Winnipeg Falcons Canadian Heritage Minute debuts
A snapshot of Winnipeg's hockey history was revealed Thursday night at the MTS Centre as the Jets hosted the Penguins.
- Winnipeg Falcons the subject of new Canadian Heritage Minute
- A people's history: The Winnipeg Falcons
A Canadian Heritage Minute video featuring the Winnipeg Falcons played for fans at the game. The one-minute video depicts the story of the team, which won the first ever gold medal at the Olympics during the 1920 winter games in Antwerp, Belgium.
Frank "Buster" Thorsteinson played for the Falcons. He died in the First World War before he could rejoin the team on their journey to Canada's first Olympic gold medal in hockey.
Historian Norman Leach said the players never thought twice about fighting for Canada in the war.
“They did it at great personal risk, but there was no question about that personal risk,” said Leach. “’We're gonna go, we're gonna do it, we're gonna do it for our friends, our family and our country.’”
The video depicts the Falcons' experience with the war and the effects it had on the team as they skated their way to the Olympics with two fewer teammates than they had before the men went off to fight.