The smiles on the faces of Dominic Gallant and Keegan Dube said it all when they came off the ice after a practice with
former NHL stars Wendel Clark and Mark Napier as part of the Hockey Day in Canada celebrations. It didn’t matter that the six-year-old Gallant and the five-year-old Dube weren’t born when Clark and Napier were household names in the NHL. What made their day on Saturday was how they were on the same ice as the two hockey veterans in Campbellton, N.B., on the banks of the Restigouche River. “That was a lot of fun,” Gallant said as he slipped a Toronto Maple Leafs sweatshirt over his shoulders after the 45-minute Tim Bits practice. “I liked being the goalie,” said Dube. “I made some saves.” Clark and Napier have been fixtures at the Memorial Civic Centre since they arrived in the host city of Hockey Day in Canada earlier in the week. They held more than a handful of clinics with kids of all ages, and not those just from this town. Organizers invited teams from surrounding towns and villages to be part of one of the biggest events ever held in northern New Brunswick.
Gallant and Dube shared the ice with two dozen other five- and six-year-olds as Clark and Napier gave them tips about how to play the game. Parents took pictures from the stands and watched as the hockey heroes skated with their sons and daughters.