The rink. The goal. The celly. The show. For gals and goons alike, some of the hockey world’s most remarkable dreams have been born from the East Kootenay, with more just beginning.

It’s early August and 27 degrees outside: a great day for hockey. That’s because this is Cranbrook, where hockey season never ends. A slight nip in the air last night has only whet the players’ relentless appetites.

Inside Western Financial Arena, a few dozen parents are enjoying the world’s best air conditioning while their kids scrimmage as part of Hockey in the Rockies, a six-day development camp for boys and girls aged five through fourteen. One proud visitor from Manitoba has watched his grandson play every day.

Overlooking it all is camp founder Don Murdoch, an NHL legend, even if none of his students — or even their parents — ever saw him play. Drafted seventh overall by the New York Rangers in 1976, Murdoch played wing to centreman Phil Esposito and once scored five goals in a single game as a rookie, a record that still stands. Later he coached at various levels and was the longtime head scout for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“I always knew that one day I’d come back to God’s country,” says Murdoch, who returned a decade ago to Cranbrook, the city where he was born and raised.

“Our dad didn’t know much about hockey,” he recalls, referencing his late father Bob who also played in the NHL, “but he sure knew how to make a backyard rink. It even had lights.” There, long before cushy indoor arenas, inclusivity, or even helmets, the Murdochs chased a dream that a staggering number of Kootenay families have actually achieved.

“When Hockey Day in Canada came to Cranbrook in 2017,” recalls Murdoch, “Ron MacLean said he thought that, pound for pound, this area has sent more players to the NHL than any similarly-sized place in Canada.” As for the modern tradition of Stanley Cup-winning players taking the cherished trophy to their hometowns, Murdoch notes that, “we’ve had it here at least seven or eight times.” This includes the likes of local superstars Rob and Scott Niedermayer, the latter of whom won it four times and is one of the most decorated players in NHL history. Most recently, the Cup was brought to town by Bowen Byram of the Colorado Avalanche, who accomplished the feat at just 21-years of age.

These are just a few of the several dozen local lads who made it to the show, including Calgary Flames head coach Ryan Huska, a three-time winner of junior hockey’s Memorial Cup, and the great Steve Yzerman, who first suited up in the old Cranbrook Arena.

With all those role models, it’s easy to see why the boys down on the ice today play at a level far above their age. Their knee-down, fist-up goal celebrations — or “cellies” as the kids like to say — are YouTube-honed to perfection. But even more surprising is a trio of ponytailed girls whose powerful skating and skilled stick-handling keep them at the heart of the action. “Those are the Morrison triplets,” explains Murdoch. “They’re the future.”

To say that girls’ hockey is a work in progress is simply a fact, but the progress in this community is impressive so far. Randi-Lynn Morrison knows all about it. As a gifted young player, she pioneered what girls around here now dream of doing: playing at a U.S. college — in her case, a four-year stint with New York’s Plattsburgh State Cardinals.

Cranbrook Hockey — ***Breakin’ Ice*** *— Cranbrook women’s hockey volunteer and organizer Randi-Lynn Morrison, along with her triplets, from left, Quinn, Morgan, and Charlie.* ***Jesse Heinrichs Photo***

Back home, Morrison is now a schoolteacher, as well as a key organizer in the Cranbrook Minor Hockey Association and the coach of the female U-15 Bucks: a squad that didn’t even exist five years ago. “We’re lucky these days,” says Morrison. “We get to play super-competitive games in the Rocky Mountain Female Hockey League with a bunch of really good Alberta teams.” This season her fraternal 13-year-old triplet daughters, Charlie, Quinn, and Morgan will be trying out, and if today’s performance against bigger, older boys is any indication, they can expect to make the cut.

Asked what their goals are, the sisters show no hesitation: “We want to play D-1,” they chime in together. That means Division 1 NCAA hockey, preferably with a full-ride scholarship and the finest facilities in the hockey universe. “We want to be like Jaimee Spring.”

Ah, the Springs. You can’t talk about Cranbrook hockey without mentioning its first family, whose many stars appear on the seemingly endless Wall of Fame lining the arena’s upper mezzanine. Jaimee, who’s been helping with the summer camp, is from the 2005 vintage — hockey players being like horses in that they’re all deemed born on the first of January. Her dad Corey, like other Springs before him, had a long professional career, including a stop with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Jaimee is getting ready for her own freshman season on the highly regarded hockey program at Colgate University in upstate New York, a school which is known as one of the “Little Ivies.” Pressed for her self-assessment, the talented defender shows the kind of confidence one needs to succeed in this game and at that level.

