The Labour Day long weekend is here.
It offers one last blast of summer. Swing the golf clubs. Get out on the water. Visit a campground. Relax on a patio. 聽
For Estevan area residents, the Labour Day long weekend might mean taking in the Estevan Rodeo and the other events associated with the rodeo.
And, of course, life as we know it will come to a screeching halt on Sunday afternoon for the Labour Day Classic, when the valiant Saskatchewan Roughriders will face the loathsome Winnipeg Blue Bombers. 聽
But the long weekend typically means one other thing in Estevan: training camp for the Power Dodge Estevan Bruins, when local hockey fans will gather at Affinity Place to watch returning players and aspiring youngsters show off their talents.
Wait a second.
People willingly spend their long weekend watching players skate up and down a sheet of ice?
And it鈥檚 just scrimmages, right? And there鈥檚 an intersquad game at the end, right? It鈥檚 not the opening weekend of the regular season?
For many, there鈥檚 something inherently wrong about spending the long weekend indoors, watching something that involves ice. For them, the only way ice should enter the equation this weekend is if it鈥檚 served in a drink.
But I look forward to taking in fall camp. The players are eager for the season to begin. The returning veterans want to build on last year鈥檚 efforts. The aspiring rookies are eager to show they belong at the junior A level. The younger players want to make a good first impression for the Bruins鈥� management and executive, and show they have the ability to be players in the future.
Admittedly, last year I wasn鈥檛 too keen about camp. For starters, it was held in the Civic Auditorium as opposed to Affinity Place. And there wasn鈥檛 a lot of excitement about last year鈥檚 team, thanks to all of the departures from the 2015-16 squad.
(The 2016-17 Bruins erased all of the doubts of the skeptics, and delivered the best season for the franchise in a dozen years).
There should be lots of excitement for this year鈥檚 Bruins team. They have a strong nucleus of returning players, both up front and on the blue line. There will be the usual assortment of skilled prospects joining the team.
And you can be sure there will be a couple of unheralded players, either rookies or veterans, who will find their way onto the roster.
Camp this year will be at Affinity Place, rather than the Civic. There鈥檚 no uncertainty over where the Bruins will play their early games this season.
Fans have one other reason to be excited about this campaign: it鈥檚 the 60th for the Bruins. They were born in 1957 when the Humboldt Indians relocated to Estevan and played in the Civic, which, at the time, was one of the finest arenas in Western Canada.
Since then, the Black and Gold have produced more than 50 NHL players. Some had great NHL careers. Others thrived in the World Hockey Association and other professional leagues, both in North America and in Europe. The Bruins made it to the 1968 Memorial Cup final, and were a top team in Canadian major junior hockey, until they moved to New Westminster in 1971.
Thankfully, Estevan wasn鈥檛 without junior hockey for long, as later that year, the Saskatchewan junior hockey Bruins made their debut. The Bruins have been a fixture in Canadian junior A hockey circles for the last 46 years.
Talented hockey players have continued to play in Estevan. Great hockey has been played at the Civic Auditorium and Affinity Place. Fans have been entertained. Memories have been made. Championships have been won.
There have been tough times for the club. Their 18-year drought without appearing in the league final is the longest in the league. They have won a best-of-seven series just twice since their last league title in 1999.
And, like any community-owned team, the Bruins have found themselves on the brink of extinction a couple of times, but the community has always rallied around to save them.
So spending part of the September long weekend inside a cool arena, watching a game played on ice? Why not.
Hopefully it鈥檚 the start of an exciting year.聽
