Nipissing First Nation awarded 2021 Little NHL following tournament cancellation this year

By Sam Laskaris

NIPISSING FIRST NATION – As it turns out, Nipissing First Nation will still get to host the Little Native Hockey League tournament after all. But officials from the First Nation in northern Ontario will just have to wait a year to lay out the welcome mats for the event, which is often simply called the Little NHL.

Nipissing First Nation had been scheduled to host this year’s Indigenous youth tournament, which was supposed to be held last week in Mississauga.

But that tourney, which had attracted 228 teams from across the province, was cancelled a few days before it was set to begin due to the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Shortly after the announcement of the cancellation of the 2020 tournament, members of the Little NHL executive committee had a teleconference and told Nipissing First Nation Chief Scott McLeod that if interested, his First Nation could host next year’s event.

McLeod, however, needed to consult with the members of the tournament host committee.

“I told them the decision was up to them,” he said. “They came right back to me that same day. And it was a unanimous decision.”

Originally, the Little NHL executive was supposed to host the 2021 tournament. Instead of awarding hosting rights to a First Nation, the executive itself wanted to run next year’s event as it was to be the 50th anniversary of the tourney.

“Technically we didn’t have one this year,” said Marian Jacko, the president of the Little NHL executive. “So, we’ll call next year the 49th annual tournament.”

And that way the Little NHL executive can still host the official 50th anniversary of the event in 2022.

Jacko praised both Chief McLeod and Nipissing First Nation not only for their efforts prior to the tournament but also once it was determined the event needed to be cancelled.

“I commended him and his community,” Jacko said of McLeod. “They were excellent to work with.”

In the days leading up to this year’s tournament, a number of clubs had withdrawn from the tourney but officials insisted they would still go ahead as planned as they were following the advice available at the time of public health officials.

Chief McLeod admitted there was a sense of relief among host committee members when the event was cancelled following a fluid situation.

“But they kind of felt robbed in a way because of all of the work they had put into it,” Chief McLeod added.

Chief McLeod also said it remains to be seen how much money this year’s cancellation will end up costing his First Nation.

“It’s hard to tell,” he said. “It’s not going to cost us much in terms of cancellations. There are so many moving parts. But a lot of the event donors have said keep the money and put it in for next year. And with the sponsors, it’s the same thing.”

McLeod also believes his First Nation can stage an even more successful tournament next year.

“We’re in a situation where a lot of the groundwork has been done,” he said. “They know what they have to do for next year. It will be a smoother job. And they can possibly even make some improvements.”

While COVID-19 concerns continue to grow daily, Chief McLeod added there is no need for members of the Nipissing host committee to have a meeting in the near future to discuss next year’s tournament.

“They’re way ahead of the curve,” he said.