A campaign to upgrade a celebrated outdoor hockey rink in northern B.C. came to an end this week.
The Northern Capitals were hopeful they could bring the region together to declare Nak’azdli Whut’en/Fort St. James Canada’s Kraft Hockeyville for 2021 and earn a $250,000 reward for Ernie Sam Memorial Arena.
However, on Saturday (March 20), it was not chosen as one of the ‘final four’ with Lumsden, Sask., and Saint Adolphie, Man., earning the western finalists for the grand prize, which also includes an NHL exhibition game in the winning town.
Bobcaygeon, Ont., and Elsipogtog First Nation, N.B., were the eastern finalists to round out the candidates.
Northern Capitals’ spokesperson Caleb Wilson tells PrinceGeorgeMatters there’s a sense of disappointment among the organization, but also many thanks for those that chose to boost the team’s bid.
“The rally phase was challenging, trying to orchestrate a solid social media campaign with the Cariboo Hockey media team as well as other regional media outlets, proved to be a much larger undertaking than originally anticipated,” Wilson explained.
“Overall, we feel like we had great support from our region as well as community support from players’ hometowns. It is not every day that local politicians are making videos and sharing on their social media platforms, we feel extremely fortunate that we had that kind of support behind us.”
Ernie Sam Arena was the site of three hockey games in the last three years, known as the BC Winter Classic.
The 2021 edition was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and B.C. public health orders on organized gatherings and sports travel.
In 2019 and 2020, the cold January backdrop was the setting for a pair of firsts in Canada’s hockey history with outdoor competitive contests at the Under-18 AAA girls’ and boys’ levels, featuring the Northern Capitals and Cariboo Cougars.
Not only was each club heavily involved in Kraft Hockeyville’s ‘rally phase,’ players and coaches, but Wilson says they were impressed with others that stepped up to the plate.
“Certainly having the support of our local MP's, they did such an awesome job putting their video together, and that was for sure one of our biggest posts overall,” he said.
“What really stood out to us was how many alumni players were making posts, it shows how much being a Northern Capital meant to them and their hockey journey. We also had great support from other BCMML teams, the [Greater Vancouver] Comets, the [Vancouver North East] Chiefs, the [Vancouver North West] Hawks, and of course the U18AAA Cariboo Cougars as well as every other team in our system, all making posts and sharing their memories. To see the BCMML teams rally behind this was awesome!”
Despite losing, Wilson believes the 300-plus submissions the Northern Capitals’ garnered in the campaign between Jan. 22 and Feb. 14 demonstrated the growth of the game in the region, specifically at the girls' level.
The club is the highest division for women’s hockey in all of northern B.C., with its current roster representing nine different communities with players moving to Prince George from as far as Fort St. John, Houston and Williams Lake.
“Hockey goes hand in hand in northern B.C. communities,” said Wilson.
“Our goal has always been to grow northern talent, giving these aspiring athletes the best opportunity to play close to home in front of friends and family. The culture of women's hockey is growing more and more each year, and we feel very proud that the Northern Capitals are the flagship for the north, you can certainly feel the pride and sense of ownership from our alumni and our most recent post-secondary commits.”
When asked if Northern Capitals or Cariboo Hockey will submit a future bid for Kraft Hockeyville, Wilson said he'd love to see a local team earn the chance to make a difference, but the strategy and approach would need to change.
“[It] takes an army of people to really make this work, and despite our best efforts, we obviously fell a bit short this time around. We have a lot of great volunteers that put a lot of effort into making sure people knew what was going on, that being said it was a lot more than I think any of us anticipated,” he said, noting the team would likely give Ernie Sam Arena another shot considering its history and community support.
“I think the Ernie Sam is such a unique opportunity it would make the most sense for us to nominate that facility again. The Nak'azdli Whut'en First Nation and Fort St. James communities are major supporters of not only the BC Winter Classic, but Cariboo Hockey as a whole. The Nak'azdli Whut'en First Nations community has put in countless hours, financially contributed to upgrades, and been incredible hosts for the Cariboo Cougars and the Northern Capitals and their competitors, it just seems like a great opportunity for Cariboo Hockey to say "thank you" for everything they have done already for us and the Ernie Sam.”
Terrace is the only northern B.C. community to ever win Kraft Hockeyville. Its Sportsplex received the $250,000 upgrade in 2009 and hosted the Vancouver Canucks and New York Islanders.
The 2021 winner is expected to be revealed on April 10 during Sportsnet’s Hockey Night in Canada telecast.
The three communities who don’t win are guaranteed a $25,000 secondary prize towards arena upgrades.
