Aboriginal player gets a shot with NHL Rangers
CBC News | Posted: September 15, 2006 3:19 PM | Last Updated: September 15, 2006
A young hockey player from a northern Manitoba First Nation is living two dreams— his own and his community's— by trying out for the New York Rangers on Friday.
Ryan Constant, 21, from the Opaskwayak Cree Nation, near The Pas, Man., was in New York for his first day of training camp, which started Friday morning.
"It was my dream to play there, and I'm really excited that I'm getting a chance to actually be there," Constant said Thursday.
Constant learned of an available spot at the Rangers training camp at the last minute, and had only a few weeks to sharpen his skills in time.
He will find out next week if he hasmade the NHL team. If he does, he would be the second NHL player after Jordin Tootoo to come from the Cree nation's Junior A team, the Blizzard.
Right-winger Tootoo, 23, considered to be the first Inuk to play in the NHL,competed with the Blizzard in the 1998-99 season. He recently signed a second two-year contract with the Nashville Predators.
A home for aboriginal players
The defenceman developed his game with the OCN Blizzard, which was created by the reserve to provide a home for aboriginal players.
Constant started playing with the OCN Blizzard when he was 17. But according to his father, Rick Constant, "He was a stick boy for the OCN Blizzard, so he's been in the Blizzard dressing room ever since he was nine."
Constant's uncle Jim Smith, who is one of the Blizzard's founders, said he's proud of his nephew's achievements, which he credits in part to the reputation the team has earned since it joined the Manitoba Junior Hockey League in 1996.
"Back then— you know, 10, 11 years ago— there weren't many opportunities for First Nation players anywhere," Smith said Thursday. "Sometimes they were painted as troublemakers⦠but they weren't given the right chance, anyway."
Smith said today, aboriginal hockey players who used to pick the Blizzard as their first team choice are now snapped up by junior teams across Canada.
"The hockey community is beginning to understand and realize the importance of bringing native players in, and you're starting to see that trend as well into the professional leagues," he said.