Good deeds don’t go unnoticed.
At least, that’s what one Saskatchewan minor hockey team said after they earned an experience they won’t soon forget — getting to practice with hockey hall of famer Jarome Iginla.
“It’s definitely going to be a memory that will stick with me for the rest of my life,” Dalmeny U15 Sabres forward Landon Reynish said.
The Sabres were recognized for spreading positivity and good deeds throughout the community over the holidays. On Saturday, they were part of Iginla’s Practice with a Pro event.
The U15 team helped hand out food hampers to the less fortunate, and sang Christmas carols together as a team in the community.
It’s a holiday teammates Lucas Rempel and Landon Reynish are extremely proud of.
“It felt really good being able to just help out the community, just making sure everyone had a great Christmas,” Rempel said.
“Just to see people’s smiles out there and just making people happy is really just a great thing to do for the community,” Reynish echoed.
Assistant coach Dana Shynkuruk said Dalmeny is a town built around hockey, but it is more than just a game. For his athletes, it’s bringing the team closer to the people around them.
“For the boys to be able to experience this gives them a sense of pride, teaches them some responsibility and gives them a reason to be part of this community,” Shynkuruk said,
And while it’s not every day you have a hockey hall of famer in the rink with you, it was Iginla who said it was a special experience to be on the ice with the Sabres.
“The team is a special group and they have had a lot of fun together,” Iginla said. “Obviously they are enjoying hockey, but there are a lot of different life lessons they will be able to take with them.”
“That community involvement and doing things besides just at the rink and being a really good teammate… Having that positive influence on the people around them.”
Iginla hopes the team continues to spread that positivity in the community for the rest of their lives.
And for the Sabres, it is a holiday season and a hockey practice they won’t soon forget.