A scorching hot sun shone across Tofino as excited youth from around the region and beyond connected over one of Canada’s coolest pastimes on July 5.
Brendan Morrison’s annual Kids Ball Hockey Tournament saw massive attendance this year as part of the Vancouver Canucks legend’s Tofino Saltwater Classic fishing derby weekend.
“This is phenomenal,” Morrison told the Westerly News as Friday’s games got underway. “Every year it seems to be building and growing and I think this year we even have more kids than last year, which I didn’t think was possible.”
The ball hockey event joined the Classic’s weekend’s roster of festivities over a decade ago with Morrison welcoming local kids to play in the Wickaninnish Community School gym and has enjoyed rapid expansion ever since. The games now fill the school’s outdoor courts with enthusiastic young hockey fans eager to share the pavement with the popular former NHL star and each other.
“It’s great. It’s all about getting outside, enjoying the outdoors, having fun, being active and meeting new friends,” Morrison said. “A big thank you to all the people who support the event and the people that volunteer their time and effort.”
NHL defenceman Tyson Barrie might have been the most awed player participating on Friday as he was thrilled to score an opportunity to play with Morrison.
“Obviously, with me growing up in Victoria, I was a Canucks fan and Brendan Morrison was a bit of a legend, so it’s pretty cool full-circle to be able to come and support his event,” Barrie told the Westerly. “I think hockey is a beautiful game and it brings people together, so to be able to bring that and get some excitement around it is fun for us.”
He added that the Classic has raised more than $800,000 for local initiatives and organizations since its launch in 2009 and he was excited to be part of the philanthropic vibe while enjoying Tofino’s surroundings.
“It’s awesome. I grew up coming here and camping here. I’m from the Island and we know it’s a hidden gem. I’m very proud to be from the Island, so to be able to come up here to such a unique place and play some road hockey like I did so many times when I was a kid, it’s a cool event and we’re getting some great weather for it,” he said.
Barrie planned to participate in Saturday’s fishing derby as well, though his confidence in a spot on the podium was not high
“I’m not a great fisherman at all,” he laughed. “I love being on the boat, but I’m more of a beer and music guy. I don’t often cast a line, but I’ll be competing so we’ll see how it goes.”
He added salmon fishing in Tofino is an iconic staple on any Vancouver Island bucket list and he was excited to take a crack at it.
Former NHL goaltender Mike Smith was also taking in his first Saltwater Classic weekend experience and was ecstatic to see so much enthusiasm at the ball hockey event.
“It’s exciting to pull up and see this many kids come out this morning to a great event,” Smith told the Westerly News prior to the games kicking off. “It’s so important to get kids out doing other things, whether it’s hockey or sports in general. It just brings the community together and we’ll hopefully have a great day today.”
He echoed Barrie’s enthusiasm over the amount of funding Morrison has netted for the community through the Saltwater Classic.
“Obviously, when you’re raising as much money as he has over the course of that time, it just goes to show what kind of person he is, what kind of guy he is and how important this community is to him.” Smith said, adding support for local initiatives is vital in rural and remote towns like Tofino.
“For myself, growing up in a small town like Tofino, it’s super important. To see the turnout today, to see the time and effort that Brendan’s put into making this all happen in such a special place is super exciting to be a part of. When you get a chance to do these things, you want to help out as much as you can and give back to a community that obviously has a lot of support for hockey and a lot of support in general for their little town here.”
Smith added he would also be competing in the following day’s fishing derby for the first time and the experienced fisher hoped to excel.
“Hopefully I don’t let anyone down tomorrow,” he laughed. “I’m feeling pretty good. I just did a fishing trip in Alaska, so hopefully it pays off.”
Both Barrie and Smith had been part of a group of current and former NHL players to play in a ball hockey event in the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation community of Ty-Histanis, located roughly 15 kilometres from Tofino, last year. That event was organized through a partnership between the First Nation and West Coast Multiplex Society to raise support for a proposed project that would bring the region its first ice rink and swimming pool recreation facility.
The Multiplex Society was out in full force at Friday’s ball hockey event with society chair Samantha Hackett all smiles as she basked in the abundant local support for family recreation.
“This event especially is our really key event because it showcases communities coming together, ages coming together and everybody just having fun…To see everybody here together and recreating together is what today is all about and what the multiplex is all about,” she said. “This is a good example of having to be creative to come together to recreate together, to socialize, to bring different ages and abilities together…We’ve been able to create that here today, which is amazing and we’re looking to do that in many more unique ways in the future.”
While surfing dominates the region’s athletic calendar, the proposed West Coast Multiplex facility has long been on the horizon with residents supporting the project in a 2012 referendum. Hackett said the society continues to pursue funding and she hopes to see a completed multiplex facility within the next four years.
Tofino surfing icon Pete Devries is one of the West Coast parents to take on long commutes outside the region in pursuit of ice-time for his family and that effort has culminated in his son heading off to Shawnigan to play in the CSSHL next year.
“It’s interesting. You never know what kind of route your kids are going to take and what things they’re going to get into. My son fell in love with hockey and it’s led us on this journey over the last few years…I’m super proud of him. It’s been a great experience, but also very difficult,” Devries told the Westerly during Friday’s tourney. “I can’t say it’s easy or it’s at all accessible for most families. I’m lucky with the schedule my wife and I have and the flexibility we have, but there’s no way that most families could do what we do, even just to get him to house hockey in Port Alberni.”
Devries has been a vocal supporter of the multiplex project and said Friday’s large turnout proved the local need for increased recreational opportunities.
“It’s amazing to see this many kids into hockey on the West Coast. The turnout is probably better than ever this year. It’s super exciting and just shows that there’s a place for this sport on the West Coast,” he said. “I’d say this shows a huge amount of support. Just seeing everyone out here, all the families, all the kids, I think it could be just so beneficial for the physical and mental health of the communities on the West Coast….We need way more recreation on the West Coast. There’s not enough recreation for the families living out here. Sure, it’s a beautiful place, we’ve got incredible spaces outside to do things, but there’s not enough indoor recreation on the West Coast and a multiplex would be the perfect solution to that.”
Morrison echoed Devries’ support for the project.
“Not everybody here surfs. I appreciate surfing and I love the people that have that passion, but not everyone does it. In the winter months, there’s not a lot of options for indoor activity. I think it would really help the overall health benefit of the community to have options to go indoors and do something, like play hockey,” Morrison said.
“To me, it’s promoting an active lifestyle which, I think, leads to overall better health; not only physically, but mentally.”
