So my parents signed me up, but I needed equipment so my dad and my uncle Ted took me to Keystone Sporting Goods in Selkirk to get suited up. I can remember my uncle saying to my dad "I hope you've got about two hundred and fifty bucks on ya" and my dad going "WHAT??"
So I got started; I played in St. Andrews; our team was called the Sabres; I think.
I played minor hockey in St. Andrews for about three years before before I was old enough to play in Selkirk. I mostly played left wing but my last year in Selkirk I played defense. Out of all those years playing minor hockey; I was on a team that won one tournament; our home tournament one year in St. Andrews.
After one year in Selkirk, I quit hockey. I think I was twelve or thirteen at the time. I tell people I quit because I got hurt, but in reality I quit because I couldn't handle getting yelled at by the coaches. You see coaching minor hockey back then is not the same as it is now. We had coaches, one in particular, that skated us into the ice during almost every practice; and if you made a mistake during a drill, he would practically scream at us, try and slash the sticks out of our hands, and I even remember him bodychecking kids for making a mistake, once he hit a kid from behind and sent him flying, that is burned into my memory.
Quitting hockey is one of the decisions that I've made in my life that I actually regret. Would I have made it to the NHL? Probably not; but I think I would have kept playing until Junior or Junior B; which is where all my friends wound up.
So fast forward about 20 years. I'm now living in Sioux Lookout and one night I get invited out to the outdoor rink with some friends to play a game of hockey. It was a blast and for a few Saturdays in a row we all went out for a game. The following winter some of us signed up with a group of guys who played in the arena; same idea but just on an indoor rink. We always went on after this group of guys who I didn't know. They always had two full teams, two goalies, and a ref for every game. I was like "who are these guys?" I recognized a friend of mine out there and asked him who he played hockey with and he said they were the Sioux Aces oldtimers team; and asked me if I wanted to join them.
So the next year I joined the Sioux Aces and the fire I had inside for the game of hockey came back to life. When I first started I really had a hard time remembering my positioning and keeping up with the pace of the game. I think it was about 10 games before I got a point, and more than that before I got a goal. Eventually though, things started to get a little easier for me. I started researching hockey on the internet; looking for tips on how I could improve as a player, and I started watching my favorite NHL players a little more closely. I joined a gym and started working out; and in my second season I played my first oldtimers tournament. My first "competitive" hockey game since I was twelve!
So that was five years ago; today I still play with the Aces two nights a week. This year is especially fun for me because for the first time I feel like "one of the guys." I also coach BOTH of my son's teams and I referee a few minor hockey games each month. It's crazy busy but I love it; the next big thing for me is a tournament in Sault Ste. Marie in March, 2012.
Like I said earlier, my favorite team growing up was the Montreal Canadiens. I could probably still remember the entire team roster from those days but the players I liked the most were Guy Lafleur, Steve Shutt; Larry Robinson; and Ken Dryden.
When the Winnipeg Jets joined the NHL in 1979 I of course became a fan of them; and even took in a few games during the years that they were in Winnipeg. When they moved to Phoenix in 1996 I was "teamless" for the first time ever.
Fast forward to the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs. I entered an online hockey pool run by Future Shop. I figured the Ottawa Senators were going to win it all that year so I loaded up my pool with Sens players. After the first round in which they eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning; I was seventh out of about 10,000 "poolies."
The Senators were eliminated by the Buffalo Sabres the next round so that was that, but when the 2006-2007 regular season started I found I couldn't take my eyes off of the Senators and I've been hooked ever since. I even flew to Ottawa in March, 2008 to take in a game. The Senators beat the Boston Bruins 4-1. As a 40th birthday present; my wife bought us tickets to the April 2/11 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs; so I'm really looking forward to that.
So there you have it; my obsession for hockey in a nutshell. See you next post.
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