The Little NHL executive committee welcomes new president
By Sam Laskaris
MISSISSAUGA – A woman will continue to be president of the executive committee for the Little Native Hockey League tournament.
But it will not be Debbie Debassige, who in 2016 became the first female president for the executive which organizes the popular youth event, which is more commonly known as the Little NHL.
The tournament, which features Indigenous clubs from across the province, will celebrate its 48th anniversary this coming March. The 2018 event featured 209 clubs.
It was publicly announced on Dec. 3 that Debassige, who resides in M’Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island, has resigned from her post as president effective immediately, citing a desire to spend more time with her family.
Marian Jacko, a member of the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory who lives in Mississauga, has taken over the presidency.
Jacko, who has worked as a lawyer in Toronto for more than 20 years, had been a committee member of the Little NHL executive since 2016.
It was important for Jacko to receive the endorsement of Little NHL founding father James McGregor as he was instrumental in having Jacko appointed to the executive in 2016.
“I knew when I came on board as president I wasn’t going to do this for a long time,” Debassige said.
Debassige’s commitments at home have become more hectic this year. One of her daughters got married and had a child. And another daughter is expecting a baby in March.
“Family has to come first,” Debassige said.
Though she had been mulling over the decision for a while, Debassige said she decided during the second week of November to resign as Little NHL president. She told executive members on Nov. 17, during a meeting in Sudbury.
That same evening, board members voted to have Jacko take over the presidency.
Committee member Lawrence Enosse was the first to nominate Jacko. The motion was seconded by Chico Ralf, the executive’s vice-president.
The board then voted unanimously in Jacko’s favour.
Debassige had originally planned to stay on as president until Dec. 31 with Jacko scheduled to assume the role in the new year.
“I called Marian and said there is no point in waiting,” Debassige said.
As a result, the transition was expedited and announced officially on Dec. 3 following a board teleconference meeting.
For the past several years, the Little NHL has been held in Mississauga, a city which can accommodate the tournament because it has plenty of arenas and nearby hotels for all participants and their families and supporters.
The 2019 tourney will also be held in Mississauga. Aamjiwnaang First Nation from southwestern Ontario will serve as tournament host.
Though she is no longer the Little NHL president, Debassige said she has agreed to lend a hand if called upon by the hosts.
“I’m willing to help them in any capacity they want,” she said. “They have my contact information if and when they need to get a hold of me.”
As for Jacko, she’s excited to now be serving as the Little NHL president.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” she said. “This is my passion. If I’m not at work, I’m doing something for hockey.”
Jacko recently joined the coaching staff for the North York Storm’s Bantam A side, a club her youngest daughter plays for.
She is also on the bench, serving as a trainer, for the Storm’s Midget A squad that her other daughter plays for.
Jacko was also the head coach for the Ontario South female squad that captured the silver medal at the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships this past spring. Nova Scotia’s Membertou First Nation hosted that tournament.
Though she’s been on the Little NHL executive since 2016, Jacko has volunteered at the event for about a decade now, ever since her daughters started playing in it. It’s a tournament she speaks rather highly of.
“It includes all kids, regardless of your caliber of your play,” she said.
And the tourney is also a rather social event.
“Hockey brings people together,” she said. “It brings families together. And it brings First Nation communities together.”