Introducing Hockey Alberta’s Regional Goaltending Leads

CANMORE - “This has been the best day of my life.”

In nine words, one of the 33 participants summed up the 2017 Rinks to Links program, hosted by the Hockey Alberta Foundation on July 25 in Canmore.

The participants were youths from Calgary, most of whom had never played golf or skated before, and it was a day none will ever forget.

The day started with a bus trip to Canmore, where the kids hit the driving range and putting green at the Stewart Creek Golf Club, with a lesson from the course professionals.

After lunch, the group made the quick trip over to the Canmore Recreation Centre, where each participant was outfitted with a full set of hockey equipment, provided by Comrie’s Sports Equipment Bank in Calgary.

The kids then hit the ice for a one-hour introduction to hockey, with instruction from Hockey Alberta staff, and numerous volunteers, including members and staff of the Canmore Eagles.

There was plenty of positive feedback from the kids after the event, including “First time I’ve ever felt like I was part of a team”, “I have never been on a road trip that was so cool,” and “best thing that has ever happened to me.”

On behalf of all Rinks to Links participants, the Hockey Alberta Foundation would like to thank presenting sponsor, ATB Investor Services, as well as SportCentral in Edmonton, Tundra Process Solutions, Stewart Creek Golf Club and the Canmore Eagles for their support.

For photos from the event, click here.

CANMORE - Five outstanding individuals, and perhaps one of the most celebrated families in all of hockey comprise the 2017 Induction Class for the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame (AHHF).

Mel Davidson, Bill Hay, Tony Kollman, Perry Pearn, Glen Sather, and the entire Sutter family were enshrined in Alberta’s hockey history on Sunday night at the AHHF Awards Gala, held at the Coast Hotel in Canmore.

Mel Davidson is probably best known for her work behind the bench of the Canadian Women’s national team that won Olympic gold medals in 2002 (Salt Lake City, Assistant Coach), 2006 (Torino, Head Coach), and 2010 (Vancouver, Head Coach). She was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 2011. Click here for Davidson’s full bio.

Bill Hay arguably enjoyed a hall of fame career at the junior, collegiate and professional levels, with many significant achievements over his 16 years on the ice. But when his accomplishments and work off-the-ice are included, he has had a major impact on the sport of hockey - in Alberta, across Canada and around the world. Click here for Hay’s full bio.

Few have matched the legacy left by Tony Kollman on amateur hockey in Alberta in the 1960s and 70s. In another era, he might have been a star at the professional level. For Kollman, his profession as a hospital administrator meant that his hockey skills would be largely on display in Alberta, with appearances at the national and international levels. Click here for Kollman’s full bio.

Perry Pearn was a national champion as a player. But it is through his continuing role as a coach at the collegiate, international and NHL levels for more than four decades that he made his biggest impact on the Alberta hockey community. Click here for Pearn’s full bio.

With 18 games remaining in the 1976-77 World Hockey Association season, Glen Sather assumed the dual role of player-coach with the Edmonton Oilers - a rather unheralded start to one of the most successful careers as a head coach, general manager and president in the National Hockey League. To date, Glen has been enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame (1997), the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame (1996), and the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame (2010). Click here for Sather’s full bio.

For any hockey fan in central Alberta, and especially in their hometown of Viking, when you say the names Brent, Brian, Darryl, Duane, Gary, Rich, Ron, Grace and Louis, the last name isn’t necessary. They are, simply, the best known, most recognizable and most famous hockey family in the world - the Sutter Family. Six brothers played in the National Hockey League. Four of them went on to become coaches and/or general managers. Click here for the Sutter family’s full bio.

Sunday’s AHHF Gala kicked off in the afternoon with a VIP reception for the 2017 inductees, and included dinner and the awards presentation. The 2017 Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame Awards Gala is presented by the Hockey Alberta Foundation, Hockey Alberta, and ATB Investor Services.

The 2017 Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame Awards Gala runs in conjunction with the Hockey Alberta Foundation Golf Classic, a key fundraiser for the Hockey Alberta Foundation’s Every Kid Every Community Program.

The 12^th annual Golf Classic also takes place in Canmore, beginning Monday evening with a special reception for all participants, as well the celebrity golfers. The tournament goes Tuesday at the Stewart Creek Golf Club. Celebrity golfers include Mel Davidson, Perry Pearn, Jamie McLennan, Rob Brown, Curtis Glencross and more. For the 11^th consecutive year, ATB Investor Services is the presenting sponsor of the Golf Classic.

In addition to the Golf Classic, Stewart Creek will also host the first half of the Hockey Alberta Foundation’s annual Rinks to Links program on Tuesday morning, where 30 first-time hockey players will take part in a golf lesson. From there, the participants will head to the Canmore Recreation Centre to be outfitted head-to-toe with new equipment, and take to the ice for the very first time.

The Every Kid Every Community program was launched in 2011, with the goal of ensuring a gateway to play hockey for any child in Alberta who is interested in the sport. The goal is to provide every child in Alberta the opportunity to play hockey, have fun and, in many cases, experience the sport for the first time. Funding through Every Kid Every Community is available to assist amateur sports organizations, minor hockey organizations, youth groups, recreation groups, or any community group with an idea, project or program that helps establish an event or program to get local children active in hockey.