Oilers at Canucks, G49 2025-26

I used to get up Saturday mornings early, maybe six o’clock or so. My parents were asleep, brother too, and I’d set up the saw horse (the net); the goalie was two buckets (usually Varsol, my Dad used it when he worked for Husky) and I’d be the Bruins and the Canadiens were always the opponent. Sometimes my brother would play with me, but he had to be the Bruins so I would check down to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

In Maidstone, in 1972, the air was so cold on winter Saturday mornings you had to take your time before running too fast. Your lungs had to adjust to the cold, otherwise you might have a tough time breathing and have to go in. I hated going in. Once you’re in, then going out again seems like a big chore. I’d play until someone would call me in for breakfast. We lived 17 miles north of Maidstone, sometimes minus 40 (Dad wouldn’t let me go out if it got too cold) and we had goats, no running water and for a time no elecricity.

We didn’t have a lot of money, Dad couldn’t find work for the first year or so after we moved to Saskatchewan. When Husky hired him, Mom and Dad’s vocal tones were brighter. I heard fewer late-night whispers and early morning solemn. We didn’t have much money when I was a kid. No complaints, Mom and Dad were top drawer parents and it wasn’t their fault they brought a worried child into the universe. They did the best they could and they taught me what love and a good relationship looks like. A child could do a lot worse, you know. Every child deserves a good Mom and a good Dad. I was a lucky fellow.

Hockey was a way of finding common ground in a world I didn’t understand. We went from living in the lower Mainland, and seeing Skana the Whale at Stanley Park twice a year to an isolated part of the world where the coyotes howled, the northern lights danced, and your imagination was the only thing available to fuel entertainment. I could talk hockey and baseball at school, I could listen to the radio and read the newspaper (plus The Hockey News when I was able to buy it from the Rexall Drug Store, thanks Mrs. Stenmark) and stay informed. It was a connection.

I read years ago about the Khaira family. They came here from India, and found that putting their kids in hockey was a way to involve themselves in the community. It was a first blush introduction to Canada for them, and of course Jujhar Khaira flourished and made it all the way to the NHL. That’s a beautiful thing. Hockey in Canada is a big damned deal. It connects all of us. It makes conversation easy and allows us to keep warm and beautiful memories alive.

I won’t be putting the sawhorse and buckets out 17 miles north of Maidstone this morning, but I’m there in spirit. It’s Hockey Day in Canada. It is a day to celebrate our national obsession. I love the game and the lore, and miss the people I’ve lost along the way. I’m grateful to be here, to anticipate Connor McDavid dancing like the northern lights across a long gone Saskatchewan sky. Enjoy the beautiful game, ladies and men. It connects us in a meaningful way.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN JANUARY

• At home to: Flyers, Preds (Expected 1-0-1) 1-1-0
• On the road to: Jets (Expected 1-0-0) 1-0-0
• At home to: Kings (Expected 1-0-0) 0-0-1
• On the road to: Blackhawks, Preds (Expected 1-1-0) 1-0-1
• At home to: NYI (Expected 0-0-1) 0-1-0
• On the road to: Canucks (Expected 1-0-0)
• At home to: Blues, Devils, Penguins, Caps (Expected 2-1-1)
• At home to: Ducks, Sharks, Wild (Expected 1-1-1)
• Expected Record: 8-3-4, 20 points in 15 games
• Actual Record: 3-2-2, eight points in seven games
• Season Record: 23-17-8, 54 points in 48 games

BAKERSFIELD