Peewee hockey team wants your vote — for tornado relief
A peewee hockey team in Dunrobin is appealing for the public’s help to win a $100,000 grand prize in a charity cup, which they say would go toward disaster relief for their tornado-ravaged community.
The West Carleton Warriors have beat out 300 teams to make it into the semifinals of the Chevrolet Good Deeds Cup. The cup evaluates the performance of peewee hockey teams off the ice and in their communities — the idea being that good deeds help make great players.
The top 10 teams have made videos in support of their chosen causes; the three teams with the most views by Saturday will become the finalists. The Warriors’ video was in fifth place with a little more than 31,000 views as of Wednesday afternoon.
Sean Lecuyer, the team’s head coach, has been with the Warriors for three years and said participating in the cup has built up the players’ confidence both on and off the rink.
“It’s been a nice distraction, since our team maybe hasn’t excelled too well on the ice,” Lecuyer said. “I keep telling the kids it’s a character-building year for us.”
Lecuyer said most local students were at the Carp Fair when the tornadoes hit in early September, ripping through Dunrobin and forcing many out of their homes. His 11-year-old son had taken the Friday off from school to attend the fair along with many of his teammates.
“There was a period of time where I didn’t know where he was,” Lecuyer said. “I couldn’t get ahold of anybody (and) you get pretty scared.”
In the following months, the community has rallied to help one another out of the rubble.
Heather Lucente is involved heavily with the disaster relief efforts in the area. From sandbagging during floods to fundraising for victims, the hockey mom said the West Carleton Warriors have a long history of volunteering.
“We’ve had two disasters in just as many years,” Lucente said. Floods affected more than 300 area homes in 2017. “West Carleton is a large area but all the kids know someone who was affected, and they realized that they wanted to help.”
Her son Wally, 12, decided to participate after seeing a TV commercial for the charity cup during a hockey game. She said his team has been just as excited to participate as it has been to help out with cleanup efforts in the community.
Katherine Woodward, a director for West Carleton Disaster Relief, said the organization continues to clear up debris, plant trees, and provide material and financial aid to affected families.
“There’s a lot of cleanup left to do and if we can win this thing, our prize money is going right back into the West Carleton Disaster Relief fund,” Lecuyer said.
The peewee teams competing against the Warriors include the Winnipeg Polar Bears, who are helping a neighbourhood homeless shelter, and the Tecumseh Red Blueberries, who are competing to win the money for a hospice centre.