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I’ve always been a firm believer that professional athletes should typically not be portrayed as role models.
Gifted and talented? Of course. But the type of people to idolize and model your life after? Not necessarily.
Painting them as such is often met with disappointment, and there are countless examples one could rattle off the top of their head in that regard. “Never meet your heroes,” as the saying goes.
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It’s also somewhat unfair to expect every person who can skate really fast, sink a three-pointer, run a complex pass route or smash a baseball to be anything more than that. Nobody’s perfect, and that goes for folks in every walk of life.
No, save that kind hero worship for the real difference-makers in our world. There’s no shortage of examples to be found.
Still, there are exceptions when it comes to sports stars, not to mention exceptional examples of highly skilled men and women who clearly are more than just what they do between the whistles.
Which brings me to Zach Whitecloud.
I had the pleasure of spending Wednesday in Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, about 250 kilometres west of Winnipeg, where Whitecloud was the guest of honour — along with the Stanley Cup — for a truly special celebration.
NHL defenceman Zach Whitecloud of the Vegas Golden Knights hoists the Stanley Cup at the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation powwow arbour during a celebratory visit to his home community on Wednesday. (Tim Smith / The Brandon Sun)
To say he means a great deal to people in his home community would be an understatement.
Seemingly all of Sioux Valley turned out for what was a memorable few hours, including a pancake breakfast, drum circle, Powwow dancers, an Elvis impersonator, Vegas showgirls and a royal entrance by the stars of the show on a horse-drawn carriage.
Walking around the grounds to soak it all in, seeing the genuine excitement on everyone’s faces and chatting with spectators made it clear this was no ordinary event.
Ojibway Elvis performs for the crowd with dancer Meagan Funk beside him at the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation powwow arbour. (Tim Smith / The Brandon Sun)
Whitecloud is a terrific story, an undrafted hockey player who was skating in the MJHL but refused to give up on his NHL dream, no matter how distant it might have seemed at one point.
And now he’s a champion, in addition to a bona fide role model to Indigenous youth in his home community, province and country.
I’m happy to report the 26-year-old defenceman with the Vegas Golden Knights seems well-equipped to handle the responsibility that comes with such a label.
He hasn’t forgotten his roots. Not one bit. In fact, he embraces them, while providing inspiration to an entire generation of youngsters that they, too, can achieve their big goals and big dreams.
Maybe I’m just getting more sappy with each passing year, especially in a world where it seems harder and harder to find genuinely good things. But everything about the Whitecloud story makes me smile.
I don’t cheer for specific teams to succeed, but I do root for good people. Seeing Whitecloud at the top of his game, and what it means to so many, is the type of story I absolutely love to tell.
And, I hope, that you love to read.
Speaking of things that make me happy…
The Manitoba Open (which has undergone a few name changes over the years) has long been one of my favourite Winnipeg events on the sporting calendar.
This goes all the way back some 35 years when, as a young teenager, I would spend a week every summer volunteering as a caddie.
I did it for five straight years, with two different golfers. An American named Dean Prange for the first two and an American named Barry Fabyan for the next three.
Both were terrific humans, and I still chuckle at the fact I told Prange, during our very first round together, how he was playing well and “haven’t made a bogey yet” after a few holes of par or better.
Whoopsie. Of course, he bogeyed the very next hole. Thankfully, he was a good sport about my verbal slice.
Fabyan, it turned out, was best friends at the time with a young up-and-coming golfer playing on the Canadian tour named Steve Stricker. I got to know Stricker a bit, as the two men would play practice rounds together.
Although Fabyan didn’t go on to enjoy PGA Tour success, Stricker most certainly did. He’s always been my favourite golfer and as a result, someone I’ve followed for years.
Most recently, my now 22-year-old son caddied a few years ago for a golfer named Cooper Musselman. He’s now graduated to the Korn Ferry Tour, and it’s safe to say he’s someone our family roots for these days.
This week will be the seventh Manitoba Open I’ve covered as a sportswriter for the Free Press, and I’m just as excited to go to the course as I was when I was a teenager getting ready to carry a bag that weighed nearly as much as me.
As a fan of the great sport of golf, it’s a treat to watch some of these young rising stars do their thing, knowing full well it won’t be long until many of them are competing against the best in the world on the biggest stage.
The majority of players are also a treat to interview. There’s no out-of-control egos or public relations teams to go through in order to get a few minutes of face time.
Also, spoiler alert: These guys are good. Like really, really good.
I’ll be out at beautiful Southwood for the next four days, covering the tournament from tee to green. Don’t tell the boss, but it won’t feel like work.
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