Toronto Maple Leafs Alumni Game and Hockey Camp Held Last Saturday January 20, 2024 in Moose Factory
- Frank Giorno
- Jan 25, 2024
- 3 min read
By Frank Giorno for www.wachaynews.com
A team of Toronto Maple Leafs Alumni traveled to Moose Factory to play an exhibition game against the Moose Cree Winter Hawks alumni last Saturday January 20, 2024 at the TCJMC Arena
Leafs Alumni Team featured Rick Vaive, Curtis Joseph, Dale McCourt, Dan Daoust, Marc Fraser, Wayne Primeau, Mikhail Grabovski, Kelly Armstrong, Adam Munro, Todd Gill, and Ric Nattress.
The Moose Cree team was composed of former players, family members and friends of the famed 1989 Moose Cree Winter Hawks, a team that played at the Junior B level.
The final score was 14-11 with the Winter Hawks coming back from a 5-0 deficit to narrow the gap before the Leafs Alumni pulled away.
It was a game filled with fun with a bit of competition lurking underneath the friendly surface.
Prior to the game, a meet and greet was held in the TCJMC Community Hall giving members of Moose Cree a chance to meet the Leafs Alumni. In between periods the Alumni scrimmaged with young hockey players who got a thrill of being on the ice with the former Leaf players.
The game was five years in the making with outreach with the Leafs Alumni taking place in 2019. But Covid 19 pandemic put plans on hold. Renewed talks for holding the alumni game and hockey camp in 2022. It was eld on January 20 2024 instead of prior to Christmas to allow for the ice road between Moosonee on the mainland and Moose Factory located on an Island. So more fans could attend.
“ After a few years of planning and finding the funding to make it happen, the honour was all ours as we hosted our great friends from the Toronto Maple Leafs Alumni,” said Stan Kapashesit, Associate Executive Director of Moose Cree First Nation .
“The community tour, the visit to the JRDYC, the Hockey Camp for the Kids, and of course the game that I had the privilege to play, was all great and the time immensely appreciated,” Kapashesit added.
The hockey school was held in the after at the Moose Factory Arena from 11 to 4 pm in groupings of 7, 9, 13, 15 and 18. Each session held 30 students and fully booked for 150 youth participating.
Members of the alumni team were treated to Moose Factory hospitality and shown around the significant sites of the community which is celebrating its 350th anniversary of its founding in 1673.
Moose Factory and Moose Cree First Nation are passionate about hockey. One of its members Jonathon Cheechoo played in the NHL for the San Jose Sharks. During the 2005–06 season, Cheecho led the NHL with 56 goals and won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy. He was the first San Jose Sharks player to win the "Rocket" Richard Trophy, awarded to the NHL player with the most goals in a season.
Kapashesit said that a special bond exists between the Leaf Alumni and Moose Cree First Nations. “The relationship Moose Cree First Nation has created with the Toronto Maple Leaf Alumni is one that is steeped in the exchange of friendship, sharing our Cree Heritage, and building a foundation of hope and dreams that these magnificent people bring to our community with each visit,” Kapashesit explained.
“With our community being remote in the far North of Ontario, their visits provide our community members the opportunity to meet the alumni, get to know them on a personal level, and build a lasting memory for years to come. We look forward to the next time we host these great ambassadors and appreciate their sportsmanship to our community and how they demonstrate their commitment to giving back to communities such as ours. Meegwetch!” Kapashesit said.
For more on the Leafs Alumni game in Moose Factory please visit
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