BONNYVILLE – In honour of late philanthropist Victor Ringuette, the 2nd annual Victor Ringuette Sportsman Dinner was held in Bonnyville on Feb. 23.
Neil Langridge, Jr. A Pontiacs associate general manager, said the annual event’s aim is to raise funding for non-profits in the community.
“With everything going on in this day and age, we’re always looking for new ways to make sure that we create sustainable futures in our community,” said Langridge.
This year, it’s the Bonnyville Minor Hockey Association, Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs, and Bonnyville Sr. Pontiacs, who came together to host the event.
Langridge said it’s also more effective to collaborate on a single event, rather than each group doing their own.
“We find it also less of a burden on our business community that is so gracious with the donations and funding for large events like this,” he said.
He then thanked everyone who came out.
Georges Laraque
The event featured Edmonton Oilers’ alumni Georges Laraque, who spoke about his time in the NHL, his passion for the sport, and his challenges – including being a person of colour.
But among the professional hockey player’s foremost messages was for people to never give up on their dreams - no matter how difficult it may be to achieve them.
Laraque's parents were born in Haiti before immigrating to Canada. He was born in Montreal in December 1976. “And every kid born in Montreal wants to play in the NHL,” he said.
He told his father he wanted to play hockey, who he said did not understand the sport. He recalled how when he was a kid, he taught himself to skate in the park.
Laraque continued learning the sport and began playing minor hockey as a child. “It was a bit different because there’s no other black players. I was the only one,” he said, acknowledging the challenge.
“Then at eight years old, things started to change... I started getting assaulted. People would call me racial slurs from the stands,” Laraque recalled. His dad urged him to quit playing due to racism and lack of representation in the sport. He told his dad, “No, I’m not quitting.”
He then began working odd jobs to buy equipment and other necessities and continued practicing and playing.
“I scored 100 goals a year and people hated the fact that I was the only black kid... hated I was scoring some goals, [that] I was bigger than everyone, and they thought it was unfair,” he said, explaining it came to a point when people began to question his real age.
“I was six feet [and] really fast when I was a kid,” said Laraque. He could score also from the blue line.
“I could do crazy things,” and he continued playing, even without support from his parents.
No one believed in him. He needed to work harder.
“What does it mean to work harder?” he asked those in attendance, answering the question himself, he said he didn’t watch TV or watch hockey – instead he trained. If it rained or snowed, he trained.
“So, I could have an edge.”
He started to understand that the sacrifices he was making every day could pay off.
Laraque was good at other sports too, and at the age of 15 he had to make a choice, and despite other sports such as soccer or football having more representation of people of colour, he chose hockey.
“My dream was to make it into NHL, to prove everyone wrong,” he said.
But his father did not sign the waiver, so he did not play hockey for a year. It was only the year after that his father agreed, and he could play the sport again.
In 1995, Laraque was drafted 31st overall by the Edmonton Oilers.
“If you were to say, what was the percentage of me making it into the NHL... one per cent?” he said. “I didn’t look at the odds and say, the odds are too small, I’m not going to do it.”
When people try to chase their dreams, Laraque says they first seek the approval of those around them – the approval of their family or their peers. But when a person has a dream, Laraque believes people need to work hard to chase it, despite what others think.
“If you have a goal and want to change something, you do it, and you work hard and give everything that you have. Because when you do, it’s always rewarding. We only have one life to live and that’s why it’s important to grab [life] by the horns and do it.”
The crowd also had the opportunity to ask Laraque questions and take photos with him.
