National Aboriginal hockey teams planned

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The national fund raising efforts for the Breakaway Hockey Foundation, an ambitious project that aims to increase opportunities for young Aboriginal hockey players, kicked off in Kelowna, B.C. on Sept. 13 with help from the vice-president of the National Hockey League.

Brian Burke made it clear that he was present to speak at the foundation's press conference because he personally likes the plan. He was not there as an official representative of the NHL. But the foundation's executive director, Gregg Lindros, still likes having such a highly-placed and well-connected hockey person interested in his project.

And yes, Gregg Lindros is part of that famous hockey playing family - Eric Lindros is his cousin - but was careful to point out that there is no connection between the Philadelphia Flyer superstar and the Kamloops-based Breakaway Hockey Foundation. Not yet, anyway.

If everything goes according to plan, Lindros' organization will be a boon to talented First Nation prospects from coast to coast to coast.

"We're going to be counting on the Canadian Hockey League teams. They've got scouts everywhere and we're hoping they'll help get the word out," said the executive director.

The word is opportunity. Lindros wants to make it possible for Aboriginal hockey players from every part of the country to attend hockey camps at the foundation's own arena on the Little Shuswap Indian reserve near Chase, B. C. He's working in partnership with the Little Shuswap Band to build the arena and create a very special program.

"We're kind of going to bat for the kids that don't get a chance to play," Lindros said. "I've been working with Indian bands in the interior for about 15 years and all that time I was also involved in minor hockey. I got to thinking a few years ago that I never saw First Nations kids at the rink. I wondered where they were playing hockey."

He discovered that most First Nations don't have the financial resources to operate their own hockey rinks and the rapidly rising cost of playing hockey is keeping many Aboriginal kids from playing off-reserve, especially at the elite level.

"I've seen kids around here who are hopping on a bus at midnight to go play in Salmon Arm and that's 45 minutes away," he explained. "So there's definitely need for an arena. Chief Felix Arnouse has been trying to get an arena built on the reserve for over 20 years, but it just never worked out."

The foundation's fund raising efforts over the next year will centre around raising a minimum of $4 million for the construction of the arena complex which will include a rink, dormitories, a cafeteria and other training facilities. The dormitories will be necessary because the foundation hopes to also fund two Aboriginal national teams that will spend the entire season together, going to school locally and living and playing at the complex.

Lindros wants to run camps that will attract a number of players of all abilities from First Nations in every province and territory. He hopes to raise enough money to help pay part of the cost, especially for those traveling a great distance. The plan is to select enough of the best players at the camps to fill a Bantam and a Midget team.

Lindros' plan has the support of the Little Shuswap chief. The band has provided land for the complex and contributed some seed money for the project. The rest is up to the foundation. Chief Manny Jules of the Kamloops Indian Band and Vancouver Canuck player, Gino Odjick, have also added their support for the venture

The mission statement of the Breakaway Hockey Foundation sums up Lindros' vision: "The Breakaway Hockey Foundation is a national charitable organization with the objective of using the game of hockey to motivate First Nations youth to achieve success as both a hockey player and a person while simultaneously creating the positive environment necessary to foster improved relations between Canada's Aboriginal peoples and non-Native society."

Lindros says his goa is to ensure that a minimum of 80 per cent of the money raised goes into the operation of the program. He's budgeting for the cost of maintaining a rink facility year-round plus the cost of looking after the players and providing the hockey programs.

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