Hub Staff

The hockey season in Canada is not over just yet as the sixth annual BarDown for Heart & Stroke Ball Hockey Tournament is fast approaching.

The event, co-organized by Steve Shields and former NHLer and 3HL Guelph Brewers Captain Brett MacLean, will take place at The Pines at Lakeshore Recreation on June 24, with a goal of surpassing 2016’s total of $5,000, used to purchase new AED defibrillators for the area.

The one day tournament and silent auction will feature a signed Wayne Gretzky jersey, Blue Jays tickets and much more.

The tournament has been raising money for Heart & Stoke since its inception, after MacLean suffered a cardiac emergency while playing a pick-up hockey game with friends in Owen Sound in 2012. “He was able to use a defibrillator on the ice so his life was a basically saved because of those things, so he's defiantly taken some initiative to get those everywhere and there’s certainly a pretty good following and I think they're pretty much in every arena now,” said Shields.

The tournament will kick-off on Friday, June 23 with a draft party at The Wismer House in Port Elgin. Shields said that teams used to enter but it had quickly become “lopsided” so they tried to make it even for everyone. “We have draft on Friday night... and draft players based on how many sign up and that’s how we distinguish the format.”

Jeff Carver of The Wismer House was happy to support the organizers and believes the event deserves more recognition. “This is a group of younger guys that are doing this and taking the initiative and they're not really looking for recognition but that’s exactly why they should be getting some,” said Carver. “It’s rare when you get a group of young guys like this that want to do something like this for their community; and do it for the sake of doing something good.”

Carver went on to say that having accessible AED defibrillators around Saugeen Shores is important because of the aging population, and that they are “critical and can save lives.” He admitted that The Wismer House does not have a defibrillator on-site but joked that they should because they serve deliciously unhealthy foods.

The cost per player to enter the tournament is $20 and each team will be guaranteed two to three games. Players who have already signed up are professional hockey player Kevin Czuzman, and Saugeen Shores Winterhawks Andy Mitchell and James McHaig.

More information on the tournament is available at their Facebook event page.