It was a lively afternoon in Birch Hills on Monday, Jan. 20 as the town played host to a practice for the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders.
The idea for the event started back in October when Stewart Adams, the mayor of Birch Hills, drove the team home from their B.C. Division road trip as part of his part-time employment with PA Northern Bus Lines.
Adams explained the Raiders were very open to the idea when he brought it up.
“As we got back to Prince Albert, I was thinking that it would be a good thing for this community to see if the Raiders would be interested in coming out and practicing and meeting some school kids. When I talked to Cliff (Mapes) and Jeff (Truitt), they embraced the opportunity and consequently, it came together.”
The afternoon saw the Raiders holding an afternoon practice before interacting with about two dozen school kids on the ice afterwards.
Adams says he thought the gesture shown by the Raiders was extremely important for the town’s younger residents.
“Any time that you can encourage young people to be physically active in today’s society, I think it’s a win-win for both the community and for the kids. I think to see what nice young gentlemen the Raider players are and how courteous they are, it goes a long way in today’s society to give positive examples to young people.”
sports@paherald.sk.ca
