WAINWRIGHT, Alta. — There aren't many places where an NHL defenceman can line up beside a WHL prospect, take a pass from an NCAA forward and have an Oilers broadcaster calling it all from the booth.
That's Wednesday night in Wainwright Alberta.
The annual Rotary Celebrity Hockey Game returns to the Peace Memorial Multiplex with a roster that stretches across nearly every level of the sport, from the NHL and AHL to major junior, college and U Sports. On paper, it looks like the kind of summer skate players would organize themselves.
Instead, it's become one of Wainwright's most underrated traditions.
Former professional player Adam Huxley has spent years building the event through the relationships he's made in hockey and through Huxley Hockey Conditioning. Several players are from the town or surrounding area, and, more importantly, they create another opportunity to raise money for the Wainwright Rotary Club.
Carson Soucy, now with the New York Islanders, captains one team with St. Louis Blues forward Dylan Holloway, while Seattle Kraken forward Bobby McMann captains the other. Six American Hockey League players round out the professional contingent, with Scott Ratzlaff, Cameron Hughes, Jordan Gustafson, Lukas Ciona, Jagger Firkus and Jared Davidson all making the trip.
Then there are players from the WHL, BCHL, NCAA, U Sports, and even overseas professional leagues.
University of Alberta defenceman Blake Gustafson will represent the Golden Bears on Team Soucy, while former Bear Connor McClennon, now at Bemidji State, suits up for Team McMann. MacEwan Griffins forward Liam Hughes is also on the roster, giving Alberta university hockey a strong presence among a group filled with current and former professionals.
Longtime Oilers Now host and Oilers radio analyst Bob Stauffer is making the 2.5 hr drive to handle play-by-play at the PMM, adding another familiar face to an event that's become about more than just the players on the ice.
There's an authenticity to nights like this.
Nobody is contractually obligated to spend part of their summer in Wainwright while training camps are only weeks away, and some players are preparing for the NHL. There are vacations to take, skates to attend and off-seasons that always seem too short.
Yet every July, they come anyway.
Some are former teammates, some trained together, others know Huxley through years spent crossing paths. One invitation tends to lead to another, and before long, a charity game in east-central Alberta has attracted three NHL players, half a dozen AHL players and one of the deeper collections of talent you'll find anywhere in Canada this time of year.
The game should be entertaining; it's the reason the event has lasted, but this event has more to do with the community than anything else.
It's built on players giving back to a town that's supported them, an organizer willing to keep bringing everyone together, and a community that continues to fill the rink because it understands what kind of night it has become.
