BIRMINGHAM — After playing nine seasons in the National Hockey League, Detroit Red Wings forward Darren Helm has played in plenty of loud arenas.

But even he will admit the Birmingham Holy Name Hurricanes make plenty of noise to welcome a local hero to their gymnasium for the Red Wings School Assembly Program.

“That gymnasium was about as loud as the Joe (Louis Arena) can get sometimes,” Helm told reporters after the school program in which Red Wings staff told students about the importance of eating healthy, exercising and saving for college.

Helm visited Holy Name School on Sept. 7, where students had a chance to ask questions about his favorite sports and foods and answer Red Wings trivia questions to win prizes.

Helm was taken aback with the enthusiasm; he even took part in a “teachers vs. students” shootout. (Helm struck the right post against the school’s physical education teacher, but the students still pulled out a 1-0 win.)

“I’m from Winnipeg, and we lost the Jets when I was really young, so we didn’t have any big heroes or any players,” Helm said. “It was tough growing up without a hockey team. You get caught up doing your own thing, just playing hockey, not realizing what’s there. You come to events like these and take a step back, this is one school of many, and these kids were going wild; it was awesome.”

It’s the seventh year for the Red Wings School Assembly Program, set to visit 115 schools this year. As part of the program, the team donates floor hockey equipment for the school to use in physical education classes.

The Red Wings partner with the Michigan Education Savings Program and Kroger, handing out information to students about eating healthy and ways families can save for college.

“It’s really important for us (the Red Wings) to be involved in the community,” Helm said. “It’s amazing, this was my first (assembly) and I didn’t know what it was all about. We have a great message for the kids; it can be hard for kids to actively think about exercise, eating healthy and being active.”