A couple of kids with a “healthy enthusiasm” for hockey are wowed by the Sens experience

Wee G at a recent Ottawa Senators game

Vicky Smallman is a blogger, mom and “shameless communtiy activist.” You can find her on Twitter @offhandremarks.

Right before the holidays I was the lucky winner of a great giveaway at Local Tourist Ottawa: four tickets to see the Sens play the Florida Panthers.   I said that I wanted to bring my five-year-old son, who is known as Wee G over on my blog.  This is a kid with a… let’s call it a…. healthy enthusiasm for the game, ever since he was about 14 months old.

It was around Christmastime and we were over at my cousin’s place for a family gathering.  They had set up a great rink in their front yard for shinny, there was a rousing game of ministicks happening in the basement and the World Juniors were on TV.

OK, I guess my family kind of likes hockey.

Anyway, something clicked for G that day.  He watched the front yard shinny in awe.  He threw his little toddler self into the basement play.  And he stunned my uncles by walking into the den, pointing at the TV and yelling “Hockey!”  It was pretty much love at first sight.   For the next couple of years his favourite game was playing hockey in the kitchen, where he could see his reflection in the oven glass and practice his goalie moves.  He learned to skate only when we agreed to put a stick in his hands – it really seemed to help.   Like I said, a healthy enthusiasm.

G is an active kid with an active imagination.  So for him playing hockey means acting out what he sees on TV – right down to the details of swaying back and forth during the national anthem.

G and I have never been to a Sens game together so I was thrilled at the chance to take him.  Since our youngest is a bit too young for an evening game, I invited one of G’s buddies, four-year-old P, and his mom to join us.  It was going to be their first NHL game too.

Chris Neil #25 of the Ottawa Senators stickhandles the puck against Keaton Ellerby #4 of the Florida Panthers at Scotiabank Place on December 22, 2011. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images)

I have to say it was pretty interesting to see the game through the eyes of two kindergarteners.  I’m not sure how much they got out of the actual game (it was a good one – lots of goals, lots of suspense).  They were pretty mesmerized by the whole experience: music, crowd, food….  We got there right as the lights lowered and the players came out on to the ice.  The kids were fascinated by the light show, and in particular the opening slide show of historical images.  Said P: “It’s like a pop up book for the ice”.

It’s hard to keep G still in his seat, especially when so much is going on.  He became obsessed  with 1) getting flags to wave and 2) wanting to dance on the stairs like the guy he saw on the Jumbotron.  I gave in on the flags but put my foot down on the dancing.  Had to bribe him with Timbits to avoid a meltdown (he had already inhaled the popcorn we got at the beginning of the night).  By that time it was getting pretty late for an overstimulated five-year-old.

He did settle down and let me describe some of the play to  him at the crucial time, though – overtime, right before the Sens scored to win the game.

We drove home with the kids giddily chatting away in the back of the car.  A good night, I’d say!

Thanks Vicky, we’re glad you all enjoyed the game! And thanks to the Ottawa Senators for providing the tickets for this giveaway. 

Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam: A night of music, magic and super human feats of agility

Photo credit: cirquedusoleil.com

 

Originally from Scotland, Helen Morris arrived in Ottawa almost six years ago. She loves being able to bike to work in the summer and skate along the Rideau Canal to the office in the winter. Other interests include dark chocolate and Wensleydale Cheese.

The one and only time I have ever been to the circus before tonight I was three, maybe four years old.

I remember a tent, sand on the ground and fold-out wooden chairs, oh yes and being a bit worried that the animals didn’t look too impressed about being there. For the rest of my childhood I was happy doing acrobatics in the playground myself rather than watching someone else do them at the circus — and that all went pretty well apart from that one unfortunate incident which ended with rather a lot of blood and a trip to the sick kids hospital in Edinburgh and those fairly unpleasant stitches in my head.

No such mishaps befell the genius and artistry that is Cirque du Soleil.

Oh yes and the only animals at this circus are the human variety. The show blends music and acrobatics throwing in a bit of slapstick comedy for good measure. The Quidam show does have a basic storyline which you can follow through the show but it’s equally satisfying just to sit back and watch the spectacle.

