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As season wraps up, hockey mom thanks Portage team for supporting young fans

Portage College Voyageurs say connections to fans is motivating. Last games of the season are this weekend.

LAC LA BICHE - Star-struck. That’s how the mom of a young Lac La Biche hockey player described her seven-year-old son’s reaction when he was invited into the dressing room of his hometown college hockey team by his favourite player

Awesome. That’s how Portage College Voyageurs forward Brody Dale described meeting seven-year-old Kanin Cardinal and his younger brother Kaleb.

At every Bold Center home game of the current Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference season, Kanin and his brother have been in the stands with their parents, cheering on the home-team Voyageurs. It’s become a family thing, says mom Caitlin.

“Every time they see a sign for a Voyageurs' game, they say, ‘Can we go? Can we go?’ That makes us number one fans because we are taking them… It’s great for us all to get out, we really enjoy it.”

The boys really enjoy it too — especially Kanin, a player on the U-9 Lac La Biche Clippers minor hockey team who is at the stage where, his mom says, “hockey is his life. He loves it.”

So it’s no surprise Kanin is one of a handful of youngsters who rush to the boards at the intermissions of each game to cheer their team, jumping for fist-bumps as the Voyageurs head to the dressing room. Win or lose, Kanin is there with a big grin, cheering on the players — especially his favourite, number 10 Brody Dale.

“He watches the game, he watches the players. He really pays attention. I think the only time he ever sits still really is to watch a Voyageurs game,” says Caitlin. “We always ask who is your favourite player? He says,  ‘Number 10. He’s so awesome. I want to be like him.’"

After a home game a few weeks ago, coming back to his seat after fist-bumps and hi-fives, Kanin wondered out loud — just loud enough for his parents to hear — how he could meet his favourite player.

“He looked at me and said, ‘Mom, just ask him.’”

What’s a hockey-parent to do?

Caitlin and her husband went down to the dressing room hallway and when one of the players came out, they asked if Brody would have a photo with their son. He came out for a quick introduction and photo.

The boys were happy, and Caitlin posted the happy photo onto her social media page.

But that wasn’t the end.

Through mutual friends, Brody, a Heavy Equipment Technician student at Portage,  saw the photo — and the giant grin on Kanin’s face. The 23-year-old Voyageur recognized the seven-year-old’s expression. He’d been the same way with the older junior hockey players he watched as a youngster in Quesnel, BC.

“I remember when I was a kid growing up and watching our junior hockey team … you thought they were the greatest thing,” he said. “Anytime you can make a little guy’s day like that, it’s awesome.”

So Brody contacted Caitlin, apologized for the quick photo, and offered to bring the boys into the dressing room before the Voyageurs next practice.

“It was so special. They had time for them, the guys were sitting down and gave the boys a stick they all signed,” said Caitlin, explaining that all of the Voyageurs took time to talk with her kids, asking Kanin what his favourite team was, how he was liking hockey, and really taking an interest.  “It wasn’t just a, ‘hey how’s it going’ .. they all took time to talk with them and made them feel so special.”

When they asked Kanin where he would be sitting in the dressing room when he plays as a Voyageur, the youngster pointed towards the goalies. Caitlin says he’s starting to show an interest this year in goaltending. To help him on his way, the Voyageurs also gave him a signed goalie stick and a signed jersey.

“Kanin now has them on display in his room,” said Caitlin.

“As a mom. It made me so happy, and so proud that this was happening here in our small town where I was born and raised.  I’m really thankful. Brody and the team went above and beyond, and it was so special to us.  That’s all I wish for my kids.  This is something Kanin and his brother are going to remember … this is very special.”

It’s not only the kids who benefit from these kinds of connections, says Brody.

The team has noticed the young fans watching from the stands this year, and the players look forward to the fist-bumps and hi-fives as much as the kids do.

“It’s awesome, and we love it just as much as the little guys do. It’s as good for us to do that as it is for them to do it.,” he said.

Since the meeting, the boys and the Voyageurs share a new bond, says Caitlin.

“Even now, when they see each other in the Bold Center, they give each other head-nods,” she said with a laugh.

Voyaguers’ final season games this weekend

Although the Voyageurs were competitive in league play, they finished the ACAC regular season out of the playoffs. The Voyageurs finish up their season tonight against the Briercrest College Clippers at 8pm at the Bold Center. The second game goes Saturday with a 1pm puck drop at the Bold Center

Their young fans will be there to cheer them on.

Brody says that support — and the smiles — are highlights of the season, no matter what the final standings show.

“Anything we can do to brighten their day and make them feel better, is obviously a win for us.”


Rob McKinley

About the Author: Rob McKinley

Rob has been in the media, marketing and promotion business for 30 years, working in the public sector, as well as media outlets in major metropolitan markets, smaller rural communities and Indigenous-focused settings.
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