Five Ottawa 67’s players are getting a taste of life as first responders. They’re trading their hockey gear for firefighter helmets, all leading up to the Siren Series, where Ottawa firefighters and Ottawa police officers meet on the ice. For the players, this was not a typical practice day. They were put through a series of exercises at the Ottawa Fire Training Centre. “I like to think I’m in pretty good shape from hockey, but even just five flights of stairs — and they were saying they do like 20 sometimes. So, yeah, it was difficult,” said Connor Bewick, a defenceman with the Ottawa 67’s. Instead of lacing up skates, they were climbing stairs, in full firefighting gear. “It was different, but, I mean, it was cool to see how they do it, and it was fun,” said forward Filip Ekberg. For some, the hardest part wasn’t the weight of the gear, it was the heights. When asked if he was scared of heights, Ottawa 67’s centre Cooper Foster replied, “A little bit.” Reaching approximately 100 feet into the sky, it was a view of the city that the players just couldn’t pass up. “Definitely went up higher than I expected to, but, I mean, yeah, it was really cool,” Foster said. Siren Series The training day leads to a special night at TD Place, all to help raise money for the Ottawa Heart Institute. “On Saturday, February 7th, the 67s are playing Brantford. It’s a first responder themed game. And then directly after the game, we put out a team on the ice against the Ottawa police,” said Nick DeFazio, public information officer for Ottawa Fire Services. The Siren Series may be friendly, but the bragging rights are very real. “Ottawa police always put out a good team and so do we,” DeFazio said. “We’ve won more games than they have, so I’ll just put that out there. But it’s going to be another good game. And all the games have been close.” Life after hockey? Back at training, the challenges continued for the 67’s, including trying to locate the exit following a hose while blindfolded. “Pretty hard being blindfolded but I’d say the stairs are harder physically,” said goalie Ryder Fetterolf. “Hardest? I feel like the stairs. That was tough,” added centre Jasper Kuhta. Firefighting officials say the skills on the ice translate well off it. “I find it this actually suits very well for athletes. They have some innate abilities; they aren’t even aware of it,” said Ottawa Fire Services training officer Steven Glenn. “They all did great. They had a good time. I hope they learned a little bit, had a little bit of fun at the same time.” For some players, the experience offered a glimpse at life after hockey. “Definitely something I’d be interested to do. I mean, a lot of ex-athletes obviously go on to firefighting. It’s kind of the same atmosphere as a locker room and a team sense like that. So, I think in that way it would be pretty cool. But yeah, I definitely have to get used to the heights,” Foster said. From the training tower to the hockey rink, it’s all leading up to a night celebrating local heroes and a good cause.
