Toonik Tyme to wrap up with annual hockey tournament
Team and players from Kuujjuaq join this year’s Brian Twerdin Toonik Tyme Memorial Tournament
Family members of the late Brian Twerdin drop the puck in 2023 for a ceremonial faceoff at the Toonik Tyme tournament. They are, from left, Iola Sheutiapik, Elisapee Sheutiapik, Mike Twerdin and Jimmy Twerdin. For this year’s tournament, there will be teams and players from Iqaluit, Kuujjuaq, Pangnirtung and Kinngait. (File photo by David Lochead)
Toonik Tyme men’s hockey is returning to Iqaluit with the annual Brian Twerdin Toonik Tyme Memorial hockey tournament.
“This time of year is always a great time for hockey in Iqaluit,” said Robert Comeau, the tournament’s organizer.
The puck drops Thursday evening and games run through April 21.
This year’s tournament will be bigger than last year’s, with nine teams participating instead of seven.
Players from Kuujjuaq are flying up to take part, along with a team from Pangnirtung, local Iqaluit teams and another that includes a mix of players from Kinngait, Kuujjuaq and Iqaluit.
“We’re really excited to have them,” Comeau said of the players and teams from different communities in Nunavut and Nunavik.
The tournament was renamed last year for Brian Twerdin, a local businessman who was involved in supporting hockey in the community before he died of cancer in 2022.
“He [was] a great player, great coach and a great person to have a conversation with,” Comeau said.
There will be one division and two pools, with a round-robin to start. For the playoffs, the top-seeded teams in each pool will play the bottom-seeded teams from the opposite pool.
In the pool with five teams, the fifth-place team will be eliminated before the playoffs.
With more teams this year, the tournament will operate at both Arnaitok and Arctic Winter Games arenas.
To do more fundraising and manage responsible alcohol consumption, there will be a beer garden at the Arctic Winter Games Arena.
As an organizer, Comeau said logistics is one of the bigger challenges to making this tournament happen. That includes ensuring out-of-town teams are able to fly to Iqaluit and have somewhere to stay, as well as scheduling of the games.
In terms of benefits, having a tournament like this brings the community together, Comeau said. He added that with other communities also taking part, it means more families will come together and there will be an increase in local business.
“When you’re on the ice and the rink’s full of people, it doesn’t get much better than that,” he said.
Wow, good to see you folks. Brian is an inspiration with what I saw giving to less fortunate. I can see compassion runs in the family. Happy tournament!