment, and health problems.

“It was eye opening,” Bluder said. Most tournament schedules, he said, leave no time “to really sit down with each other in a safe space, so to speak, and find out what people are going through. That weekend we had tons of time, on the bus, at the hotel, during meals, where we could sit down and have more candid conversations.”

Those conversations prompted team founders to initiate more regular team communication, offer more supports, and apply for nonprofit status, which allows it to accept grants and sponsorships to cover tournament fees and travel costs. This year, the team plans to participate in at least three tournaments and revamp website and communications materials—and hopes to help more players cover cost of attendance.

Supporting these bonds are key to why Navy Federal partners with the NHL, says Retired Navy Captain Keith Hoskins, who leads Navy Federal’s new Military Affairs and Strategic Partnerships unit. It’s a “natural, authentic fit,” he said. “We’re like-minded organizations both in terms of our shared passion for the sport and our shared values of service, integrity and community.”