Regina hockey team reaches top 10 in Good Deeds Cup

Imagine loving the game of hockey but being unable to play due to a disability.

One Regina girls hockey team is helping kids live out their hockey dreams and have a chance to do even more than they’ve already done.

The Regina Peewee B Rebels hockey team is one of the 10 finalists for the Chevrolet Good Deeds Cup.

The team’s players had to create a YouTube video explaining what they were doing and the top three most-viewed videos will advance to the next stage to have a shot at earning $100,000 towards the charity of their choice.

The inspiration for the initiative came from one of the team’s players, Mila Snell, and her older sister, Ava.

Ava has a disability but that hasn’t stopped her from becoming an honorary member of the team.

“Ava has been at the rink just as much as everyone else. She has been following her sister around for years,” Rebels head coach Nathan Strueby said. “The girls gave Ava a jersey, invited her in and she’s part of the team.

“It’s so nice having her in there, so she would come into the dressing before the games sometimes and after the game sometimes.”

This season was also the first time Ava skated with the Super HEROS (Hockey Education Reaching Out Society) program.

The program, which began in Calgary, helps kids between the ages of seven and 17 with mental and physical challenges take part in hockey. The focus is on the shared experiences of being on a team and playing with kids from other communities.

“(Ava’s) first practice, there were quite a few girls (from the Rebels) who went to her practice just to cheer her on. Signs were made and she was pretty proud to have her other team there with her and it kind of went from there,” Strueby said.

The Rebels have done a lot of work with the HEROS program and helped raise more than $5,000 through a hockey tournament. The money went to providing a boy with a piece of equipment that allowed him to skate without needing to remain in a chair.

“It’s just awesome because I know how I felt when I first started hockey and it’s just awesome to see them having reactions too,” said 12-year-old Elise Baron.

The girls were also approached by the Calgary chapter of the Super HEROS program and played a game against the kids in the program — the first game ever played by the Super HEROS team.

“It was honestly like a dream come true,” said 11-year-old Nola Exner. “Just seeing them smiling, it was amazing.”

Strueby said the Rebels never originally planned to enter the Good Deeds Cup contest but some parents thought it would be a good idea.

“To be honest with you, the parents got all the prerequisites ready to go and did all the behind-the-scenes action that’s not getting any recognition,” Strueby said.

The Rebels were in the middle of a game when it was announced they were in the top 10 for the program. The announcement was made by Hockey Night in Canada’s Ron MacLean.

“We had a parent send a video to us and we watched it in the dressing room and that’s when the mayhem broke out,” Strueby said.

Baron said the Rebels players jumped around and screamed after finding out. She even ended up with a stick stuck in one of her skates.

“It was crazy,” Baron said.

The group has used “We are all hockey players” as its rallying cry for its charity initiative. Strueby said it came from the Calgary Super HEROS program.

“Even if they couldn’t skate as well, they’re just amazing. They’re the best hockey players to us,” Exner said.

The final round of the Good Deeds Cup is to wrap up Feb. 9.