Pittsburgh Penguins defender Brian Dumoulin passes a puck to a Knoch Middle School student during a visit to the school Thursday. The visit was part of an academic achievement reward for students in the elementary and middle School.

JEFFERSON TWP — Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin, the two-time Stanley Cup champion, could be seen wiping sweat from his brow Thursday behind the South Butler Primary School.

Dumoulin visited the South Butler County School District campus as a reward for the 327 students in kindergarten through eighth grade who completed and turned in the workbooks they were given in a drawstring canvas bag before the summer break.

The bags, which contained math and reading work, were distributed to 1,050 students to decrease the academic slide that normally occurs over the summer and to offset any learning shortfall caused by the chaotic schedule last year during the coronavirus pandemic.

The children were wide-eyed as they approached the back of the primary school en masse, where the lean, 6-foot-4 Dumoulin towered over all in attendance except intermediate school principal Frank Moxie.

“A lot of kids are not able to play sports or took a pause on sports because of COVID,” Dumoulin said before greeting the students. “Plus, it's important to get out in the community with the kids.”

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