‘IT’S A GREAT EVENT’

‘It gets the kids together and gives them the game experience’

Lots of fun at Tim Hortons Timbits Jamboree.

Young hockey players smiled as they walked around Centre 200 on Sunday.

It was the annual Tim Hortons Timbits Jamboree for novice league players.

Hosted by the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, participating teams were invited to watch the Eagles in action on Saturday night, then play the jamboree tournament on Sunday.

During the afternoon break Sunday, the Eagles sign autographs for the young players.

Graham MacDonald’s son, Leland MacDonald, 6, normally plays hockey at the Cape Breton County Recreation Centre in Coxheath.

“He loves the sport. He can’t wait to get there and when he does he’s eager to play,” he said.

The married father of two said he thinks the Timbits Jamboree is good for players like his son who don’t get to play a lot of games.

“It’s really good. It gets the kids together and gives them the game experience,” he said.

“They meet new friends, too. It’s a great event they put on every year.”

Leland also did well at the Jamboree, scoring three goals in his forst game and nine in the second.

His father said Leland was “excited and proud” when he finished the tournament.

It’s one of the reasons he thinks tournaments like the Timbits Jamboree are “extremely” important for young players.

“It gets them all together, out and learning. It keeps the sport going.”

Every year, the minor hockey league in Antigonish sends a few teams down to participate. Solomon Dwyer, 6, was there with his father, Alan Dwyer, who played hockey for St. Francis Xavier University.

“I like seeing all the kids having so much fun. And the smiles on their faces, it’s so good to see that,” he said.

“I also saw a lot of old faces I haven’t seen since I was playing hockey. I was hoping to run into John Kibyuk (Screaming Eagles assistant coach) because he coached me at St. FX but didn’t see him.”

For his son, it was all about getting speed and scoring goals.

“I like going fast,” he said “He is a great skater, that’s for sure,” his father said.

NIKKI SULLIVAN/CAPE BRETON POST Six-year-old Leland MacDonald, in black, breaks away with the puck in hopes of scoring a goal during the Tim Hortons Timbits Jamboree on Sunday at Centre 200.

NIKKI SULLIVAN/CAPE BRETON POST Solomon Dwyer, 6, gets his poster signed by Screaming Eagles players during the intermission at the Tim Hortons Timbits Jamboree on Sunday at Centre 200.