Painting 'Hockey on the Pond' by Smithers Artist Russell Maier captures the spirit of hockey in the lives of Smithereens. A print of the painting has been donated to Smithers Is Hockeyville to be auctioned off for charity. See it at The Bulkley Valley Credit Union.

Welcome to Hockeyville!

CONGRATULATIONS NORTH BAY ONTARIO

Smithers is Hockeyville would like to congratulate the city of North Bay in their successful bid for Hockeyville 2007.

This years run for Hockeyville is our final pursuit of the crown; we have enjoyed the experience and have developed new friendships throughout Canada and here in our community. We have so many people to thank that it would take pages on our site to name them all. The passion within our Hockeyville committee is second to none; we were committed to try and bring an NHL team to northern BC for our youth to have a once in a lifetime chance to see. We believe that by placing in the top 5 for two consecutive years, that our message to Canadians that we are passionate about Hockey has been delivered; our community has been showcased across Canada and the US. We would like to thank Ron McLean of HNIC for his kind words during our bid this year.

Our main thanks go to our neighbours here in the north, thanks to Kitimat, Terrace, Prince Rupert, First Nation communities along the Coast/Interior, CFNR, CFTK, The Peak, McBride, and to the team at the Interior News who, without their commitment to this cause and our community, we would not have made it any where near as far as we have the past two bids. We also would like to thank our friends in the U.S who marketed our bid extensively via various media outlets; your votes and support are greatly appreciated.

To all the emails of support we have received the past few days from across BC and small rural communities in Canada, we encourage you all to submit bids for Hockeyville, even communities such as Smithers without rural broadband, it is not the final vote that counts, it is the spirit in which the community mobilizes itself that counts. I would also like to thank the woman’s hockey teams from the highest elevation woman’s hockey game who generously contributed a signed jersey form the actual game, and sent it as a gift to Don Cherry. We are confident he appreciated that gesture of the one of a kind jersey.

My special thanks goes to the committee members themselves, I have never witnessed such passion and dedication in a shared goal. Two bids, one team, one shared passion- Smithers! I am even more proud of the team for their commitment to sportsmanship.

Again, congratulations to North Bay, we are confident that your city will represent Hockeyville with the same spirit last year’s winner, Salmon River did, and we hope you secure your JR. A franchise, and become both Hockeyville and the North Bay Ice Dogs.

Sincerely,
Tom Harwood
Committee organizer

View the Painting by Russell Maier “Hockey On The Pond” which will be issued in a limited edition for Smithers Is Hockeyville at The Bulkley Valley Credit Union. Proceeds to charity. website – www.Fire-Painter.com

The legacy of SMITHERS IS HOCKEYVILLE has been unique! Our great run last year brought our community together in a special way and taught our citizens, young and old and in between that when you pull together with Spirit, Confidence and Pride you can achieve great things. We know our community is special now we have made the nation aware of this! We are literally “Taking the game to new heights”.

To start, we consistantly win the “Sportsmanship Awards” as this is what our Minor Hockey Association focuses on. Last year in Provincial Championships, our Bantams & Peewees won the “Fair Play Awards” given to “the teams who best conduct themselves on and off the ice”. Our Midgets won the Provincial Championships but we were advised they were in line to win the “Fair Play Award” also.

Our town of only 5,000 has produced Nine NHL players and counting. One Ladies National Team Contender.
One of our backyard rinks has been recognized as the best in Canada. We’re home to the Smithers Steelheads. And we play the world’s greatest game amongst the spectacular mountain beauty of B.C.’s Bulkley Valley.
There are many reasons SMITHERS IS HOCKEYVILLE!
TAKE A TOUR THROUGH OUR WEBSITE AND SEE FOR YOURSELF!!

E-mail your Hockeyville content submissions to Patricia Steiger
lavera@telus.net

The Father & Son “bonding” HOCKEYVILLE incident.

There was a Smithers Is Hockeyville Ball Hockey Event that Arne Van Der Heide & his son Wyatt were taking part in. This seemed like a great opportunity to enjoy a unique experience together then Wyatt had a small misshap! Word has at that he didn’t miss a shift. The T shirt says it all!
“It’s all fun and games until someone looses a tooth – THEN IT”S HOCKEY”!

Go Smithers!

Mountain Hockey Championships Spin-off of Hockeyville Run

Smithers Hockeyville met McBride’s true blue at the first annual Mountain Hockey Championships. The event held at the base of Hudson bay mountain on picturesque Lake Kathlyn featured teams from Smithers, Terrace, Kitimat and McBride.

Members from the Smithers Hockeyville Committee and their McBride counterparts agreed that bonds formed through the Hockeyville experience should not be lost once the journey was done. That pledge spawned what has now become the “World Mountain Hockey Championship”.

McBride arrived in Smithers with a minor hockey team that was accompanied by an entourage including a horse and rider that paraded the town proclaiming McBride’s resurgence. In addition the coaches of the team showed their true blue colours, arriving at the rink with faces painted and hair coloured.

The Hockeyville Committee hopes this will become an annual event and leave a lasting Legacy.
Photos www.photographicoptions.com – Wendy Perry
Check out this website for more awesome photos.

All-West Glass Hockeyville Express for Kingston!

Smithers was there!!! Last year Smithers Hockeyville filled a bus and made the cross country trip to Kingston.

It all began with a 5:15 breakfast on Easter morning at the Hudson Bay Lodge and then a formal send off at the All-West Glass Head Office at 6:00 am.

Then it was hours and hours across Canada on the All-West Glass Smithers Hockeyville Express

Tuesday evening brought an overnight stay at the Embassy Hotel & Suites in Ottawa.

Wednesday was show time in Kingston and our travellers enjoyed one more night of sleeping in a bed before it wa time to get back on the bus at 6:00 am Thursday morning to head for home.

Please make sure you visit the Interior News website and “browse all galleries”
(page 4 for Mountain Hockey)