Watson Lake’s old-timers hockey team will test itself against some former NHL players this weekend.
The game, taking place at the Watson Lake Recreation Centre on March 9, is just one of a number of events the community is hosting from March 7 to 10 as part of a hockey camp.
The camp is designed for youth, aged six to 17 years old. It’s facilitated by First Assist, an organization founded by John Chabot, a former NHL player from the Algonquin community of Kitigan Zibi First Nation. It uses hockey to build skills on the ice, as well as off. This includes increasing school attendance and class participation, problem-solving skills, strategies for setting and achieving goals, and more.
Don Magun is one of the organizers who will help coach during the camp. He said the whole community came together to bring the camp to town. Planning for the camp started in November 2023.
In addition to roughly 40 youth from Watson Lake, participants are being bussed in from Teslin, Ross River and Carmacks. There are also players coming from Dease Lake, Good Hope and Iskut, all in northern B.C.
Jordan Cropper is also acting as an assistant coach during the camp. He said the kids in Watson Lake “have been buzzing all week” about the chance to work with NHL players (the roster includes Chabot, Aaron Asham, Blair Atcheynum, Jamie Leach, Scott Daniels, Shaun Van Allen, Devin Buffalo, Andrew Antsanen and Jonathan Diaby).
The camp began the night of March 7, with on-ice instruction for two groups of skaters. The first group is age six to 12 and the second group is 13 to 17. That instruction continued Friday morning, with off-ice presentations in school. On-ice training picked up again in the afternoon, and continues Saturday and Sunday.
There are also free breakfasts over the weekend and a Saturday night dinner. All are sponsored by the Liard First Nation (LFN) justice department.
Magun said one of the goals of the program was to bring the whole community together, not just the kids. He said that started happening well before a puck even dropped on the ice.
In addition to LFN offering to sponsor meals, he said the Super A Foods grocery store and a number of Yukon outfitters pitched in so the camp could be free for all participants. Additional funding came through Jordan’s Principle, which funds health, social, educational needs and more for First Nations kids in Canada.
Magun said he’s worked with Chabot on and off over the last 10 years and he’s always impressed by the camps, which he said are a way of encouraging kids to turn to positive outlets, such as hockey, rather than drugs or alcohol.
Cropper said it has benefits beyond building on-ice skills and encouraging healthy habits. He said even as an adult, he’s learned lessons from his own experience with hockey that translates directly to his job as an RCMP sergeant.
“You might not be friends with everyone, but you’re on the same team,” said Cropper. “So you work together. You can incorporate that into the work world.”
The Saturday night showdown between the Watson Lake old-timers and the NHL alumni takes place on March 8 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. All are welcome to attend the free event.
Contact Amy Kenny at amy.kenny@yukon-news.com