Giants jerseys pay tribute to Vimy
Friday’s game against Kamloops recognizes 100th anniversary of First World War battle
Dale Saip calls Friday’s military appreciation night “one of the events I’m most proud of” in his time with the Vancouver Giants.
The Giants will wear special Vimy Ridge-themed jerseys for their Western Hockey League game against the Kamloops Blazers at the Langley Events Centre. There will be a Sopwith Camel replica plane on display outside the arena, and author Warren Sommer, who wrote Canucks in Khaki about the First World War and its impact on Langley and the Lower Mainland, will be on hand to sell and sign copies of his recently published book.
“With the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, that’s obviously a significant part of our history as Canadians and a lot of the people who fought were the same age that our players are now,” said Saip, the Giants’ senior vice-president and a member of the organization since it formed for the 2001-02 season.
“We want our players specifically to understand the sacrifices that have been made for their freedom.”
The Giants trot out the specialty jerseys a handful of times every season. It’s often simply to get attention, which the Giants brass readily admits. It works well on occasion, like with their Star Wars-themed jerseys from a couple of seasons ago, which got considerable play on social media.
Then there are bigger-picture things. The Giants were among the first teams to sport Don Cherry jerseys, which have now become a WHL-wide initiative. On Oct. 7, the Giants wore Cherry-suit uniforms for a home game against the TriCity Americans and auctioned off the jerseys online afterward, with proceeds going to the Kidney Foundation of Canada.
They’ll do something similar here. The auction for the Vimy Ridge jerseys runs through Nov. 7, and can be found at 32auctions.com/giantsvimy.
Proceeds will go to the Vimy Foundation. According to its website, the foundation’s mission is to “preserve and promote Canada’s First World War legacy as symbolized with the victory at Vimy Ridge in April 1917, a milestone where Canada came of age and was then recognized on the world stage.”
This type of thing has been in the franchise’s mindset for some time. Saip and team owner Ron Toigo were among those who pushed for a poppy to be part of the Memorial Cup logo when Vancouver hosted the national championship tournament in 2007. It’s since become a mainstay of the design.
The Memorial Cup trophy was originally donated by the Ontario Hockey Association in March 1919, in remembrance of the Canadian soldiers who died during the First World War. In 2010, the Memorial Cup was rededicated to the memory of all fallen Canadian military personnel.
“The Memorial Cup is what we work for at this level and it has a significant tie to the military and we want to keep that,” Saip said. “We also want to keep that tie with this team.”
The players say that they enjoy these special event nights. Defenceman Matt Barberis said “it’s always nice changing the jerseys up and getting a different look on the guys,” while winger Ty Ronning said “it gives you a little boost … you always look forward to a hockey game, but when you get to throw on a jersey other than your regular one, it’s exciting.”
They do seem to understand the significance of Friday, though.
“The poppies are coming out now. It’s a good touch,” Ronning said.
Barberis added: “That cause is special. You can never forget that kind of stuff.”