Junior Canucks Floor Hockey Program Brings Floor Hockey to Sts’ailes Nation

The Canucks continue to grow the game of hockey at the grassroots level on the ice and on the pavement.

As part of the Junior Canucks Floor Hockey Program, the team recently made a trip to Agassiz to share the sport with the Sts’ailes community, aiming to spark a passion for ball hockey among local youth.

The Junior Canucks program works with schools and the First Nations communities across British Columbia year-round to promote physical literacy and a love of the game. With the goal of reducing barriers to entry, the program provides equipment and coaching resources to ensure that kids can simply show up, have fun, and learn.

In Sts’ailes, the initiative found a passionate community leader in Jeremy Dool, who has dedicated his career to creating opportunities for youth. As a sports and recreation leader (Aylexw) for people of all ages in the Sts’ailes Nation, Dool felt the Canucks program was a perfect fit.

“I love seeing all the kids run around. I've worked with kids my whole life and it's always good to see them get this experience and a higher skill level,” Dool said.

“I love sports. We've we always played in the native tournaments every summer, and I gained a lot of friendships and experience from that, that was a huge part for me.”

Dool played ice hockey when he was younger and plays a lot of ball hockey today, travelling to Indigenous tournaments throughout the year. He has experience in the sport, but he had never taught it, and learned a lot from the training program the Canucks provide that lays out the steps to teach the six-week ball hockey program.

Dropping off the equipment ahead of time gives the kids an opportunity to get acquainted with the sport before the Canucks come back around six weeks later to celebrate learning the new sport.

“We're so grateful for all the equipment – we got so much equipment – all the kids are going nuts over it. I thought it was an awesome experience,” Dool said.

An introduction of ball hockey provided a fresh opportunity in Sts’ailes. While the community is more known for sports like soccer and canoeing, the response to hockey was enthusiastic. For some kids, it was their first time picking up a stick, while others had previous experience playing ice hockey. Regardless of skill level, everyone came ready to play.

Adding to the excitement was a visit from Canucks legend Kirk McLean and team mascot FIN. McLean and FIN spent time interacting with the youth, playing hockey with them, and taking photos.

“That was a really awesome experience for all of us,” Dool said. “Some of the kids were really excited to meet Kirk McLean and FIN as well – they see FIN on T.V. all the time. Kirk was really nice too and really interacted with them, so, they had an awesome time.”

By combining accessible resources with community leadership and a love for the game, the Canucks are helping inspire the next generation of hockey players on and off the ice.