Arctic Atoms take centre stage
Players from every Kivalliq community set to compete
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
RANKIN INLET
Young hockey players in the atoms age bracket get their turn to shine when Rankin Inlet hosts the annual Arctic Atoms championship this coming weekend.
In addition to the host Rankin teams, a Rankin novice team and squads from Coral Harbour, Arviat, Baker Lake and a Team Kivalliq comprised of players from Naujaat, Whale Cove and Chesterfield Inlet are also expected to compete.
The Rankin Rock are the defending champs, having defeated Coral Harbour in overtime in a thrilling 2016 final.
Tournament organizer David Clark said the 2016 overtime victory is going to be a tough act for him to follow as a coach.
He said the Arctic Atoms is one of the longest-running minor hockey tournaments in the region, and almost always manages to produce a number of thrilling games on playoff Sunday.
"The Rankin kids are lucky enough most years to get to travel to a tournament either in Iqaluit or somewhere in the south," said Clark.
"But this is the only tournament of the year for a large number of kids in the Kivalliq, so they really, really look forward to it.
"This is a big deal for these kids, and a lot of parents usually come to Rankin to watch it also.
"With the officials we have here, and with the minor-hockey system we have set up with our rink, we've shown we put on a pretty good tournament for these kids, and I'm really looking forward to doing it in our new arena when it's finally done and, hopefully, making it even bigger and better."
Clark said the Arctic Atoms is an exciting event to be a part of, which always receives solid fan support.
He said the event shows the kids how much the adults care about their big event, and it's important for them to get used to playing in front of a large crowd and feeling the pressure of competing in big games.
"Let's face it, these kids are going to be the ones playing in the Polar Bear Plate in a few years, representing Nunavut at the Arctic Winter Games and maybe even, for some of them, going down south to play in midget or junior.
"So, it's good for them to learn how to play in situations like this at an early age and to grow from it.
"Coaching in the 2016 Arctic Atoms final was, probably, the most exciting hockey game I was involved in this past year, and the crowd really got behind it.
"I noticed the crowd was getting bigger and bigger as the game went on, because people were texting their friends and family to tell them they were missing one heck of a hockey game."
