|
|
|
News Nunavut Nunavik Features Iqaluit Around the Arctic Climate Change Opinion/Editorial Editorial Letters to the editor Taissumani Commentary |
|||||
| |
||||||
|
Current ads
|
||||||
|
||||||
| About Us Nunatsiaq FAQ Advertising services Archives Search archives |
||||||
|
Click below
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
| ||||||
| |
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
February 21, 2003 Hockey Day in Iqaluit Grapes warms up in the sauna, Ron MacLean practises Inuktitut
KIRSTEN MURPHY Fate smiled upon Andrew Cox last weekend. Cox spent much of Saturday taking hot dog orders at the Arnaitok arena canteen. But for one evening, he played with the greats. In a pick-up game of shinny two days earlier, Cox played on the same team as Hockey Hall of Famer and Toronto Maple Leafs president Ken Dryden, former New York Rangers forward Steve Larmer, retired right-winger Mike Gartner, former goalie Paul Henderson, and Barney Tootoo, Jordin Tootoo’s father. "It was like a dream come true," Cox says, shaking his head with amused disbelief. Cox was one of a dozen Iqaluit residents who played in the historic scrimmage on Feb. 13.
The retired NHL players were in Iqaluit, along with legendary broadcasters Don Cherry and Ron MacLean, for the fourth-annual Hockey Day in Canada — a 15-hour tribute to Canada’s favourite sporting pastime. Iqaluit is the first territorial capital to host the event. Although the game was not televised, two days of high-profile school visits, banquets, hockey clinics and rink-side interviews were. Filming HDC started the moment MacLean stepped off the plane and CBC North reporter Vinnie Karetak handed him a microphone at the Iqaluit airport. "Uvunga Ron MacLean," the broadcaster said, practicing his Inuktitut. On Friday, camera crews followed Don and Ron to Inuksuk High School, where the school’s concert band played the Hockey Night in Canada theme song. Later that night, when Ben Kovic handed the famous hosts sealskin ties made by Monica Ell, a CBC cameraman covered the exchange like it was the last event he’d shoot. Televised highlights throughout the weekend included Sylvia Watt and the Joamie School choir singing O Canada, as well as interviews with the father of Nunavut John Amagoalik, Iqaluit Minor Hockey Association board member Mike Courtney, and Barney and Rose Tootoo.
The biggest day was Saturday, when Hockey Day in Canada aired live from a corner in the Arctic Winter Games arena. Thousands of people dropped by for a glimpse at the famous hockey commentators who happily signed autographs between shots. MacLean wore an Arctic Bay hockey jersey for part of the day. He also wished Arctic Bay resident Ron Elliott happy birthday on national television. The two Rons met in the summer of 2001 when MacLean was en route to Alert with the Canadian Forces. Iqaluit’s own Ron McLean, an Anglican army captain, waited two hours to shake hands with the CBC broadcaster. "I was disappointed we really didn’t get time to chat. It was pretty rushed. There was a ton of kids waiting for autographs," Iqaluit’s McLean says. "It was interesting to finally meet the man everyone talks about so much." The live broadcast began at noon with a four-hour documentary called Celebrating Our Game. Throughout the day, footage from arenas across the country was mixed with on-air commentary from the Iqaluit-based Don and Ron. The program concluded with a triple-header of NHL games played in southern arenas, and an after-hours wrap up. When the cameras were off, the action kept rolling.
During his spare time, Don Cherry was seen frequenting Iqaluit’s hottest recreation spot: the sauna at the City of Iqaluit’s pool within the Frobisher Inn complex. "The first day he strolled in wearing a pinstriped trench coat and hat," says Rob Smith, the aquatics coordinator. "After that he was down to his sweats and a towel. He didn’t have a whole lot to say but he really appreciated the sauna. He’d go in for 45 minutes to an hour." MacLean, on the other hand, embraced the cold and spent a morning touring Frobisher Bay by dog team. But he, too, dropped by the pool. "Ron MacLean is so easy to talk to. He makes you feel like you’re his prime focus and is genuinely interested in what you have to say," Smith says.
While Don and Ron took the spotlight for most of the weekend, the former NHL players offered hockey clinics and made guest appearances. Former NHL player Mike Gartner visited Nanook School in Apex on Valentines Day. His appearance coincided with the school’s Crazy Hat day. Unfazed by the activity, Gartner sat on a stool decorated with an oversized paper heart and talked about his 20-year NHL career. An auction held Friday night raised $32,000, which will go toward suicide prevention projects and minor hockey programs throughout the territory. The NHL Players Association donated 160 uniforms, a gesture in support of Nunavut’s growing amateur hockey programs. The gear will be distributed throughout the region. The benefits of hosting HDC in Iqaluit are far-reaching, says Tom Thompson, president of Hockey Nunavut. "This kind of exposure will provide more reason for people to be involved here in the North. And in the future, when we put in requests for NHL players to come up and help with camps, there’s going to be a huge interest and willingness to do that. It happened with the Arctic Winter Games and it happened again here. They’ll be lined up to help us here because of so much fun they had," Thompson says. Glen Higgins, president of the Iqaluit Amateur Hockey Association, agrees. "This type of event exposes people across Canada to the calibre of players and coaches up here. It also exposes us to potential partners such as the Toronto Maple Leafs and the NHLPA who can do some pretty amazing things for us and are willing to do things for us. It’s very encouraging."
|
| About Nunavut 
Nunavut 99
Nunavut Handbook
Nunavut.com
Nunavut
FAQ
|
||
|
|
||
|
Contact Us
Letters
to the editor
News
tips
Subscribe |
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
||
|
|
||
| Discussion Board
TalkBack
|
||
|
|
||
|
