As residents returned to Fort McMurray throughout the summer, following the evacuation of nearly 90,000 people, the community was looking for any signs of normalcy.
“We had a lot of people wondering when hockey was going to start, saying that ‘we need hockey to go, we need hockey,’” said Travis Galenzoski, president of Fort McMurray Minor Hockey. “People were looking to hockey for a calming effect. Spending a day at the arena is normal, it provides an outlet.”
In the early going, though, there weren’t many answers. The fires and evacuation meant the association had not held its annual general meeting. Jerseys and equipment needed to be cleaned or repaired. And then there was an even bigger question – would there be a place to play?
“There was uncertainty in ice availability. Were we going to get our home arena back?” said Galenzoski. “The biggest thing was not knowing. Once we got our arena back, the front of the season was extremely busy and pretty stressful. Thanks to the hard work of our arena manager, operations manager, and a whole lot of volunteers, we made it happen. Other than a bit of a delay in starting evaluations, our players’ hockey experience has not changed.”
Registration numbers are down slightly (about three per cent) for the 2016-17 season. But more than 1,100 players, comprising approximately 60 teams, are on the ice. And the association is hosting Hockey Alberta’s Atom AA Major provincial championships in March.
“This is fantastic. We have managed to put on a hockey program after an 88,000-person evacuation,” said Galenzoski.
To help support minor hockey in the northeast, Fort McMurray minor hockey and players throughout the region are the beneficiaries of $21,500 raised collectively by Hockey Canada, Hockey Alberta, Hockey Canada Foundation and Hockey Alberta Foundation.
The funds include:
- $10,000 from Hockey Canada
- $5,000 from the Hockey Alberta Foundation’s Every Kid Every Community grant and player assistance programs
- $5,000 from the Hockey Canada Foundation, and
- $1,500 raised at Hockey Alberta’s 2016 annual general meeting through contributions from Local Minor Hockey Associations across Alberta.