Photo credit: cirquedusoleil.com

The acrobats were brilliant, from the guy spinning around in a cross between a ladder and a hamster wheel, to the woman elegantly contorting her way up and down a red curtain hung from the ceiling, to the god and goddess who displayed super-human strength and control. The skipping sequences were beautifully choreographed.

This was my first Cirque du Soleil but for my significant other, a veteran of five shows, this was the only one he had seen which was not staged in a tent. He said watching in the arena provides a different atmosphere and you do not always feel as close to the action, but equally there are no poles in the way to obscure your view.

This particular show has a fair bit of thunder and lightning. During Tuesday’s show a real live thunder storm was raging outside prompting the young man seated behind us to check with his mother that there was no real rain in the show and that we were not going to actually get wet. The show did not seem overly long but the kids behind us did get a little restless in the slower sections and towards the end of the night.

If you are of a nervous disposition I would recommend staying away from the floor seating. On the other hand if you enjoy the spotlight the front row may be just the place for you.

Photo credit: cirquedusoleil.com

My significant other had something else on right before the Cirque so I took the trusty OC Transpo special event bus service out to Scotiabank Place. It’s a bit of a trek but sitting in an air conditioned bus, plugged into your iPod, whizzing along the transit way is a pretty decent way to get out to the venue if you do not have access to a car. The same bus will take you back downtown 15 minutes after the end of the show.

Back to the circus, remind me again, why didn’t the school careers advisor suggest running away to the circus as a job option?

There was a reasonable crowd at Scotiabank Place for the show but it was far from packed.

If you are looking for a night of music, magic and super human feats of agility then the Cirque de Soleil Quidam show is in town until June 30th.

Agonizing and celebrating every close call, every hit, and every goal: Jeremy Milks talks Ottawa Senators

 

Chris Neil #25 of the Ottawa Senators stands outside the dressing room. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images)

Jeremy Milks is the writer/editor of the blog Black Aces which covers the Ottawa Senators on a day to day basis. He is also the author of a book of short stories, “A Sane Man vs. The Thing From The Woods.”

It’s not the only game in town, but for many, it’s the only one that matters.

That’s life in a hockey-mad city, and the local NHL team, the Ottawa Senators, have given local fans a roller coaster ride ever since returning in 1992, marking an absence of nearly 60 years after the original franchise moved to St. Louis in 1934 to become known as the Eagles (who ceased operations shortly after).

To say the city has embraced the new Senators in their near 20 years of existence is an understatement, although the success of the team on the ice has not always been what everyone expected.

Fans from all sections of the Ottawa Valley make the pilgrimage to Kanata where an arena many thought would never be built now stands in what was once an undeveloped area of farmland. Taking a look around the area now, you can see the accelerated development that the Senators helped to bring to Kanata, thanks in part to the Senators original founders who, quite naturally, came up with the idea to bring a team to town in a dimly lit locker room after a game of shinny.

As author Roy MacGregor recounts in his book “Road Games” about the Senators eventful first year back in town, local businessmen Bruce Firestone, Randy Sexton and Cyril Leeder set out with a vision to bring the Senators back to Ottawa even though everyone who heard their idea thought they were crazy.

Resilient to the end, they overcame both perceptional and financial odds to beat out rival bids, one in particular by the city of Hamilton, to finally bring back NHL hockey to Canada’s capital city.

Spartacat, the Ottawa Senators' Official Mascot, made his first home game debut on October 8th, 1992 against the Montreal Canadiens at the Ottawa Civic Centre.

People were stunned at their success but quickly jumped on board. The Senators began play out of the comfy confines of Ottawa Civic Centre at Lansdowne Park (now the site of a major redevelopment slated to begin in the next few years) while they built their more permanent home in Kanata and suddenly the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Mario Lemieux were coming to town to play four or five times a year, being spotted dining out at Hy’s Steakhouse on Queen Street and adding a bit of star power to what many mistakenly thought was a sleepy government town.

