Good Deeds Noticed

I am still pretty exhausted after that epic four-overtime win by the Manitoba Bisons tonight, so I'm going to be upfront with you: I'm mailing this one in. It's not going to be just a placeholder article, though, as there is a ton of news to report from Trade Deadline Day that you can find on a whole bunch of sites. Instead, HBIC is going to talk about a Manitoba team that got my vote, but I really didn't pay attention to how incredible this team is.

The Good Deeds Cup contest has been running for a while, and they finally picked a winner. Before we get to said winning team, you might be asking what this Good Deeds Cup is. From Hockey Canada's website, "Chevrolet and Hockey Canada have launched the second season of the program, which searches for the Peewee team that makes the biggest impact in its community." Honestly, this is something HBIC should have been talking about as it really shows the character of the teams who are nominated based on their work within their communities.

There were ten teams that got the nomination, and of those ten teams the list was narrowed to three finalists: the Bonn Law Quinte AAA Peewee Red Devils, the Smiths Falls Peewee Bears, and The Pas Huskies. Clearly, I should have been trumpeting the efforts of the Huskies since they're a Manitoba team, but I completely missed the boat on this. I apologize for that, Huskies, as you deserved better coverage from me.

While I can't turn back time, I can announce that The Pas Huskies are the 2018 winners of the Good Deeds Cup! Their story started when the Huskies decided to film their efforts in serving meals at Oscar's Place, the only homeless shelter in The Pas. When the team as announced as one of the semi-finalists in the contest for their efforts, they earned $5000 for the shelter which the shelter desperately needed as the staff and management are currently fighting for the shelter's very existence.

Here is the video of the Huskies working at Oscar's Place that earned them the semi-final nomination.

I, for one, am impressed with these young men who have found compassion, empathy, and charity within themselves to help people who certainly can use a warm meal and some compassion. This is precisely what the Good Deeds Cup is about, and their efforts earned them qualification as finalists in the contest after all the votes were counted!

Well, they were named the Good Deeds Cup winners yesterday, and the Huskies Peewee team has now earned an additional $15,000 for Oscar's Place in The Pas thanks to their selflessness! CBC's Elisha Dacey spoke with The Pas Huskies' assistant coach Jerome Conaty today about the team's win.

"The morning's been pretty hectic," Conaty said. "Chevrolet set it up so the kids would be surprised. They redid all our rink and one of the dressing rooms."

When the team came to practice Monday morning, they found the Good Deeds Cup sitting at centre ice.

"You could tell the kids were like, 'Is this a dream? Is this really happening?' It was awesome."

As part of their prize for doing some outstanding work within their community, the Huskies will also be featured on an upcoming television broadcast and they'll skate with the Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner and women's hockey Olympic gold medalist and Les Canadiennes de Montreal forward Caroline Ouellette this summer! How cool is that?

What makes this story even more impressive is that The Pas Huskies are composed mostly of Indigenous players. After watching Brigitte Lacquette in the PyeongChang Olympics, I believe these young men should be viewed as heroes themselves and an inspiration for other Indigenous youth. The Huskies are doing incredible work in The Pas, and I hope this spreads.

As Coach Conaty told Miss Dacey, "Good deeds don't stop. Good deeds are things that get done every day by every person."

These young men are living proof of that belief, and I commend them for lending their time and efforts in making their community better. You are heroes to me, gentlemen, and I hope your efforts will not only inspire others to action, but will inspire generations of people and players to get involved in their communities across this great land!

Until next time, keep up the great work, Huskies!