It’s been years since they’ve played on their home ice as a team, so the Hope Icebreakers excitement is palpable as they talk about their season home opener.
The three hockey players — Dayton Spink, Nathan Svensrud, and Tristan Takats — are brimming with confidence as they dive into this season’s team and the skills that each member brings. For the first time in Icebreaker history they will be competing as a senior AA men’s team in the West Coast Senior AA Hockey League (WCSHL) against players from all over B.C.
“We want to win it all,” said Spink, a forward on the team. “And we want to give the community something to get behind. To give them a reason to go out and cheer and bring some spirit back to town.”
He thinks the team is going to be “a wagon,” meaning a favourite to win, with a roster of highly skilled players who maintain a strong momentum throughout games.
After nearly two decades in Mission, the Icebreakers are making a grand return to Hope as an official team of the community. Starting with their first game on Oct. 10, the team will face four other teams, in 16 games, for the McCallum Cup. The other teams are the Nanaimo Steelmen, Lake Cowichan Appollos, Powell River Regals, and the Rossland Warriors.
The team, which was owned by Spink’s father, Gordon Spink, was founded in 2003 as a Junior B hockey team at the time. Gordon, who passed away last year, first became invested in owning a Junior B team while skating as a Junior A player. An opportunity became available when he moved his family to Hope to help his parents revamp their business in Silver Creek.
Until 2008, the team was a staple of the community and kids skated their hearts out with dreams of bringing trophies to Hope. Fans young and old would fill the stands and cheer on the players, who were a great pride for the community. Many people were sad to see the team relocate to Mission, in 2008, as an expansion team. They became the Mission Icebreakers and then was later rebranded as the Mission City Outlaws in 2012.
Mayor Victor Smith, who was a general manager and later interim coach for the 2004 to 2005 team, said he’s excited for the team’s return. He is also looking forward to seeing their progress in the upcoming season.
The team, who held their tryouts at the Abbotsford Summit Centre on Aug. 27 and Aug. 28, hope to cap the team at 30 players. At the time of press, there are three Icebreakers who are either from Hope or grew up in Hope. They are Spink, Svensrud, and Carter Anderson.
Many of the players are also from Chilliwack, Mission, and even White Rock. Head coach for the team is Joshua Monsen and assistant coach is Mason Duncan.
According to Spink, the Icebreakers were approached by WCSHL and asked if they would consider joining the league, as another team was needed. This, along with the fact that many of the players are highly skilled, made it easy for them to make the switch to a senior AA team. There is also more excitement and energy surrounding senior leagues.
Said said that the decision was made to return the Icebreakers to Hope after realizing that it would be a great way for the community to come together and fill their weekends.
Svensrud, who also plays forward, said that having the team back could also provide economic opportunities for Hope in winter.
“It will be nice to bring out some talented teams to Hope while also supporting local businesses,” Svensrud said. “Like the hotels, restaurants, and shops. It would help everyone. In the winter, there’s nothing to do here. So, I think having other talents coming to Hope, for a decently cheap night with their family, to come and support hockey and watch hockey, it will boost the community and revenue here.”
Takats, who plays defence, also believes that Hope is the perfect town for hockey. Specifically, because it’s a smaller town, he said that the ice is more affordable and that there is an opportunity to rebuild a fan-base here.
“It has the foundation to succeed,” Takats said. “As long as the town’s behind it, and everyone’s on the same page, we’ll have a very successful run.”
Keeping in line with that foundation, the team has retained its original logo, names, and jerseys as a homage to its history in Hope. Spink said it was important to honour how the community continued to show up for the Icebreakers despite not being “too successful of a team.”
Spink also said that the jerseys are quite unique and truly “sums up the town.”
Overall, the team wants to capture the magic they had in the community before and hopefully inspire future generations.
“We want to be the reason that kids keep playing hockey,” Spink said. “ A lot of people, when they get to a certain age, they quit or it becomes a financial burden. We want to be a reason that kids want to pursue and love the game. Because the game has taken me and Tristan overseas.
“We played in Thailand, we played in Germany. We’ve been given so many opportunities because of hockey. And there’s so much character building and teamwork.”
The Hope Icebreakers first game is in Powell River against the Regals. They will then have a home opener, at the Hope & Area Recreation Centre, on Oct. 18.
For those unable to attend, the games will be livestreamed either on Youtube or Facebook. More information will be available on the Hope Icebreakers Facebook page.