Charity works to broaden the horizons of remote youth

Former National Hockey League player John Chabot has created a non-profit organization aimed at helping Aboriginal youth.
Chabot, who is Algonquin, has launched First Assist Charity. The organization’s goal is to bring Aboriginal youth from remote fly-in communities to a major city.

“We want them to get a feel for the cities,” Chabot said, adding those on trips will visit schools and workplaces. “It’s a chance for them to set a goal and realize that their goals can become a reality.”

Though his organization was started in October, Chabot said the work he is doing is nothing new.

“I’ve brought kids (to cities) on my own dime since 1998,” he said.

Chabot’s organization though has been receiving some attention lately thanks to the efforts of numerous current National Hockey League players.

Since they have been locked out in their labour dispute with league owners and are not playing NHL games yet this season, Chabot has managed to organize various exhibition contests with the pros. Proceeds from these events are going to First Assist Charity.

The first game Chabot organized was staged Nov. 5 in Cornwall, Ont. A total of 20 NHL players participated in that match, which attracted about 4,400 fans.

Among those who took part were Ottawa Senators Captain Daniel Alfredsson and Brian Gionta, the captain of the Montreal Canadiens.

Chabot said that game was relatively easy to organize since many of the participants were from nearby Ottawa and surrounding areas.

An exhibition match had also been scheduled for Thunder Bay in mid-November. But that game was cancelled when a sufficient number of players were unable to make the journey to northern Ontario.

Chabot though was expected to have about two dozen NHLers on a five-day trip through the Northwest Territories and the Yukon.
Jordin Tootoo, an Inuit who signed a free agent contract with the Detroit Red Wings this past July, is the only player of Aboriginal descent that was expected to participate in the venture.

This trip, which was scheduled for Nov. 18 to 22, would see the pros play three games in northern Canadian centres.

For starters there was a match in the N.W.T. capital of Yellowknife. That was followed by a game in Inuvik, another N.W.T. town. And the northern Canadian tour was to conclude with a contest in Whitehorse, the Yukon capital.

Flights and expenses of the participating NHL players were covered, but they did not receive any monetary compensation for their efforts.

“The money goes to charity,” Chabot said. “They understand that coming in. They just want to play games.”

And should the NHL labour dispute drag on, Chabot said he is willing to help organize other games this season in numerous other centres across the country.

“This is all player dependent,” he said. “We hope players will buy into what we want to do and where we want to go.”

Chabot added he was hoping to eventually stage a game in Thunder Bay to satisfy those who were disappointed when the earlier announced tilt had to be scrapped.

Chabot’s involvement with these charity games can be traced back to this past summer when he was filming episodes for Hit The Ice, a series featuring Aboriginal teenage hockey players from across Canada.

This 13-episode series will begin airing on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network in January.

Hit The Ice officials brought in various NHL players to help out with some of the training sessions Chabot was leading during the filming of the series.

Shortly afterwards some of the NHLers asked Chabot if he would run some on-ice sessions for them since their own team officials are prevented from organizing any practices during the labour dispute.
“I didn’t know any of them,” Chabot said. “I did it because they asked me to. And it’s progressed to these charity games now.”
Chabot appeared in 541 NHL games during his pro career. He played for three NHL franchises, Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings. He also suited up for a couple of different minor pro squads in the American Hockey League.
And after his NHL days were over in 1991, Chabot continued to play professionally overseas for another decade. He toiled for squads in Germany, Italy and Switzerland before retiring in 2001.
Chabot then entered the coaching ranks. He primarily coached in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League but he did also serve two seasons (2007 to 2009) as an assistant coach with the NHL’s New York Islanders.