Indigenous Hockey Equipment Drive returns to Greater Sudbury

Indigenous Hockey Equipment Drive 2023 Graham McWaters talks with , Jessica Gosselin about the 2023 Indigenous Hockey Equipment Drive's upcoming stop in Greater Sudbury.

The Indigenous Hockey Equipment Drive is coming back to Greater Sudbury for the second year this Saturday.

They will be in town to distribute 150 bags of hockey equipment to five Indigenous communities in the area, Henvey Inlet, Takwa Tagamou, Atikameksheng, Wikwemikong and Espanola – while collecting more equipment for another remote First Nation community.

The drive began in 2015, when Graham and Angie McWaters attended a hockey tournament with their son in Midland, Ont. While waiting for his son to come out of the dressing room, Graham saw Indigenous youth entering the rink with garbage bags for hockey bags and a father fixing a helmet without a mask.

Graham has said this was a signal to him that some families could use help.

"I have a passion for helping kids. I want to make sure I put as many people into sports as possible and my wife has an Indigenous background and hockey. I grew up playing hockey myself and I know it's a very expensive sport,” said Graham, at the event last year.

“And I am giving back. It's all about giving back to the community."

The first year he helped one team in one community – donating eight bags of equipment to the Beausoleil First Nation on Christian Island.

“Since that first year the equipment drive has grown,” organizers said in a news release.

“They have collected and distributed over 3,500 bags of equipment and thousands of hockey sticks to approximately 60 Indigenous communities in Ontario.”

New to this year will be a special focus on assisting an Indigenous community that is not located in Ontario. The organization is gathering gently used hockey equipment for the Chief Jimmy Bruneau Regional High School, Behchokǫ̀, located in the Northwest Territories.

“This is a very important endeavour, as the community has a rink but unfortunately nobody is using it as they don't have hockey gear,” said organizers.

In Sudbury, the drive has again partnered with Northern Hockey Academy – with Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Greater Sudbury Cubs also lending a hand.

“We are asking the hockey community in the Greater Sudbury Area to come out this Saturday morning to donate gently used hockey equipment,” the release said.

“We need everything except the following: jerseys, socks, jocks, neck guards, undergarments and goalie gear.”

The Sudbury drive with take place at Northern Hockey Academy on Kelly Lake Road from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

"The equipment we are collecting is bound for the Northwest Territories," said McWaters in an email to CTV News.

"This is the first time we are delivering equipment and collecting at the same."

For more information on the Indigenous Hockey Equipment Drive, visit their website.