Sixteen youth from La Loche had a special NHL experience back in early March and was able to take in a game during the Vancouver Canucks' First Nations Celebration game against the Minnesota Wild. (NexGen Energy Ltd./Twitter)

By Logan Lehmann

Lifelong memories

‘Had tears in their eyes’: Indigenous youth given once-in-a-lifetime NHL experience

Apr 2, 2023 | 8:00 AM

Sixteen youth from the La Loche area were given the NHL experience of a lifetime at the beginning of March when they headed to the West Coast to be a part of a very special night for the Vancouver Canucks.

In partnership with NexGen Energy which operates near La Loche, the youth were first picked up via coach bus from the community and travelled six hours to Saskatoon before jumping on a plane to Vancouver.

“What we’ve always done within the community that we work with that we know will be impacted by the project both positively and negatively, we wanted to create some opportunities that kids from the north they really haven’t had the chance to experience,” said Vice President of Communities for NexGen Energy Adam Engdahl. “Our CEO right from the start (said) that was his vision to create as much positivity and show these kids that anything is possible. Just keep working at it and if you’re a good steward in your community, you work hard, you’re dedicated to creating positivity, you’re going to get these opportunities.”

The youth arrived at Rogers Arena on March 1 where they were greeted by the Canucks mascot Finn then had the chance to listen to a few words from both coaches and players before hitting the ice for some practice. Afterwards, the kids would play a scrimmage and be formally introduced onto the ice in NHL fashion.

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“It was a phenomenal response, the kids were over the moon in terms of the opportunity they had,” Engdahl continued. “To meet some of the Canucks, to go on the ice and get to practice with them, Curtis Lazar took them into the actual Canucks dressing room and toured them around. Guys like Adam Foote, Rick Tocchet, the coaches of the Canucks came in and did some motivational talks with the youth and explained their history and what they experienced as a young kid, the opportunities (that came) with working hard and creating that positivity themselves. That was something really cool to hear from them and the kids were just blown away.”

The following day, the group was invited back to the Arena for the club’s fifth annual First Nations Celebration game against the Minnesota Wild. The kids were put into a suite for the duration of the game and were each given special themed jerseys that the players also wore for the game. The experience didn’t end there as a well-known Indigenous Saskatchewan NHL player came to say hi while the game was going on.

“Ethan Bear came, and he just had surgery on his mouth a couple of days before, but even he said that he wasn’t missing this opportunity to meet the kids and spend some time with them. He came and sat in the box where the kids were watching the game and I can tell you right now, if Wayne Gretzky walked into that room, he wouldn’t have gotten the response that Ethan Bear did. Some of the kids had tears in their eyes.”

In the end, the Canucks fell to the Wild 2-1 but despite the loss, the kids came away with a lifetime of memories. As for the future, Engdahl said that NexGen and the Canucks are working together to try and make the trip an annual experience for Northern Saskatchewan youth.

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logan.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @lloganlehmann