 |
|
|
|
|
|
Special night for Tootoo Train Jersey retirement, donation have hometown hero honoured
Darrell Greer
Tootoo came home to visit his friends and family and conduct a hockey camp involving every age group in the local minor hockey program, including the female players. Also included during the weekend camp was a special exhibition game pitting Tootoo's selected squad against one picked by his friend, Troy Aksalnik. But, before the puck was dropped to begin play in front of a packed arena, two special presentations took place Tootoo knew nothing about. First it was announced Tootoo's #22 was being retired by the Rankin Inlet Minor Hockey Association (RIMHA) and put on display in the local arena. Tootoo said having his number retired was a great honour. He said he's still trying to pave the way for the young kids in Nunavut, and was blown away to have RIMHA retire his jersey. "I can't thank the community enough for such an honour," said Tootoo. "Words can't describe how I feel about this. "I had no idea it was coming." Following the jersey retirement, Aksalnik, Tootoo's lifelong friend, skated forward. He told the crowd Tootoo never says no when asked to help the senior men's league or any other hockey program in Rankin. With that, Aksalnik presented Tootoo with a $500 donation to his charitable foundation on behalf of the Rankin Inlet Senior Men's Hockey League. Tootoo said having the cheque presented to him was another big surprise he knew nothing about. He said he really appreciates the contribution the league made. "The senior men's hockey group here in Rankin Inlet does a lot of great stuff for this community. "When Troy announced the donation, I had to, kind of, catch my breath there for a moment. "I had no idea about any of this, so there were a lot of great surprises to go along with the great memories being in this building brought back to me."
|
