A little taste of pro hockey and Hollywood glitz came to Chesterfield Inlet earlier this month with the visit of the First Assist hockey school program.
Local teacher and local youth leader Glen Brocklebank said former NHLer John Chabot visited the community with actors Jonathan-Ismael Diaby and Andrew (The Canon) Antsanen from the TV show 'Shoresy' to conduct a hockey school from Jan. 3-7.
Brocklebank said on Sunday, Jan. 5, the players split into two teams for a game featuring Team Dolo vs. Team Goody, which are character names from Shoresy.
“Almost everyone, of all ages, who signed up for hockey this year went on the ice and then we split up into the two teams,” said Brocklebank. “We played the game and Team Dolo won (7-6) in a shootout.
“It was a ton of fun. On a scale of one to 10, the fun level was a 12 for the kids. They were on the ice Friday night, twice on Saturday, twice on Sunday, once on Monday and once again on Tuesday.”
Brocklebank said the skill development at the hockey school was just as impressive as the fun the young athletes had. Lots of parents were at the rink during the visit and they could see the skill progression grow exponentially with the young players as the sessions went by, he said.
“The hamlet, I believe, picked up the bulk of the bill for their visit, with help from different organizations in town. Minor hockey also helped out, and our Co-op store and housing provided the accommodations.
“It was, absolutely, in my opinion, money well spent.
“The First Assist visit has been an annual event for the past few years and I think that will continue. In fact, they are sending someone back in February and one in March, as well, as part of a three-trip visit, although we're not sure who will make each trip.
“They're (First Assist), sort of, only servicing smaller Indigenous communities and we're one of them. They're going to different places in Canada but, typically, they're all smaller communities.”