Fresh off a bronze medal with the national men’s hockey team at the 2018 Olympic Games, North Vancouver’s Stefan Elliott is giving local players something to shoot for at the first annual Stefan Elliott Invitational Road Hockey Tournament at the North Shore Winter Club June 16-17.
Growing up on a quiet cul-de-sac in the Seymour area, Elliott knows well the joy – and sometimes the pain – of the great Canadian tradition of a street hockey game.
“I got a couple too many knee scrapes on the pavement,” he said with a laugh, adding that road rash never stopped him from getting back in the game. “It was what I looked forward to. It was so much fun just going out there and playing. It was the thing to do. If it was nice outside you’d pull the two nets out and play street hockey. You’d have to move out of the way when the cars came by and wanted to get through.”
Stickhandling a bouncy tennis ball and practicing top-shelf wristers off the asphalt likely played at least a small part in the development that sent Elliott all the way to the Olympic Games. The Winter Club alumni was one of the talented and lucky few Canadians who earned a place on the Olympic team after the NHL refused to allow its players to go to the Games in South Korea.
The 27-year-old defenceman, who scored 24 points in 84 career games in the NHL spread over five seasons, was playing in the Swedish Elite League last year where he earned the attention of scouts from Hockey Canada.
In South Korea the Canadians lost to Germany in the semifinals but bounced back to claim Olympic bronze with a 6-4 win over the Czech Republic.
“It was really nerve-wracking, that’s for sure,” Elliott said about the bronze medal game. “It was pretty tough coming off of the loss in the semis. The fact that we were able to turn around and win it the next day was pretty special. After you win that game, you’re going out on a winning note. It almost feels like you won everything.”
Just as exciting for Elliott was getting a chance to participate in one of the largest sporting spectacles in the world.
“It’s something that I won’t forget,” he said. “It was an incredible experience. Even just going to the Olympics and being in the atmosphere around the world’s best athletes. It was pretty surreal.”
On top of playing for Team Canada, Elliott got to meet other Canadian Olympic stars like hotshot curler John Morris and skating darlings Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.
“You’re surrounded by a lot of pretty cool and accomplished people. Just the experience of all that and being able to talk to them and see how they prepare and things like that was pretty special. Obviously the big bonus was being able to come home with a medal.”
That medal, which he now feels obliged to carry with him much of the time because so many people ask to see it, is a tangible reminder of that amazing, serendipitous chapter in his life.
“I’m still kind of pinching myself that it actually happened,” he said. “Now that I’m here and I have a medal, it’s not that you forget about it but it’s there and then you see it and it’s like, ‘whoa.’ It was just a crazy experience and one that I’ll definitely never forget.”
The stakes won’t be nearly as high at the Stefan Elliott Invitational Road Hockey Tournament, but the tournament’s namesake is hoping that players will be able to create their own lasting memories on the parking lot pavement outside the Winter Club.
The tournament is open to all ages and abilities, members and non-members of the Winter Club, with the registration deadline set for this Friday, May 25. The cost to play is $400 per team, with partial proceeds going to Kidsport, a charity created to help overcome the financial obstacles that prevent some young people from participating in organized sport.
The event will feature other festivities such as food trucks and a DJ, as well a North Shore Winter Club alumni game that will be played inside on ice featuring current and former NHL players such as Elliott, Ben Maxwell, Jordy Bellerive and Colton Sissons, who is fresh off a playoff run with the Nashville Predators.
“There’s a bunch of good guys. Hopefully we can get a pretty good game out on the ice,” said Elliott. “I think it’s going to be a fun weekend.”
For more information on the tournament or to register a team, visit the North Shore Winter Club website.
