First Nations players inspire as hockey returns

While the sunny, sultry weather continues in southern Quebec, the hockey season is getting into full swing, as Team Canada prepares for the upcoming World Cup of Hockey.

All eyes will be on Carey Price, when the Montreal Canadiens goaltender returns to game action for the first time since suffering a lower body injury nine months ago.

A member of the Ulkatcho First Nation from Anahim Lake, BC, Price was subsequently sidelined for the remainder of the NHL season, but brings a healthy track record of success into the second edition of the World Cup of Hockey.

Price was outstanding while backstopping Canada to a gold medal victory at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, going undefeated in five contests, including a pair of shutout victories, and a sparkling 0.59 goals against average.

While Price and his teammates are expected to capture the imagination of First Nations hockey fans throughout September, there is also no shortage of Cree hockey players hitting the ice this month.

Moose Factory’s Jonathan Cheechoo is best remembered for winning the NHL scoring title in 2006 as a member of the San Jose Sharks. But the affable right-winger has yet to slow down, and has just started his fourth year in the KHL, as a member of HC Slovan Bratislava in Slovakia.

“I am proud of everything I have achieved,” explained Cheechoo in a recent interview with Slovak-language publication Pravda.

“I worked hard to get into the NHL, but you also have to play well in the KHL. When I was five or six years old, I did not even know about some Russian league. But as I got older, watching it, in addition to the NHL and international hockey, it is clearly good hockey.”

Cheechoo is coming off a productive 38-point campaign with HC Dinamo Minsk, where he spent the past two seasons, and has tallied three points in his first five games in Bratislava.

Looking at the junior ranks, a trio of Eeyou Istchee youngsters have been making their presence felt at the training camp of the QMJHL’s Val-d’Or Foreurs.

Waswanipi’s Silas Mattawashish has enjoyed a regular shift on the Foreurs top two lines during the pre-season, and has not disappointed, recording a goal and an assist through five contests.

Wemindji’s Linden Namagoose and Eastmain’s Adam Cheezo have also received a long look at this year’s camp.

Namagoose has patrolled the Val-d’Or blue line in two pre-season games to date. The 16-year-old has yet to pick up the point, but has got the job done defensively, and owns a plus/minus of +1 despite seeing action in a pair of Foreur losses.

Cheezo has recorded one assist in three games to date, as he looks to play his way back into a regular job with the Foreurs after recovering from a knee injury that limited him to just 28 games last season.

 

“I had to go home for a bit and slowly recover then come back but I’ve been working hard off the ice and on the ice trying to do my best [to get back into shape],” Cheezo told the Nation.

Waswanipi’s Deverick Ottereyes knows all about the rigours of junior hockey after spending three years in the QMJHL, mostly with the PEI Rocket, now known as the Charlottetown Islanders.

Following a brief stint with the Temiscaming Titans of the GMHL last season, Ottereyes is preparing for his first season as a m
ember of the Nipissing Lakers.

Enrolled in the business program at Nipissing University, Ottereyes “adds some size, speed and grit for the Lakers this upcoming season,” said Lakers coach Mike McParland.

“It’s a great feeling to continue playing the sport I love and as well getting a university education at the same time,” added Ottereyes. “Especially coming from a small town in James Bay, I think it could have a positive influence on the youth.”

Ottereyes and the Lakers make just one visit to the Montreal area this season, when they visit McGill University on Saturday January 21 in the team’s final road date of the regular season.