On Monday night, Canadians from Coast to Coast were joined as one as we were glued to our television screens for yet another hockey chapter between Canada and Russia.
This hockey rivalry goes back decades and has had so many historic and memorable moments it would take more than a few book chapters and this editorial space to do any of them proper justice.
Suffice to say, Monday’s chapter was yet another memorable, golden moment for Canada.
We were all filled with a tremendous sense of pride seeing these young men wear the red and white and the mighty maple leaf with honour and dignity. It certainly doesn’t get old when you see the players all standing at centre ice, locked arm in arm and singing the national anthem as the Canadian flag is raised high to the rafters of the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. We get chills just thinking about it again.
Sports is filled with highs and lows, with epic athletic achievements and wide spread feelings of national pride when we see our athletes succeed on the world stage as Team Canada did at these World Hockey Championships.
And our British Columbian hearts can swell up a bit more knowing that six B.C. players, including West Vancouver’s Sam Reinhart and Abbotsford native and Vancouver Canucks prospect Jake Virtanen helped bring home the gold.
Will the Sunshine Coast ever produce a gold medal hockey player? Who knows, but there are certainly some fine prospects out there.
Check out the story on junior hockey in today’s edition for an update on Coast players who worked their way through our minor hockey program to be major contributors on their junior teams throughout the province.
And we can also boast a bit more this week as former Elphinstone Secondary School student athlete Oliver Telfer, now in his fifth year at UVic and captain of the highly successful Vikings team, has been named to the U23 Canadian national ultimate team, which will wear national colours in London, England this July.
He’s thrilled to be getting this opportunity and we’re thrilled for him.
Here’s hoping Oliver and Team Canada will have another “golden moment” that we can all be proud of.
