The Rhode Island Reds Heritage Society is about to make history.

The extraordinary non-profit – which has preserved the legacy of the fabled Reds franchise, and is becoming a model for other former American Hockey League (AHL) teams in the Northeast – has teamed up with the Warwick Junior Hockey Association (WJHA) for an event never before staged in Rhode Island.

On Sunday, Feb. 15, the society will team up with the WJHA and send 34 players on the ice at Providence’s Alex & Ani outdoor rink for a special skills competition – the same type of event held earlier this week in conjunction with the AHL’s annual All-Star Game in Utica, N.Y.

The skills test was recently and generously provided to the Reds by the AHL in both video and diagram formats. According to AHL officials, only one other youth hockey group – from Connecticut – has ever requested the league’s highly popular model.

While the event is unique to Rhode Island, the Providence rink has donated the ice time for the Skills Competition, which will take place from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.

“Our objective is to introduce to young hockey players the requested series of skills expected at the professional level,” said Buster Clegg, one-time Reds general manager and the society’s long-serving president. “In a highly competitive format, we hope kids will recognize their strengths and weaknesses so they can improve their performances in order to reach their next level of competition.”

Meanwhile, WJHA President Chris Orton – whose highly-regarded program features upwards of 600 youth hockey players – this week announced that age groups for the Skills Competition will be segmented by USA Hockey’s standards. Those groups are Pee Wees, ages 11-12, and Bantams, ages 13-14.

Orton said the WJHA plans to put 15 Pee Wees and 15 Bantams on the ice and split them into equal teams for the Feb. 15 event. He said drills will consist of skating, passing and shooting, and four goaltenders will rotate to handle all shots.

The Skills Competition will not include a scrimmage or game-like conditions.

Thus, the competitive concept that the Reds and WJHA have agreed upon means that players will compete against the clock and all other places on the ice. And the Skills Competition, Orton and Clegg emphasized, is designed to be a fun event and instructive for the future.

Certified USA Hockey coaches from the WJHA will be on the ice and run the drills. They’ll be ably assisted by Bobby Leduc and Serge Boudreau, former Rhode Island Reds players.

The two teams will be designated Team Leduc and Team Boudreau, and plans also call for legendary former goaltender Ross Brooks to be on hand and work exclusively with the goalies.

Each participating WJHA member will receive a copy of the Emmy award-wining DVD “When the Reds Ruled the Roost,” as well as an autograph session with all three former standout pros.

Both the Reds Heritage Society and WJHA have several things in common.

While the Reds group has grown to over 700 members since its inception in 2000 when there were just seven members and its mission was to preserve the 51-year history of the former AHL franchise, the WJHA is also a highly-regarded non-profit that has been around for more than 50 years and now features youth hockey players ages three to 18.