Kootenay International Junior A Hockey League (KIJHL) Commissioner Jeff Dubois talked about the importance of billet families to the structure of the KIJHL. As a league that operates in a number of small communities and requires some out-of-town talent, billeting is the only way for the league to operate as it does.
“At our core, we can't offer the junior hockey experience that we do without volunteers and billet families,” Dubois said.
Having coached in Creston Valley before becoming commissioner, Dubois has seen firsthand how those relationships evolve from nervous first days to wedding invitations years later.
“Beyond the necessities, those relationships that are built with billet families and athletes, in a lot of cases, those become lifelong relationships between the athlete and their parents and the billet families,” Dubois said. “I can think of countless examples of billet families who, years later, are at an athlete's wedding who they billeted back in his junior hockey days. So, it's something that we need just to make junior hockey in our league happen. It's also a big part of the positive life experience for athletes who play in the KIJHL.”
Lewin was born and raised in Trail and played hockey growing up after spending time around the rink as a youngster and watching her dad play in the local leagues.
She is now in her second season as a billet parent and her first as the Nitehawks’ billet coordinator. After seeing her friend’s Facebook post looking for more billet families, she made the decision while her husband was away on a hunting trip, informing him when he returned that a player would be arriving within a couple of days.
Lewin and her husband have three children but had space for one more.
Since then, their home has welcomed three players, most recently Nitehawks’ forward Jager Marshall.
“I love it, it's a lot of fun,” Lewin said. “I get to meet a lot of the billet families, and I personally have made friendships with some of the kids’ families that have come in. For me, it's been a ton of fun, and I will definitely continue to do it as long as I can."
Marshall, who is from Diamond Valley, AB, balances hockey with classes at Selkirk College and a part-time job. At the Lewin’s home, he’s also a role model, especially for seven-year-old King, who has a full-time Lego partner and a new hero to follow.
“It's been awesome for the kids, especially our youngest one,” Lewin said. “Jager is so patient with him, plays Lego with him. So, it's just been amazing for King to have this extra role model in the house. Our daughter, Riley, she's a teenage girl and sees Jager as another big brother. It's been awesome for the kids and for my husband and I. He's just another part of our family; he fits right in.”
As the coordinator, she tries to find families that are close to the rink in the Trail, Montrose, and Fruitvale areas and families that love hockey. Billet families receive season passes for the household, and Lewin says a majority of the billet parents come to most of the games.
Billeting comes with practical responsibilities, a lot of groceries, and important moments that happen at the dinner table.
“If you can sit down and have one family meal a day, so that your billet son can feel included and have that family connection. We find that they play better, they feel better because they're being included, they don't feel like an outsider. So, it helps them at their home and at the rink,” she said.
The Nitehawks players return that care in the community, volunteering and working with young athletes. They participated in the Canucks’ minor hockey programming with McLean, Brathwaite, and FIN.
“The kids look up to them and want to be them,” Lewin said. “Our coach, Terry [Jones] is amazing, and he really instills in all of the boys respect and how to act in the community. He's very big about them being out in the community and volunteering.”
The Canucks’ minor hockey program has been to Quesnel and now Trail, and Dubois says the visits have left a lasting impression on both the players and the next generation of fans. There are a number of other teams in the KIJHL that are hoping to take part in a Canucks visit in the future.
Dubois remembers McLean’s 1994 playoff run as a defining moment from his own childhood. He sees the local minor and junior hockey players who attend the sessions gain the same inspiration when the Canucks come to town because they realize the dream could be within reach.
“The feedback from both of those teams has been awesome in terms of how cool it was for the local school kids and minor hockey kids,” Dubois said.
“A lot of the kids that are participating in these programs at their schools or through their minor hockey teams are at the age where they're dreaming of playing in the NHL one day. So, I think having the Canucks in their communities is a message that that's achievable and I think it's a really cool connection to be able to make through our teams.”
In rinks across the KIJHL, the path of some junior hockey players starts at a billet family’s front door. For every player chasing a dream far from home, there’s a billet family making sure they never feel like they left it.
