UP FOR THE CUP
Minor hockey takes over the capital
Two and a half months after being hit by a car in the parking lot at the Richcraft Sensplex and breaking his tibia, nine-year-old Jacob Rheaume was on the ice Friday — his first game back with the Gloucester Rangers White AAA minor atoms.
Courage? Yeah, the kid had plenty.
Even after wearing a full cast up to his waist for more than eight weeks, there was never much doubt the youngster would play hockey again as soon as physically possible.
Jacob’s father Chris, who drove his fallen child to CHEO after the incident, said “He didn’t cry, the first thing he said was, `I don’t think I can practise tonight.’ I said, `Buddy, that’s the last thing you need to worry about.’
“The next day, he has the fulllength cast on. His brother’s out taking shots against the garage. (Jacob) gets in his wheelchair, he says, `Dad, get me downstairs.’ And he went out and was taking shots in his wheelchair. It was very inspiring. He’s a very determined kid. He got hit on a Thursday, then went to his team’s game on Saturday. He had his jersey on, he was in his wheelchair. They brought him into the room, they all hugged him, he was crying ... it was a very emotional thing.”
Playing in the Bell Capital Cup is a big deal to Jacob. In a tournament that may be the world’s best showcase for minor hockey players aged 9-12, Jacob’s is one of many stories of sportsmanship, good citizenship, heroism and resilience.
There’s the Ajax-Pickering Raiders AAA minor peewee team, which provided toys to the Ajax Salvation Army to give to needy families at Christmas.
There’s the Skyland Kings peewee Navy team. Coach Mark Fleksher’s son Dillon and teammates Christopher Gay and Matiss Bars volunteer every week for the Monarchs special needs learn-to-skate program.
There are the players from the Burlington Girls Hockey Club, which came together to make a difference at the 11th Annual Gift of Giving Back Food Drive — the largest food drive in Canada supporting five member agencies in the Halton Region. The BGHC collected 47,000-plus pounds of food, including 5,000 pounds from the atom AA rep team.
Jacob, who attends St. Catherine School in Metcalfe, is a Senators fan whose favourite player is Bobby Ryan. Wearing No. 35, Jacob has been skating since he was two and playing hockey since he was four.
“It feels good to play again, I love to play hockey,” he said Friday after Gloucester lost 6-1 against a very good team from Boston at the Walkley Arena in the Jim Durrell Complex. “It was hard to watch my team play and not be able to be on the ice. I was excited to come back.”
“He woke up this morning and said, `This is more exciting than Christmas,’” Chris Rheaume said.
While Jacob was recovering, there was plenty of support from his teammates and coaches.
“We`re a close-knit team, we strive to make sure it’s about family and cohesion,” Gloucester coach Damien Laflamme said.
“We work hard, but we want to make sure we’re playing for each other.”
The Bell Capital Cup, played at Ottawa-area arenas from Orléans to Stittsville this week into New Year’s Day, is a coming together of 4,700 players (16 divisions of boys, two divisions of girls and 10 special hockey teams). There will be more than 600 games. Winning is the object of any competitive game, but there are no losers in this celebration of hockey, teamwork and friendships.
“The bottom line is the kids love coming,” Laflamme said. “It’s a great experience where they can get off the ice, exchange pins and talk with other kids.”
To date, more than $2.65 million has been raised through Bell Capital Cup initiatives during the 17-year history of the tournament. tbaines@postmedia.com Twitter.com/TimCBaines