These activities don't hamper Blazers' style

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
As anyone knows who has played hockey or listened to Don Cherry pontificate, it is better to give then to receive when you are on the ice.
Over the last little while, the Kamloops Blazers have learned that rule of thumb applies off the ice, too.
The players raised more than $2,800, which went into Christmas hampers for eight families and a donation to the New Life Mission.
“The guys were wanting to do something for families who don’t have a whole lot at Christmas,” assistant coach Scott Ferguson, who co-ordinated the project, said Monday night from Snohomish, Wash., where he and his family are spending Christmas. “The players raised about $250 among themselves and we came up with the idea of going out to sponsors and seeing if they would help.”
Not only did the team’s many sponsors around town dig deep, but so did a lot of their employees.
“That’s what makes Kamloops such a great city,” Ferguson said. “Everyone is having a hard time economically, but all our sponsors were really good and the people who work for them opened up their wallets. They all gave generously.”
During his professional career, Ferguson played four seasons with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. While there, he said, he and his wife, Valerie, became involved with similar projects through the Christmas Bureau of Edmonton.
“Because of that,” Ferguson said, “Valerie knew what kinds of things to buy for a Christmas meal and for hampers.”
Ferguson then approached the team’s booster club and got the names of five families.
“Then,” he said, “we went to Summit Drive Baptist Church and got three more families there.”
Knowing that they were buying for eight families and armed with Valerie’s list, Ferguson said he took some players “to Safeway and did some shopping.”
“We ended up with eight pretty big baskets,” he said. “We also had some left over money, about $1,000, and we gave that to the New Life Mission.”
The whole thing had Ferguson feeling pretty proud of the players.
“I was pretty happy and proud of the guys,” he said. “It’s not all about hockey; we’re trying to teach these guys about life as well. I think that goes a long way to hopefully getting them to take the focus off themselves and put it on other people.
“You get wrapped up in hockey and they’re worrying about wins and losses.”
A project such as this one, Ferguson said, can easily be related to a team sport.
“It has that same reflection on the team, where when you put other people ahead of yourself you tend to be a lot happier,” he said. “We also want to show these guys that we’re very fortunate that we’re able to play a game . . . there are people in real life situations who don’t havea lot.
“It’s always nice to lend a helping hand. Hopefuly, these guys take something and learn from it.”
Ferguson was so pleased with the way things turned out that he already is thinking about next year.
“We’re talking about . . . next year we have more of a gauge on how much money we can raise,” he said. “Maybe we challenge Kelowna. Maybe we say to the Rockets, ‘This is what we’re doing, we challenge you to see who can raise the most money.’
“Maybe we help out 10 families in Kamloops and however many families in Kelowna and go from there.
“That’s what Christmas is all about . . . helping other people.”
JUST NOTES: The Blazers are off until Sunday when the Prince George Cougars visit Interior Savings Centre. Note that game time is 6 p.m. . . . Acording to Alan Caldwell, who keeps track of such things at his blog, Small Thoughts At Large, the Blazers will have 10 prospects playing in the annual Mac’s midget tournament that opens Saturday in Calgary. That list features D Nathan Browne and D Max Mowat, two list players from the Okanagan Rockets; D Jeffrey Ness (Prince Albert Mintos, eighth round, 2009); F Rhyse Dieno (list) and F Mitchell Schwark (sixth round, 2009), from the Saskatoon Blazers; F Logan McVeigh (Saskatoon Contacts, second round, 2009); D Brady Gaudet (Tisdale Trojans, first round, 2009); D Jordan Beveridge (Vancouver-North East Chiefs, second round, 2008); F Brandon Morley (Vancouver-North West Giants, third round, 2009); and, F Gage Rapitta (Yorkton Harvest, list).

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com