Success grows on success as Lebret enters third season

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"The Tradition Begins," say the posters in the Lebret Eagledome's lobby. The Lebret Eagles haven't yet been in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League for three years, but the province's first Native owned and operated junior hockey club has met and exceeded a lot of expectations.

On Dec. 8, the tradition looked as good as the club. The sounds of 'O Canada' and the ceremonial drum for the pre-game prayer had barely faded before the Flin Flon Bombers' starting goalie had given up two goals on three shots, in the first 74 seconds. He was gone after one period, the home-town Eagles leading 4-0. The crowd of 550, who braved ?40C temperatures, was in a festive mod.

The junior 'A' Eagles were formed in 1992. Before the Starblanket Cree Nation put up their $50,000 expansion fee, there was no place for First Nation boys to combine hockey with an education, said Chief Irvin Starblanket

"Our kids weren't breaking into the (Western Hockey League) or the SJHL," Starblanket said. There were plenty of talented kids out there, but most of them skipped junior hockey altogether, jumping from minor hockey to the amateur senior leagues. Lebret's rink war renovated, adding seating to 1,200, a press box, weight rooms and concession stands, and a new name: The Eagledome. Head coach Brad McEwan was hired to put a team together.

"There were hockey people who said we would be lucky if we won 10 games," Starblanket said of that first season. In 68 games, the expansion Eagles tallied 24 wins. In their second season, Lebret was the best team in the league's southern division.

On Dec. 8, the Eagles were in a second-place tie in the southern division, behind the Yorkton Terriers and even on points with the Estevan Bruins.

"We've got a real good bunch of kids here," said Gardiner MacDougall, who became the Eagles' coach when McEwan was hired by the major junior Medicine Hat Tigers this summer. "We look for kids with character and positive attitudes in life. It takes a special type of kid to play in this league. It involves a lot of sacrifices. Our expectations are very big."

They also have to remember that they are role models for the Native community, he added. Ten of the 23 players on the club are of First Nations' descent.

The club also plays two neutral-site games a year. Last year, more than 1,400 jammed a rink in Meadow Lake, Sask., to see the Eagles play the North Battleford North Stars. This year, they played on game in The Pas, Man., and another in Onion Lake, Sask.

"The games are very positive events," MacDougall said. "This exposes our team and the players to the Native community. It gives the youth an opportunity to rub shoulders with the Eagles for a day."

Nine of the players are in White Calf Collegiate secondary school, and four are enrolled in post-secondary education, said Vern Bellegarde, executive director of White Calf Collegiate. Others are either taking courses from the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College or courses transmitted via satellite from the University of Regina.

"We want the guys to be involved in education," Bellegarde said. "If they've dropped out of school, they're expected to get a job, in the school or in the community.

"We've had a number of players go on to get scholarships in the United States," Bellegarde said. The combination of an education, paid for by the university, and the opportunity to play hockey at a high level, is a good one for an up-and-coming player, he added.

On this cold night in early December, Dave Caldwell scored a late goal for the Eagles. It makes it Lebret 6, Flin Flon 1, but few fans have left.

"We've got good fans here," said the club's marketing and communications director, William Alexander. "They know their hockey, and they like what we're doing."

After the game, Caldwell and Jason Bird prepare to leave the Eagledome. Bird, a forward who grew up in the nearby Piapot First Nation, spent a year on a poor Regina Pats team before coming to Lebret. Because he played mjor junior hockey, he's not eligible for scholarships, but he's hoping for another way to step up the ladder.

"This is probably the best place to play in the SJHL," he said.

Caldwell, who grew up near the Peguis First Nation in Manitoba, also enjoys the life of a junior hockey player in Lebret.

"It's great playing here," said Caldwell, who is also an academic star-he's kept an 80-per-cent average while balancing a half-time course load with the demand of junior hockey. "I felt we were going to have a good team and a good season. We've got good players, good people, great fans . . .a lot of hockey players wish they could say that."