Nunavut flag travels to Sweden for world junior hockey tournament

Updated on Friday, Jan. 5 at 4:15 p.m.

Canadians who tuned in this week to watch the world junior hockey championships likely wouldn’t have missed Nunavut’s flag billowing in the crowded stands.

“I had planned on bringing a flag to show how far our support for Team Canada was coming from,” said Janette Seeteenak, of Baker Lake, who travelled to Sweden Christmas Day to catch some games.

She corresponded with Nunatsiaq News this week over email about her experience attending the annual tournament, where the top 10 hockey countries bring their best under-20 male players to compete for gold.

The world juniors are organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation.

Seeteenak said she grew up watching the world juniors on TV with her family. She went to the games with her brother and father in 2015 and 2017 when Toronto and Montreal were co-hosts.

This year’s tournament was held in Gothenburg, Sweden. Seeteenak said her family had always wanted to watch hockey in Scandinavia, so she went with father and cousin.

“When we heard last year during the finals that it will be in Sweden, we made the decision right then and there that we will attend,” she said.

Seeteenak said she decided to carry the flag while at the tournament to show how far Canadians would travel from to support their junior players.

“Also, so we can be easily recognized by fellow Nunavummiut and family,” she said.

Seeteenak said she heard from a lot of people who instantly recognized the flag with its colours of white, blue and gold when they saw it on TV. Some sent photos they took of their television screens where the flag could be clearly seen behind one of the nets.

“I have also been shown a lot of posts of Inuit being happy and surprised to see the flag at the games,” Seeteenak said.

She said some fellow Canadians were shocked to see that she and her family had made it so far to watch the tournament, but happy they did so.

Unfortunately for Seeteenak and all Canadians, Canada — which won gold at last year’s tournament — was eliminated in a quarter-final loss to Czechia, also known as the Czech Republic, on Jan. 2.

But that didn’t dampen Seeteenak’s enjoyment of the hockey she got to watch.

“As in any world junior championship, it has been amazing,” she said.

“Great hockey to watch, as the players are playing with all they have in hopes to be drafted [into the National Hockey League] and getting noticed.”

The Nunavut flag sits in the arena in Gothenburg, Sweden, for a game at the world junior hockey championships. (Photo courtesy of Jeff Seeteenak)

Once Canada was out, Seeteenak cheered for Finland. But then Finland was eliminated in the semifinals, losing 8-5 against Czechia on Friday morning.

That left her to cheer for Sweden, which ended up losing 6-2 to the United States in the gold medal game Friday afternoon.

Seeteenak has been in Sweden for the entire tournament and is due to fly back to Nunavut after the gold medal game.

“This trip has been a wonderful, once in a lifetime experience that I’ll never forget,” she said.

“I am happy that I get to enjoy it with my dad Jeff and my cousin, MacKenzie.”

Meanwhile, the IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship for female players opens Saturday and is being held in Switzerland. Canada is the defending champion in that tournament.

Note: This article was updated to include the score from Friday’s gold medal game.