Last Sunday was an awesome day to be a minor hockey player in Summerland.
Or one of their parents, for that matter.
It all began mid-morning at Summerland Arena when a group of U5 players (tiny little things who've barely outgrown toddlerhood) precariously took to the ice, along with a couple of coaches and parents too.
So far pretty typical weekend stuff at the rink, right?
But wait, why are all the kids wearing Vancouver Canucks jerseys? And why are all the coaches looking spiffy in Canucks' warm-ups?
And what's with the landlocked killer whale? Is that celebrated Canucks' mascot Fin?
And who’s that guy? He looks awfully familiar.
Is that Kirk McLean, the same guy who backstopped the Canucks through the monumental 1994 playoffs, nearly ripping the Cup from the hated New York Rangers?
The same guy twice named a Vezina finalist, twice selected to the NHL All-Star Game, and consistently ranked as one of the best Canucks ever?
Yes and yes.
You see, last Sunday was Canucks Day in Summerland – a day in which the Canucks Minor Hockey Program came to town with a ton of swag to seriously brighten the day of everyone involved in kids' hockey.
The schedule began at 10 AM and didn’t end 'til after 4. And along the way, every active hockey age group in the Summerland region got a shot – from U5 through to U13.
And each time around it was the same drill. The kids and their coaches would hit the ice, resplendent in their new clothing and clearly thrilled over the opportunity. They'd run through a variety of tutorial sessions at the capable hands of program manager and obvious hockey authority Rod Brathwaite, then they'd engage in some game action.
It was lighthearted throughout, particularly with the highly skilled Fin out there interacting with players and coaches and officials and concocting mock havoc from start to finish. And at the end, the kids – and a few adults too – lined up for Fin and McLean autographs.
And all it cost Summerland was six hours of ice time.
"Not everyone can come to Rogers Arena," said Brathwaite afterward in explaining the program that kicked off after COVID.
"And if you can’t make it here, our plan is to come to you. We can't bring (current players like) Brock or Petey, but we can bring Fin and Kirk and the energy from Rogers Arena to you. And we hope that inspires people to continue playing the game or to be a hockey or Canucks fan forever."
Apart from managing the program and playing the role of head coach, Brathwaite also watches over the Canucks Alumni Association – an association that includes luminaries like Kirk McLean.
"Kirk is our main ambassador and does all these trips with us," he said. "We were at Vanderhoof and Vernon a little while ago and we'll be at Comox and Whitehorse in the near future.
"We give the kids jerseys and toques and the coaches get track suits. Everyone gets the experience of meeting Kirk and Fin. Maybe they're too young to know Kirk, but maybe their parents can explain who he is and what he means to hockey in BC."
As for the coaching, Brathwaite says it stresses "basic skills."
"A lot of kids want to play the game but they don’t learn the skills," he said. "Like my dad said, if you can’t skate, you can’t play the game. So I emphasize learning the basic skills. And then the game becomes more fun.
"It's not about making the kids into super duper hockey players. It's about showing them the basics, getting them some cool stuff, meeting Fin and Kirk and hopefully making some new friends along the way."
For Summerland Minor Hockey fundraising coordinator René Serbon, at the front desk to check in all 125 registered players, the event was "amazing."
"It was an amazing opportunity for our players to be involved at that level of hockey," she said. "All we had to do was make the ice available and the Canucks showed up with everything.
"Toques, practice jerseys, autographs, spending time with them to teach the skills – all of that was gifted by the Canucks to our minor hockey association."
.jpg)
Both Serbon and Brathwaite credited former NHLer and current Summerland Minor Hockey Association U13 director Cam Barker for connecting the two organizations.
And, added Brathwaite, he hopes more small towns come forward.
"The long game is that we do enough of them that people start knocking on our door to have us come to their community," he said.
Interested candidates can contact Brathwaite at rod.brathwaite@canucks.com.
.jpg)
