North Baffin Eskimos seek to defend title at Terence Tootoo Memorial hockey tournament
Expanded roster of teams prepare to face off Wednesday night
Members of the North Baffin Eskimos celebrate winning the ‘B’ division title in the Terence Tootoo Memorial hockey tournament last year. The team is coming back to Rankin Inlet to compete this week. (Photo courtesy of Putulik Photography Sports)
The North Baffin Eskimos are hoping to defend their bragging rights against seven contenders this week in the fifth Terence Tootoo Memorial hockey tournament.
The team will compete in the tournament’s ‘B’ division.
Last year’s ‘A’ division champs, the Karetakers, made up of members of the Karetak family from Rankin Inlet and Arviat, are not competing this time around.
However, the ‘A’ division has an expanded roster of five teams, ensuring tight competition.
“We have 13 teams coming and we have got to play 28 games, so we will be starting a lot earlier than what we usually do,” said Troy Aksalnik, who co-chairs the event.
The Terence Tootoo Memorial hockey tournament runs annually in Rankin Inlet. This year’s contest starts Wednesday and goes until Sunday.
The tournament is named in honour of Terence Tootoo, a young Rankin Inlet hockey player who died by suicide in 2002. His younger brother, Jordin Tootoo, was the first Inuk to play in the National Hockey League.
The former NHLer will be back in town to play with Team Tootoo in the ‘A’ division, said Aksalnik.
The ‘A’ division has four other teams registered, including Salliq, Arviat, Naukkumiaq and Team North, which is made up of junior players from around the Kivalliq Region and a few on the roster from Manitoba.
In the ‘B’ division, the defending champion North Baffin Eskimos, made up of players from five Baffin communities, will face off against teams Eskimo Point, Arviat Canucks, Whale Cove, Baker Lake, Putulik, and Team Todd and one Rankin Inlet team.
All the teams are made up of players age 16 and up, but 15-year-old goalies are admitted on a case-by-case basis, said Aksalnik.
Some players in their forties are competing in the ‘A’ division and some players in their fifties are playing in the ‘B’ division.
The hamlet is expected to swell by 1,000 hockey fans and players throughout the tournament, said Aksalnik.
The games will be livestreamed on YouTube. Fans can find the games live by searching for “Rankin Stream” on the platform.
Yay! It’s always a great show when Iqaluit comes to Rankin Inlet for hockey! Good Luck to everyone involved! (lets go rankin!)
they are from Igloolik
Yay! It’s always a great show when Igloolik comes to Rankin Inlet for hockey! Good Luck to everyone involved! (lets go rankin!)
I thought they were from Pond… maybe a mix of players from the area?
Good luck to all and have fun.
Funny, Natan and his cabal have not commented on the use of the word eskimo.