Cancelled game led to coaching opportunity for two Yorkton Terrier hockey players
2h ago
'Helping out the kids, it probably means a lot to them,' said goalie Callum Creig.
It was a whirlwind of a day on Tuesday for a pair of rookies on the Yorkton Terriers.
As the team was en route to Weyburn for a Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) game against the Red Wings, the team was notified the game was cancelled due to an ammonia leak in the Weyburn arena.
Despite no longer having a game, goalie Callum Creig and forward Quinn Tavender still found themselves on a hockey bench, but instead of playing, the pair of 18-year-olds from Calgary were coaching a minor hockey game in Yorkton.
Creig’s billet brother Logan Galli plays for the Richardson U-11 Terriers and Creig said he hoped he would be able to help out.
“I knew my billet brother had a game and I wanted to go to it,” said Creig. “I love my billet family, I love my billet brother, they’re just great kids and I think it’s great to be a coach and teach the younger kids how to go.”
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When he was growing up, Creig said he remembered when he was that age and how he would idolize local hockey players.
“If someone like an older kid came out to a practice I feel like that would mean a lot to me,” said Creig. “Helping out the kids, it probably means a lot to them.”
This isn’t the first time Creig has helped out with his billet brother’s hockey team.
Creig showed up to their tournament in Dalmeny after a practice in Saskatoon.
“We (Callum and Quinn) came out and read the starting lineup and they (the kids) were pretty pumped about that,” said Creig.
After getting a coaching win under his belt, Creig said there may be a pathway in the future for him to get into coaching.
“I’m probably a better goalie coach but we’ll see — Patrick Roy (New York Islanders) is a pretty good head coach,” said Creig.
Emery Olauson, head coach and general manager of the Yorkton Terriers, said in a statement that this is the standard they set for their players.
“We are looking for role models for our community who can help us win a championship,” Olauson said.
“These two guys represent our team so well, lending a hand with minor hockey and always up to volunteering in the community with anything that we ask of them.”
Creig’s billet dad is Ronny Galli, the head coach of U11 Richardson Terriers.
Galli said the kids love when Callum and Quinn come out to skate with the team.
“They’ve (Callum and Quinn) come out to a few practices, and the kids are way more engaged when those boys are out there than when we’re out there,” said Galli.
Galli’s son Logan also attends the Dr. Brass Hockey Academy in Yorkton, and he said Creig has joined them a few times to help out the goalies.
“They have four little Grade 5 goalies there this year, and he helps them,” said Galli. “Every day he doesn’t have something he goes out with them.”
Galli said this is the fifth year they’ve billeted SJHL players, and Creig is the most active in all the kids’ lives.
The Terriers’ cancelled game against the Red Wings will be made up on Jan. 28.
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