An Open Skate for Evan

It's been nearly a year since 12-year-old Evan Soggin

But thanks to efforts by his family and the Reston Raiders Hockey Club, his legacy is only beginning.

Students and families from the club — along with some from where Soggin had completed sixth grade weeks before his death — will honor Soggin with an open skate from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. today at SkateQuest, 1800 Michael Faraday Court, Reston.

The celebration falls near what would have been Soggin's 13th birthday.

The event supports the Evan Soggin Memorial Fund, created by the family and the Raiders last year to help provide scholarships to children who can't play hockey — one of Soggin's favorite hobbies — without financial assistance.

"He would love the thought of helping other kids get to go to hockey camp, get equipment, and play," his family wrote on the fund's website.

Club founder Larry Roe, who coached Evan in 2008, laughed last year  as he called Evan "a little bit of a rambunctious kid [who] liked to have his own agenda sometimes."

That kind of spark paid off often in game situations. Roe recalled his "favorite Evan story," from a game in Baltimore, when the team was losing by one and down two players in the final minutes of the game. Evan and two other players were outnumbered on the ice against five opponents, Roe said, but he got the puck, skated through the entire opposing team and scored.

"He really lifted the team that day and did a great job. He was a good kid who always kept the coach on his toes," Roe said. "We're very sorry to lose a great kid from our hockey family."

With custom-made sneakers in Raiders blue, black and white — "he was Raiders through and through," Club President Chris Kelly said — Soggin dreamed of attending a hockey boarding high school and maybe one day going pro, family and friends said.

But much like his many talents, he had many visions too: He often talked about becoming a Navy Seal, Steve Soggin said.

"He studied them in books, sought out interaction with Special Forces, and supported the Wounded Warrior program," Steve Soggin wrote.

For more information about the memorial fund, click here.