Carnie's Comments
It's Throwback Thursday - just a minute to remember the good ol' Days.
I'm thinking about hockey today as families from across Saskatchewan come to Moose Jaw for the EPIC Hockey Spring Ice Melt Tournament. 65 teams will compete for four days. It's all about opportunity and development for young athletes who want to get better at the game they play.
When I was growing up and playing hockey back in the 70s, we didn't have spring hockey. Oh, there were some summer hockey schools in late August but nothing like this.
Back in my day, kids 10 and under simply played house league hockey in the community and we had one traveling team in the Pee Wee division and a couple in Bantam, the 13- and 14-year-old boys.
Times have changed and the game of hockey has expanded. Young hockey players, boys and girls, can earn college scholarships across the continent and we have a number of professional leagues in North America and around the world where hockey players can make a good living while playing our great game.
And so, I suppose, for families who have the financial resources, spring and summer hockey is an investment in the future of their children and the game.