BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
Although it's over a year away, the City of
Greater Sudbury is buzzing from the announcement that the
Little NHL Hockey Tournament will make its return to the city
in March 2006.
The tournament has been held here before,
most recently in 2001 and 2003, and is a sure-fire way to
invigorate the local economy, according to deputy
mayor Ron Dupuis.
"It means millions of dollars," Dupuis said.
"When you look at the amount of people coming to our area, it
will mean a tremendous economic impact.
Our hotels for miles and miles around will be
booked solid. There will thousands of people eating and
shopping at our restaurants and retail stores. We are so lucky
to have them come back here. We are going to do every thing in
our power to make sure this tournament will come back again and
again."
The Little NHL brings together more than
5,000 young hockey players, family members and fans from First
Nations across Ontario.
Sudbury was an excellent choice for the
Little NHL executive board.
"Sudbury is central for us, and that's
important," said George Francis, president of the Little NHL
executive board. "It's also central for a lot of the First
Nations communities. More people will come to Sudbury because
of the location than any other place."
The Little NHL was started 34 years ago as a
means of getting First Nations' hockey players together to
submerse themselves in their rich culture and meet new
friends.
"Thirty-four years ago, there was a lot of
discrimination and a lot of our kids were not allowed to play
in the regular leagues in local towns," said Pat Madahbee,
Little NHL executive member and Chief of the Aundeck Omni
Kaning First Nation. "We formed the tournament so the kids
could play. It has grown from 17 teams to as high as 120 teams
participating. It's more than just hockey because it focuses on
leadership skills, education, respect, sportsmanship and
citizenship. It's a big event where whole families come and
watch the kids play."
The Little NHL features every division from
tykes to midget levels and even a junior and senior girls'
division.
The Sudbury event will mark the 35th
anniversary of the tournament, and board members have something
special planned for the occasion.
"It will be a significant event because we're
going to be introducing a Little NHL Hall of Fame," said
Madahbee. "We will do some inductions to honour the founding
members, some of the athletes that have played in the
tournament and some of the volunteers that have helped make the
Little NHL tournament a success."
