Living in the area in which we do, it’s great to be able to play some sports year round, but there’s one thing we can’t do, most of the time and that’s skate on a frozen lake or pond.

Areas of the Interior or Northern BC welcome the winter season as does other parts of Canada, simply because we can remember our childhood.

For my Family growing up in Ontario we welcomed the frozen waters of the Bay of Quinte off the shoreline of Trenton and Belleville and for us it was  magic.

This was until someone lost the puck in the snowbank, which somehow never was found, even when the thaw came in the spring.

Regardless, not everyone was able to enjoy this and now we are hearing of more teams at all levels of the game jump at the chance when they can.

One such team enjoying the outdoor fun was the NHL Pittsburgh Penguins this past Wednesday on the outskirts of Calgary, to the delight of some of the local firefighters enjoy their day at work or play.

Watching the video that surfaced the players were as the kids say “having a ball” playing shinny with some friends enjoying their roots of being a kid. 

Now we can only imagine that they could relate to their childhood memories with Dad making the rink beside the house on the lawn, which never ever was the same as much as you “groomed” your yard in the summer. 

We were told that the weather was just a “tad” above zero, but that never deterred any of the players, nor should it.

Penguin’s Joe Blandisi wrote on Instagram “Sippin syrup and playing hockey in the land of the polite #greatwhitenorth”

It seemed interesting that the official Penguins Instagram account wrote “Back to basics” and referred to it as “ Hockey in its purest form.”

Realistically speaking this is where teammates can become best friends regardless of how many games you have played. 

Big kids or not and no different saying “put your phone away” this moment certainly wasn’t one of them as several of the players posted social media as well as posting photos and videos from the magical day in Alberta. 

It was also interesting to note that this trip for the Penguins was a Father and Son trip, no different than what the Canucks do during the season.

The Pen’s organization mentioned “Thank you to John Gabert and the Valley Ridge Community Association for hosting our outdoor practice this afternoon. What a beautiful place to play hockey.”
Clearly a “trip to remember” for everyone!!!