Skip to content

Pee Wee Braves under Hockey Night spotlight

Pee wee Saanich Braves to intro CBC Hockey Night in Canada on Jan. 14 from Pearkes Rec. Centre
16924vicnewsBravesHNIC3PJan0612
Members of the pee wee Saanich Braves go over their lines with their coach and the CBC camera crew on Jan. 2. Goalie Carter Cooper

Taylor Sims is about to join Ron MacLean, Don Cherry and Elliotte Friedman as one of the faces on Canada’s greatest hockey institution.

On Tuesday night (Jan. 3) and after quick rehearsal, Sims and her teammates were tasked with an introduction familiar to millions of Canadian hockey lovers.

“From the Pearkes Recreation Centre … it’s Hockey Night in Canada!”

Sims is the team’s only girl. Hers is one of many close-ups that will open the Jan. 14 edition of Hockey Night in Canada with the rest of the pee wee boys Saanich Braves team (11 and 12 years old).

The segment airs at 3:30 p.m.

Camera and crew from CBC spent two hours filming on the ice and another off it, including close-ups with nine different Braves players.

“The crew showed up just after 5:30 p.m. and didn’t leave Pearkes until close to 9 p.m., shooting on the ice, in the lobby and in the dressing room,” said team manager Kim Bell. “Then they stayed long after to show the footage to the kids.”

It was Sims’ dad Nigel who nominated the team to be part of HNIC’s pre-game show, called Scotiabank Hockey Tonight.

On Jan. 14, the club will gather for a pizza-fueled viewing party to watch their team take the spotlight just ahead of the 4 p.m. airing of either the New York Rangers at Toronto Maple Leafs or Ottawa Senators at Montreal Canadiens.

The Braves will also introduce the 7 p.m. game, which has the Los Angeles Kings visiting the Calgary Flames.

In all, there are nine individual speaking parts with all 17 players also chanting in unison to celebrate CBC’s flagship sporting program, the benchmark for Canadian sports television since 1952.