Little NHL Tournament grows while inspiring young athletes
By Sam Laskaris
Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee still has mixed emotions about one of his earliest jobs.
Madahbee was a Midget hockey player as a teenager. He was disappointed he was too old to compete in the first Little Native Hockey League Tournament 1971 held in Little Current. Since he has a March birthday, Grand Council Madahbee had already turned 17. “I was three months too old to play.”
Three of his friends were in a similar situation but they all had instrumental roles with that very first tourney. “We were called upon to be referees and linesmen for the tournament,” Madahbee said. “We did all of the games. We got paid with a hot chocolate and a hot dog at the end of the day.
Since then, the Little Native Hockey League Tournament, known as the Little NHL, has grown. The 45th annual edition of the event will be staged Mar. 14-17 in Mississauga. While the first tournament featured 17 teams, next month’s tourney has attracted a record 195 clubs from across Ontario.
That’s up considerably from the previous record of 178 squads which competed at last year’s tournament, also held in Mississauga.
This marks the fourth straight year the Little NHL will be in Mississauga. A total of 11 ice pads at varying rinks are required to accommodate all the matches. That’s why the event needs to be held in a larger centre and because sufficient hotel rooms are needed for the out-of-town participants and their families.
After officiating in the inaugural Little NHL, Grand Council Chief Madahbee became one of the organizers for future events, a position he only relinquished a few years ago. “I got off the organizing committee because of my busy schedule,” he said. “But I still have an advocacy role with them. I help them find money for the tournament.”
Former Whitefish River Chief Jim McGregor is one of the individuals who launched the Little NHL. He is one of five tournament co-founders. His quote is displayed on the Little NHL website. “It’s not if you win or lose, but how much you tried and how fairly you played.”
“I never dreamed it would get to be this huge,” McGregor said. “Everybody really got into it. I guess it was something to do on your March Break.”
Chief Franklin Paibomsai (Shining Turtle) of the Whitefish River First Nation was a participant in the inaugural Little NHL. Though he was just seven at the time, he played on the Birch Island Atom squad which featured players up to age 10. “We did great,” Paibomsai joked. “We were able to stand up on our feet.” Paibomsai ended up playing in the tournament a total of 10 times, up until the age of 16. He was fortunate enough to win a division championship at the Atom level.
Paibomsai is proud of the fact the event was founded on and continues to stress four ideals to all of the participants. These ideals are Respect, Education, Citizenship and Sportsmanship. “In the beginning it was just for recreation,” Paibomsai said. “Over the course of 45 years, it got really competitive.”
During some of the event’s earlier years, some clubs developed a win-at-all-costs philosophy. But that changed when organizers began adding recreational divisions to its event. The tournament still includes A categories in various age groupings for those more competitive players. “The communities told us this is about recreation and we should not be leaving any kids behind. By adding the recreational divisions, they found the magic.”
Marvin Assinewai is in his ninth year as the president of the Little NHL tournament. Though this year will be another record-breaking one in terms of participating clubs, he believes the number of competitors will continue to grow. “It can get bigger. We probably won’t add another day of hockey but we can add ice surfaces to have more games.”