The first season was a huge success off the ice, but an unmitigated disaster on it. A then somewhat unknown local singer Alanis Morissette sang the first national anthem at the premier game, which the Senators won against the Stanley Cup bound Montreal Canadiens, but they didn’t win many after that.

Most fans were just happy to have a team back in town and the expected losses of a young team didn’t seem to bother them so long as the entertainment was there. As expected, with the city in the middle of Montreal and Toronto on the Canadian map, both with traditional “Original Six” NHL teams,  Ottawa was filled with either Leafs or Canadiens fans for many years prior to the Senators reappearing on the scene.

Some switched their allegiances to the Senators right away, particularly the younger fans who didn’t have longstanding attachments to the other clubs, but many found old habits hard to break. To this day you still see many Canadiens and Maple Leafs sweaters in the crowd at Scotiabank Place but as the years go on (the Senators will be celebrating their 20^th anniversary next season) and the younger fans grow up and start to have kids of their own, we are starting to see that deep, ingrained fan base that is loyal to the core that other, more traditional clubs have enjoyed for generations.

In particular, the Senators run to the 2007 Stanley Cup Final seemed to convert many disbelievers who were disappointed in some of the team’s playoff failures up to that point, many of them against Toronto, their biggest rival in the league.

Although they didn’t beat Toronto on the way to the championship series (there are actually fans who would view beating the Maple Leafs in a playoff series just as satisfying as winning the Stanley Cup!), they were led by captain Daniel Alfredsson who cemented himself as a hero in this town by scoring the overtime goal against the Buffalo Sabres to send them to the final round.

Matt Carkner and Chris Phillips (Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images)

After that franchise defining game, Ottawa erupted like never before. Fans flocked to downtown Elgin Street, now known as “Sens Mile” since that historic run, shutting down traffic and many even marched to Parliament Hill, holding an impromptu rally on the ground usually used for political demonstrations or more serious purposes.  The original Senators had won 11 Stanley Cups between 1903 and 1927 (4 of them under the name of the Silver Seven) but most modern fans didn’t even have grandparents who remembered those games.

The final series against the Anaheim Ducks did not go in Ottawa’s favour but for many fans it was well worth the excitement and the team was expected to  challenge for the Cup for the next handful of years.

All the best laid plans went awry and the Senators began to struggle shortly after, resulting in this season’s edition where the organization has decided to rebuild with younger players, trading away local favourites like Mike Fisher and Chris Kelly for draft picks and futures.

About 400 children from 25 "priority neighbourhoods" in Ottawa were invited to Scotiabank Place for the season finale of the I Love To Skate presented by Canadian Tire Jumpstart program (Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/OSHC).

But not all is gloomy. The arena is filled to capacity most nights, even though a lot of fans have to travel quite a distance from downtown or other areas to catch the games. Daniel Alfredsson remains on this team and vows to be part of the rebuild and stay in his adopted home city. He even hints that Ottawa will be his permanent home after he is retired instead of returning to his home country of Sweden as maybe he once expected.

Over the years, a lot of players have come to Ottawa from other parts of the country (and the world) and have made it their home after they have retired. This city remains a priority destination for a lot of NHL free agents who enjoy the community for its high standard of living, its green space and the rabid hockey fan base that lives and dies with the team year after year.

Going to a Senators game in Kanata is an experience not many should miss if they happen to be in town during the winter months.  Win or lose, most come away feeling they’ve experienced an event, not just a hockey game. There is a certain community spirit in the rink that perhaps gets lost in translation in other big cities and the players themselves are some of the most accessible in the NHL as far as getting out into the community to meet the fans.

Just a quick look around the arena on game nights gives you one clue to the future success of the Senators in this city – the sea of kids wearing Senators jerseys.

When they grow up into adults and remain Senators fans, the franchise will take their place among the most traditional and storied  clubs in the entire NHL.

Until then, there’s a lot of hockey to be played. And an entire city will continue to agonize and celebrate every close call, every post hit, and every goal scored.

All we can say is ‘wow’ – big thanks to Jeremy for providing this great snapshot of the Sens!