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Cup Winners Again
For the second time in three years Dwight King and Jordan Nolan managed to capture hockey’s most prestigious trophy. King, a Metis from Meadow Lake, Sask., and Nolan, an Ojibwe from Ontario’s Garden River First Nation, are members of the Los Angeles Kings.
The Kings captured the Stanley Cup on home ice on June 13, with a 3-2 double overtime victory over the New York Rangers. With the win, Los Angeles won the National Hockey League’s best-of-seven championship final series 4-1.
King and Nolan were also on the Kings’ squad that captured the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in 2012.
As for this season, King, 24, appeared in all 26 of Los Angeles’ playoff contests. He contributed offensively by picking up 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in those matches.
Nolan, who is also 24, did not have a major role with the team’s post-season run. He was a healthy scratch for the majority of the playoffs. And he was held pointless in the three games that he did dress for.
No doubt Nolan, the youngest son of Buffalo Sabres’ head coach Ted Nolan, would have preferred to have played a bigger role with the Kings in the playoffs. Two years ago he had played in all 20 of Los Angeles’ post-season matches.
Nolan also saw his share of action during the regular season this year. He played in 64 regular season games, accumulating 10 points (six goals, four assists).
King finished seventh in team scoring this season. He appeared in 77 regular season matches and was credited with 30 points, including 15 goals.
It remains to be seen, however, where King and Nolan will take the prized trophy this year. As is tradition, each member of the Stanley Cup winners is allowed to spend one day with the Stanley Cup during the off-season.
Two years ago, King took the trophy to Meadow Lake, as well as the nearby Flying Dust First Nation and Bear Lake, the Metis community where his parents live. Nolan brought the mug to the Garden River First Nation.
Fundraising On The Links
Participants are once again being sought for a celebrity golf tournament that will raise funds for a proposed Aboriginal hockey academy in Alberta.
The fourth annual tournament will be staged on Aug. 11 at the Heritage Pointe Golf Club in De Winton, located just south of Calgary.
Some of the proceeds from the event will go to Greater Strides Hockey Academy Foundation. Former NHLer Brantt Myhres, who is Metis, is the CEO and president of the academy. So far it has run hockey training programs and camps. The academy’s main goal is to have a facility where Aboriginal youth from across the country will attend school and also enhance their hockey careers.
Numerous former and current pros have attended the golf tournament in its previous runnings. A list of celebrities that will take part this year had not been released by mid-June. More information, as well as registration details for this year’s event, can be found at www.greaterstrides.ca
Shooting For A Medal
The Iroquois Nationals will be looking to capture some hardware at the world men’s field lacrosse championships, which will run July 10 to July 19 in Denver, Colorado.
The Iroquois Nationals are one of a record 38 teams that will participate in the world tournament, which is staged every four years. But they are one of only six teams that will compete in the highest calibre Blue Division. Those in the highest grouping are eligible for the event’s gold, silver and bronze medals.
The Blue Division at this year’s tournament will also include the defending champion United States, as well as Canada, Australia, England and Japan.
The Iroquois Nationals will play their first game on July 11 versus England. Though they were considered medal contenders prior to the event, the Iroquois Nationals did not compete at the last world championships in 2010 in Manchester, England. That’s because of the much publicized incident in which team members were not allowed to travel on their Haudenosaunee passports.
The fallout from that controversy continued to swirl around the team up until last year. That’s because the sport’s world governing body—the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) —had a bylaw in its constitution which stated teams are ranked for world championships based on their finish at the previous tournament.
A total of 29 countries had participated at the 2010 tourney. The Iroquois Nationals were originally seeded 30th for this year’s event, which would have meant competing against some inferior opponents.
Following appeals, the FIL allowed the Iroquois Nationals to rejoin the Blue Division.
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