On February 7, 2018 Former National Hockey League (NHL) player Norm Lacombe was at the Four Nations Arena in Samson teaching the youth some skills to improve their game.
Volunteer coach Darren Simon was interviewed at the Cree Market about the clinic. February 20, 2018
Guide: Tell me about Norm Lacombe’s visit here. Darren: He came to do a hockey camp. Guide: Was it just a one day hockey camp? Darren: Yes just one day. A clinic. Guide: Who invited him? Darren: Actually I invited him. Guide: Who was that other volunteer coach that was on the ice? Darren: For Novice I think that was his son. So Norm Lacombe came to our community and did some on ice sessions with our Novice teams. Our Atom teams. Our PeeWee teams and our Bantam teams. It was a one hour on ice instruction per division.
Guide: Did the volunteer coaches learn anything from him? Darren: Well, the volunteer coaches were required to be on the ice with them. We always tell our volunteer coaches to observe and learn and to pick up knew ideas at the same time. Guide: Did he talk about his glory days? Darren: He did have some stories about his team in 1988 and was arguably the best team in NHL history. He did have his Stanley Cup Ring which he showed to the kids. It was cool. The kids have some inspiration that way. Guide: Was this his first time here? Darren: Yes. Guide: Did he say anything about coming back? Darren: He offered to come back and help our kids. Actually, he’s looking to recruit players for the Czech Republic. He’s recruiting kids to go the Czech Republic and my son was one of them. Guide: Very good. So there will be some representation in the Czech Republic from Maskwacis Guide: Is that just dedication and volunteer hours to get your kid to that level? Darren: Yes it is. Guide: Is there anybody you would like to thank or anything you would like to say before ending? Darren: You know, we try to look forward and try to inspire our kids and I believe bringing in people from the outside community that are successful and have a lot to offer our kids can keep them inspired. Our kids are the most important and our kids are our future. Try to keep them motivated. Get them to strive for something that’s achievable. For them to go for their goals is the most important thing.
