Former NHLer brings camp to Kivalliq
Minor hockey players learn skills from pro in Coral Harbour
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
CORAL HARBOUR
Minor hockey players received skills training from a former NHLer when John Chabot brought his camp to Coral Harbour this past weekend. But he wasn't just bringing his skills - he wanted to make sure no one missed the chance to get on the ice.
"We brought along six bags of equipment with us, as well, so if kids want to participate we've got skates and equipment for just about every age," he said.
He previously held camps in Whale Cove, Baker Lake and Chesterfield Inlet this past year and said he was looking forward to returning to the Kivalliq in 2017.
"I really enjoy going to the smaller communities of 350 to 800 people because the kids work extremely hard and they're in great spirits because it's not something they get to do every day," he said.
Chabot, 54, was the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's MVP and Player of the Year with the Sherbrooke Castors during the 1981-82 season.
Born in Summerside, P.E.I., Chabot played 508 games in the NHL with Montreal, Pittsburgh and Detroit, scoring 84 goals and adding 228 assists for 312 points.
Coral Harbour won't be his last stop.
"We're hoping to go back to Baker in about a month, but we're trying to get one or two other communities involved to help offset some of the costs," said Chabot. "We've also started touring with an indigenous alumni team with Bryan Trottier, Reggie Leach, myself - all guys who played at least one game in the NHL."
The tour included stops in Alberta and Northern Ontario, as well as the Kivalliq.
"The communities of Whale Cove and Chesterfield Inlet have expressed interest in bringing us in to play a game, have a feast, visit the schools and run a clinic," he said.
Chabot spends, on average, three days in a community delivering his skills camp, but he has done one-day clinics and has spent as long as 10 days in one community.
He said he focuses totally on developing skills while working with the kids.
"We work on their strides to start and then we get into puck-handling, which the kids up here are usually pretty good at," he said. "We work on their ability to look up, make plays when carrying the puck and edging through traffic."
Many young Kivalliq players are big fans of the game of hockey and a former NHL player coming to their community is a big deal.
"Depending on the skill level of the kids we're working with, we go as far as we can with our instruction," he said. "We start with the basics, work on their individual skills and, once they get a little better, try to get them into some team-orientated skills."
In addition to improving their on-ice skills, they're always ready with a stack of questions about life in the NHL.
Chabot said one question he's always asked by the kids is how much he made while in the NHL.
He said they also want to know how many fights he was in during his career.
"When I first started playing, half the guys didn't wear helmets and I never wore one when practising.
That's just the way it was back then, and the kids like hearing about it," he said. "So I always tell the kids it's a great sport and I've lived a great life because I could skate, pass and shoot. But I also point out that it's not easy. I tell them stories about being sent back, told you're not good enough and dealing with any number of injuries."
And of course, the kids always want to hear stories about playing with the greats.
"The kids always want to know about the most successful players and ask me about Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby," he said. "When I coached in major junior and when I coached the New York Islanders, I coached against Gretzky and Jaromir Jagr. I also saw a lot of great up-and-comers at that time, including Carey Price, so the kids always ask me what I know about him and what kind of guy he is."
Chabot said most rising hockey players, no matter what country they come from, are almost all pretty down-to-Earth guys who work hard at what they do.
Chabot said that's one of the most important part of hockey: teaching kids about sacrifice and personal growth. He said sport gives kids the team concept of working together for a common goal, as well as the understanding you have to work hard to succeed.
"Hopefully, they carry that through into other aspects of their life and become successful at what they choose to do.
He said the kids learn quickly that natural talent alone is very rarely enough to achieve your goals.
"Hockey is so special to the kids in Northern communities. You can see it in how the community arena just pulls them to it and, whether they're playing or not, they just want to be there," he said.
"Hockey is a godsend for a lot of kids in the North because it gives them the opportunity to be with their friends, to do something positive they enjoy and, most importantly, to just be happy."
