A 37-year-old MacTier man is helping Canada’s Olympic hockey team go for gold. Chris Lee has been playing hockey for a Russian team in the KHL, and the defenceman had 14 goals, 51 assists and 65 points in the 2016-17 season. He has also played for Team Canada before, including at the 2017 IIHF World Championship where the team brought home silver.
Now, he represents Canada as an alternate captain in Pyeongchang.
The team makes its Olympic debut on Thursday, as they take on Switzerland in Group A preliminary round action. The puck drops at 7:10 in the morning in Ontario, but the early game isn’t going to stop MacTier residents from watching. The town is hosting a pancake breakfast at 6:30am at the MacTier Arena and Community Centre, and will be broadcasting the game.
Georgian Bay Township Mayor Larry Braid says he will help officially kick things off with a ceremonial puck drop during the first intermission, along with Lee’s niece and nephew.
The mayor also says the entire town is behind the local hockey star.
The breakfast is $5.00 for adults and $2.00 for kids. Through the support of Chris Lee, proceeds of the event will go to KidSport Georgian Bay, raising funds for families who can’t afford the registration and equipment costs for their kids.
Lee is one of two athletes from cottage country representing Canada at the 2018 Olympic Games, the other is Dara Howell from Huntsville. She’ll look to defend her gold in slopestyle skiing on the 16th.
(With files from: Tom Mangos)