“I’m a strong skater. I think I’m a smart player. And my shot is harder than my brother’s. Just ask him.” Beyond that, she’s dead set on playing professionally and hopes that by that point the currently fractious world of the women’s pro game will have been unified. Like much else in women’s hockey, only time will tell.

With the day’s camp activities over, the action swings a block over to the Kinsmen Arena, where tables are piled high with used hockey gear waiting to find the next generation. It’s the annual pre-season equipment swap, and it offers one of the few ways to save money in what is an otherwise expensive sport. At Jaimee Spring’s level, for example, sticks alone cost $400, so it’s a steal if a parent can outfit a kid top-to-toe for $200.

To no local’s surprise, Bobby-Jo Hekob is running the show at Kinsmen. She was an ordinary Cranbrook hockey mom at one time, but that changed about five years ago as her kids approached adulthood. Now, she’s like a Super Hockey Mom who, alongside Randi-Lynn Morrison and a host of other volunteers, has made it her mission to create a welcoming and nurturing environment for young girls in a sport that simply doesn’t hold the same immediate appeal as it does for boys.

“I’m not technically a hockey coach,” says the modest Hekob. “I consider myself a development cheerleader.” One thing she has learned is that it’s not enough to create a team and expect girls to come out. “They really require a different approach that’s camaraderie-first. Girls like events, swag bags, and dance parties. They tend to come for the socializing and the hockey is secondary.” Early on, Hekob established an introductory program for any girl, even non-skaters, as young as five. Throughout the season, they get one fun-focused, pressure-free session a week on ice, plus pool parties and other opportunities to socialize.

They’re seeing genuine results. “It’s a slow boil, but we can feel it changing,” says Hekob. “They develop a taste for it and get more interested in games and competition.”

A sure measure of this success comes from comparing last season’s turnout to this year’s. Last year, her young players were a piecemeal blend of U-11 and U-13 that struggled to make scrimmages happen. “This year, though, we have a full U-13 team, and we’re playing in a tournament-based league with Americans, at venues in Cheney, Coeur d’Alene, and later this season, in Cranbrook.” There will even be a team from Seattle, where the Kraken have made hockey one of the hottest tickets in the state.

As for potential incubation sites nearer to home, Hekob has been a consultant to would-be builders of girls’ hockey in places like Kimberley and Creston. She tells them it’s a simple recipe: “Just get the ice. Fight for a decent slot of ice time and then make it fun every day. That’s where it all begins.”

Speaking of beginnings, anyone wondering how hockey has been so big in this region and for so long, should consider a pilgrimage to Kimberley’s iconic hockey barn, the Civic Centre. It was built in 1960, when mining still ruled the community, to accommodate growing crowds for the senior men’s team, the Dynamiters. Founded in 1947, the Dynamiters played in the Western International Hockey League with teams like the Los Angeles Ramblers and the Portland Buckaroos in what was effectively a professional circuit. Like their rivals the Trail Smoke Eaters, players were paid by Cominco. For many years they were among the best hockey teams in Canada not named the Leafs or Canadiens.

The Dynamiters live on, however, as the reigning champions of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, a twenty-team loop recently upgraded to Junior A status. If you’re a visitor here for skiing, or just someone who wants to savour the old-timey hockey experience, put the Dynamiters’ home dates on your agenda. Warning: it might get addictive. Nieva Burns is a medical professional who, along with her partner, moved from Calgary to Marysville six years ago. “We’d watched the Flames and stuff, but before that we never paid any attention to amateur hockey,” she recalls. “At first, we wondered where everyone was on Friday nights. Once we learned that they were watching Dynamiters hockey, we joined in. Now we’re basically superfans.”

Part of what amazes the crowd is the speed and skill of the players nowadays. It’s no stretch to suggest that these 18-year-olds would crush the senior men’s teams of yore, notwithstanding the toughness of old ice dogs like Cowboy McTeer and Perky Perkinson. And why not — a breakout season can earn someone that U.S. scholarship or help them become a star with the Maine Black Bears or Bemidji State Beavers.

Then, you’re just one scout away from the big time. Sure, why not. Around these parts, the dream is — and long has been — most definitely alive.

~ Kevin Brooker

Find this full-length story and more in The Trench’s (Go Cranberley) Fall 2023 edition:

The Puck That Dropped Here

The rink. The goal. The celly. The show. For gals and goons alike, some of the hockey world’s most remarkable dreams have been born from the East Kootenay, with more just beginning.

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