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Hockey in BC and the Yukon would not be possible without the dedication and hard work of thousands of volunteers.

As a member of the BC Hockey Operations Task Group for the Lower Mainland for Atom and below divisions, Carol McGregor is busy approving out of Branch tournament travel, affiliation requests, recreational player relief and approving replacement goaltenders.

BC Hockey chatted with Carol about volunteering with BC Hockey.

How did you get into volunteering?

I started volunteering many years ago when my kids were little and we lived in California. One (1) parent had to volunteer if you wanted your child to play soccer. When we came to Canada, I continued volunteering for soccer, baseball, lacrosse and hockey. There's always a need for volunteers.

What is your favourite part about being a Minor Operations Task Group member?

I enjoy helping our teams and receiving feedback and having great discussion during the meetings.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I like spending time with my family, hiking (or snowshoeing in the winter) in the North Shore or at Buntzen Lake, classes at the gym, reading and watching old classic movies.

Tell us three (3) fun facts about yourself.

I learned to skate on an outdoor rink Ottawa at age three (3) with a hockey stick in my hand for balance. I never played organized hockey, but enjoyed playing games on the outdoor rink with my cousins. I also loved skating on the canal.

My husband and I backpacked up to Berg Lake at Mount Robson in late September. It's approximately 40 kilometers round-trip and a big elevation gain, but the view was so worth it.

I am going to be a grandma in 2019! My first grandbaby is due at the end of February and we have twins arriving in June.

c/o Western Hockey League (WHL)

It hasn't even been two (2) full seasons yet but Lethbridge Hurricanes star centre Dylan Cozens (Whitehorse, Yukon) has a certain quality to him. Beyond his talent - more than one (1) National Hockey League (NHL) scout sees a bit of Ryan Getzlaf in him - the buzz around Cozens stems from his tendancy to be the centrepiece of a success story, to say nothing of his own personal background story.

Last season, Cozens won the Jim PIggott Memorial Trophy as the WHL Rookie of the Year and was nominated for the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) award. This season's fireworks started before it even began, at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Cozens scored the game-tying goal in a dramatic finish against the United States as time expired. Team Canada eventually won that semi-final in overtime on a goal from Josh Williams (Langley, BC) and later beat Sweden for the gold medal.

Cozens' goal was controversial - there was literally no time left on the clock and no video review was in effect to verify it - but whatever the circumstances, it didn't take away from the clutch performance by Cozens and his team. An example of Cozens being there when good things happen.

Cozens' background story in notable too. He grew up in Whitehorse, the eldest of three (3) boys born to his father, Mike and mother, Sue. Mike is a judge and Sue is a lawyer. It goes without saying that education and a general sense of doing one's best were a central core to his upbringing.

But as wonderful as growing up in that unique environment in God's country was, it put Cozens at a hockey crossroads a few years ago. When it became obvious that their son had elite hockey potential, it became equally apparent he would likely have to move to experience better competition. He moved to two (2) hockey academies in BC and was eventually taken by the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the first round of the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft. A 12-game, eight (8) point cameo during the playoffs two (2) years ago foretold the type of player that the Hurricanes had. Shortly after joining the Hurricanes, he was one (1) of Team Canada Red's best players during the 2017 World U17 Hockey Challenge and helped his team to a silver medal.

Aside from the vital experience at the U17 and U18 levels, and not having yet turned 18, Cozens has already player 28 WHL playoff games (21 points) and passed the 100-point mark for his career before he even played 90 games.

For now, Cozens puts talk about the NHL Draft in its own mental box and is trying to focus on helping the Hurricanes not enter the post-season on a swoon as they did last year, before they bowed out to the eventual WHL champions, Swift Current Broncos.

"It's important that we focus on finishing strong because last season we didn't play very well our last 10 games or so," he said.

And of the NHL Draft?

"I just have to play my own game and try to get better," Cozens said. "It's really about blocking out the things I can't control."

The first-ever Major Midget League (MML) game was held outdoors last month at Ernie Sam Memorial Arena on the Nak'azdli Whut'en Territory in Fort St. James.

The Vancouver North East Chiefs traveled north to take on the Cariboo Cougars in a two (2) game regular season series. Saturday's game was played at the Fort Forum, which just had ice installed earlier in the week. 

The snow covered hills and glowing sunshine painted the perfect picture for the outdoor game on Sunday.

Hard work, dedication, commitment and passion are just a few words that come to mind about the weekend in Fort St. James.  BC Hockey will be publishing a four (4) part series shortly. Watch the MML website for the stories as they are published.

c/o The Ubyssey

A former Director of the University of BC (UBC) athletics and renowned hockey coach is getting recognized with the Order of Canada. Dr. Bob Hindmarch, UBC's most successful hockey coach, who also spent four (4) years at the helm of UBC athletics, initiated the idea of athletics exchanges between UBC and Asian countries. His roots at UBC for far beyond that though, as outlined by UBC athletics.

"We are extremely proud and excited that Dr. Bob Hindmarch has received such a well-deserved and highly esteemed honour in being made a member of the Order of Canada," UBC Director, Athletics Gilles Lepine said. "Dr. Bob's impact, initiatives and contributions as a three (3) sport athlete, coach, educator and athletics director have been profound and immeasurable to UBC varsity athletics and to the many people he influenced in his over 50 year representing UBC."

