Building Champions

I have admitted this before on this blog, but I am a big supporter of Lego as a toy that all kids should have. There is nothing that one cannot do with Lego and a little imagination, and I happen to think it is the best toy of all-time for kids. I'll even be upfront and tell you that I occasionally pull out one of the massive buckets of Lego that I own and build. Whether it's a castle, a spaceship, a pirate ship, or anything else one can imagine, you can build it with Lego.

But what if you wanted to build a Stanley Cup-winning hockey team? It would seem that Lego may not be able to help kids on this one. That is, until now. One father and his four kids have put together one of the greatest building projects I have ever seen, and I want to start off by telling them that I am impressed, awed, and inspired by their work.

Joel Cadieux and his four kids - Noah at ten years-old, Dallis at eight, Elijah at seven and Davis at four - decided that they wanted to honour their favorite NHL team, the Edmonton Oilers, by giving them one more lap around the rink with the Stanley Cup. Out of that dream came Brick Arena, and the sixth hoisting of the Stanley Cup by the Oilers!

I first saw this story on Friday night as I was watching the CBC Evening News in my neighbourhood. Here is the feed from the Edmonton CBC news desk, and, as stated above, I am blown away by this family's ingenuity and creativity.

Make no mistake: this is beyond awesome. Brick Arena's cut-away measures in at roughly one-metre-by-1.5-metres in area. The height is nearly a metre as well, and there are an estimated 15,000 bricks in the entire structure. Nearly 300 "fans" fill the stands of Brick Arena as the mini-Oilers hoist their mini-Stanley Cup. There are banners on the walls, there are the five big Stanley Cups representing the five championships won by the Oilers, and there are cameramen in the stands capturing it all on mini-film. Needless to say, the family has done their homework on their favorite arena.

But they aren't done there because the details are insane! Check out the orange man and blue man similar to Vancouver's real-life green men who harass opposing players who have taken penalties. There's an Oilers logo that covers one wall inside the main entrance of Brick Arena that isn't too far from what the real thing looks like. They added the famous Wayne Gretzky statue outside the arena (didn't I just see him inside in the last photo?). The urinals even have pee in them!

I am thoroughly envious of the Cadieuxs because of their architectural abilities. They have built an amazing structure with fantastic details, and major kudos go out to the CBC for capturing this story. As a lover of Lego and hockey, this brings together two of my all-time favorite things on this planet. I bow down before you, Cadieux senior and Cadieux children, as I salute you as Kings of the Lego Hockey World.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!