Hockey tournament celebrates diversity in Canada

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A Native team will be among those participating in a unique men's hockey tournament later this month in Toronto.

The First Nation Thunderbirds will compete in the inaugural Crown Royal Multicultural Hockey Tournament, which will run from Dec. 27 to 30.

The 16-team event will feature Canadian players representing their various ethnic backgrounds.

Organizers are hoping the four-day tournament will attract at least 20,000 spectators. And if the event is successful, organizers are hoping to eventually launch a Toronto-based multicultural league.

"I got quite excited when I heard about it," said Kevin Wassegijig, who is the team manager and will also serve as a goaltender for the Thunderbirds at this month's event. "It's certainly a unique tournament."

The Thunderbirds will play round-robin games against their three divisional opponents. They are the Chinese Ice Dragons, South Asian Vipers and the Serbian White Eagles.

The Serbian side will include Peter Zezel, a former National Hockey League player. Zezel suited up for seven different squads-Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals, Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars, New Jersey Devils and Vancouver Canucks-during his 15-year NHL career.

Besides coaching, managing and playing for the Serbian squad, Zezel, a Toronto native, is also a spokesperson for the multicultural tournament. A former teammate with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Mark Osborne, is also a tournament spokesperson.

"I think it's a great idea," Zezel said of the event. "Having been a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs I would often see so many ethnic people with Toronto Maple Leafs jerseys on. They were all supporting us. It's great to be able to give something back to the different ethnic communities in Toronto."

Since he's a netminder, Wassegijig, who is playing in a pair of Orillia-area men's leagues, is anxiously anticipating facing Zezel in action.

"I'm definitely looking forward to that game," said Wassegijig, who played in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association for the North Bay-based Canadore Panthers in the late 1980s.

Zezel is one of two former NHLers who will compete in the tournament. The other is Brent Grieve, who will toil for the Irish Shamrocks.

Grieve had NHL stints with the New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers.

Also taking part in the tournament will be the Italian Gladiators, Hellenic (Greek) Lightning, Portuguese Sea Wolves, Macedonian Lions, Japanese Areashi, Korean Tigers, Russian Kremlins, Finnish SISU, Polish Hussars, Croatian Knights and the Nubian (Black) Kings.

The tournament is restricted to those 19 and over.

The Thunderbirds' roster will include two players, Ryan Davis and Darcy Roy, who were drafted by NHL clubs. Davis was chosen by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft while Roy was a Los Angeles Kings' draftee in '82.

Though neither Davis nor Roy made it to the NHL, both played for a number of minor pro organizations in various leagues.

"I'm pretty confident we'll do pretty well," Wassegijig said. "I'm saying that though without seeing the other teams play."

The Native squad will be coached by Walter Manitowabi, a former chief from the Wikwemikong First Nation, located on Manitoulin Island.

Though organizers are keen to display how much of a multicultural city Toronto is by staging this tournament, participants still very much care about the results.

"We are coming down to win," Wassegijig said. "We'd love to win this tournament."

The winning squad will receive $5,000. But team members must then donate those winnings to a charitable organization of their choice, giving back to the community that supported them.

Eight of the 16-players from the Thunderbirds' roster, including Wassegijig, hail from Wikwemikong.

The remainder of the roster is comprised of players from First Nation communities throughout Ontario.

Wassegijig said he did contact four former Native NHL players to see if they wre interested in taking part, but all were unavailable because of the Christmas holidays.