Throughout his UBC student-athlete career, Hindmarch was a member of the basketball, baseball and football teams. In the 1952-1953 season, he co-captained the Thunderbirds football team and was awarded the Bobby Gaul Award for outstanding athlete in performance and leadership that same year.

He joined UBC as an instructor and assistant football coach in 1955, beginning his long career through the UBC Athletic Department.

In his time with UBC, he helped coach basketball, baseball and football on campus. He was appointed assistant professor in physical education in 1961 and a full professor in 1974. Hindmarch was the head coach of the men's hockey team for 12 seasons, beginning in 1964. He recorded 214 victories throughout his term and his team was one (1) of the first Canadian rosters to tour China.

Dr. Bob Hindmarch was inducted into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012.

c/o The Ubyssey

Teammates are more than just the people you suit up with every day to train, practice and represent your university. Teammates are family, people you will hold a special bond with for a lifetime. Teammates have omnipresence in the life of a varsity athletes - they are always around and there for one another.

I took that for granted. It was a beautiful, sunny April day and I was on the home stretch of finishing my first year of university. Our coaches had called a team meeting, nothing out of the ordinary. We all filed into the dressing room, taking our seats in our respective stall - it was just another day at the office. As our team meeting began, our coaches entered the room as usual, but were accompanied by quite the entourage of people from the athletics department.

We knew instantly something was amiss. Yet, never in a million years could we have guessed what our coaches were going to tell us. What they had to share was gut-wrenching.

One of our own, a Thunderbird, a goalie, our teammate, friend and most importantly, a member of our family was gone. Our hearts shattered into a million pieces, not understanding what we had just been told.

Her name was Laura Taylor. Laura was a third-year medical student, a goalie on our team and constant positive presence in our locker room.

Unknowingly to all of us, Laura also struggled with depression and bipolar disorder. Laura never failed to put a smile on her teammates' faces and had an incredible work ethic, but behind her positive, outgoing facade was pain and despair. No one knew how much she struggled. On April 7, 2016 - just days before her thirty-fourth birthday - Laura ended her own life.

It took a very long time for my teammates and I to digest what we had been told that day. Her death still brings me sadness. But compelled by my sadness, I became committed to ensuring no student-athlete at UBC would ever feel like they had no support through their mental health struggles.

I have been very fortunate to be surrounded by many people who speak openly about mental health and the importance of having a foundation of good psychological health for a happy and successful life. I have made it my mission to honour Laura's death by ensuring that the dialogue around mental health is always open for my teammates and those who I surround myself with.

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The Trail Smoke Eaters won the 1961 World Championship, the last championship won by a Canadian amateur team. Trail was gifted the opportunity to represent Canada by the Chatham Moose, who had won the Allan Cup and the right to the World Championship, but due to financial reasons, the team could not attend.

The Smoke Eaters went 6-0-1 in the tournament heading into the final game against Russia, whom they needed to defeat by a large margin of goals for and against. The evening of March 12, 1961 saw the 20,000 inhabitants of Trail go ballistic, as did the hockey fans of BC, when the Smoke Eaters won it all, defeating Russia 5 - 1.

Trail had won on a total budget of $44,000. What was the players reward? The honour, the glory and $200 spending money cash.

The most amazing statistic about this great team was the fact that they had nine (9) local players in their lineup - nine (9) that had come out of the no-body checking system.

It would not be until 1994 that Canada would again win the world title.

The 1961 Trail Smoke Eaters were inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 1976 and the BC Hockey Hall of Fame in 1994.

A further legacy developed from this team; numerous players would play professional hockey in the NHL, including some of those players' sons.

The 1961 Trail Smoke Eaters were led by player and coach Bobby Kromm (Trail, BC). At the end of his 17 year playing career in the Western International Hockey League (WIHL), a career that included stops in Kimberley, Trail and Nelson. He was the WIHL's all-time leader in points (783) and assists (524) and was second in number of games played (475).

After the World Championship, he coached the Smoke Eaters to the Allan Cup championship in 1962 and earned Trail the right to represent Canada at the 1963 World Championship.

Kromm then turned to coaching full time. He coached in the Central Hockey League with the Dallas Blackhawks for several seasons before becoming head coach for the Winnipeg Jets, then of the World Hockey Association. After spending two (2) years in Winnipeg, and serving as an assistant coach of the 1976 Canada Cup, Kromm finally made the jump to the NHL in 1977. He coached the Detroit Red Wings for three (3) seasons and earned the Jack Adams Coach of the Year Award in 1978.

Seth Martin (Rossland, BC) backed the Smoke Eaters at the championship and was named top goalie at the tournament and named to the all-star team. During the World Championship, Martin became the first goalie in history to wear a mask (his own creation) and was dubbed the "Masked Marvel."

He played in four (4) World Championships and was named top goaltender at each appearance and was named to the all-star team on three (3) occasions. Martin brought home a medal from each championship - three (3) bronze and one (1) gold.

Martin backstopped Team Canada at the 1964 Winter Olympics, posting a 4-1-0 record with a 1.21 goals against average, earning all-star status yet again.

After 15 years as an amateur, Martin accepted an offer from the St. Louis Blues and signed as their backup goalie. He only played one (1) season.

Seth Martin was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 1988, the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1997 and the BC Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998.

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