You’re thinking the NHL, or the local arena where you drink coffee early on a Saturday morning while your kids race after the puck.
Uh, yeah, but I’m thinking Kenya.
As in the Kenya Ice Lions. You know the guys from Africa? The ones who taught themselves to skate on the only ice in the whole country. The guys who don’t have a goalie or anyone to play against.
Well, we can’t have that. Can we, Canada?
No, we can’t.
So Tim Hortons did something about it. They flew the twelve member Kenya Ice Lions to Toronto to play a friendly game against the Mississauga Firefighters.
Two Canadian NHL players, Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon, showed up to help out.
And they weren’t the only ones who wanted to help the Ice Lions get a game in. Gary Mercer, the owner of a Toronto trucking company, pulled friends and family together, found a goalie (his son) for the Ice Lions, a rink in Etobicoke, and a referee.
As Gary says, “We take it for granted here, that you can grab a stick, find some ice, and play a game, but that’s not the always the case in other countries.”
True, and enough to make any Canadian weep.
Benard Azegere, Captain of the Ice Lions, is dreaming big. With the help of a Tim Hortons donation to fund a youth hockey league and new equipment from CCM, he’s thinking Olympics. “It may not happen this year, next year, but trust me, one day, … Kenya will play in the Olympics.”
And you thought we just exported wheat 🙂
AimerBoyz 
AWWW MAN!!! I LOVE this!!! This made me cry. SOOOO sweet! Laughing and crying have now taken up my morning. The whole story is amazing from the time it occurred to them to even play ice hockey in Kenya to their being brought to Canada for a game…and their onward journey! Super deluxe cool. Such sweet generosity of funds, time and spirit. Wow. Thank You Aimer for starting my day on such a wonderful note! And for the reminder not to take one single thing for granted. Cheers and Hugs! 😊💖🤗
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Super cute, right?
As to how hockey got to Kenya… Canadian embassy people fooling around on a hotel ice rink in Nairobi. The only ice rink 🙂
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Indeed!!! 😊
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What a terrific story. Haven’t got a clue about hockey – but who needs to??!
JP
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Exactly. 🙂
I don’t know much about the game either, but I liked the story.
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I LOVE this story! Leave it to the Canadian Embassy people to bring Ice Hockey around the world!
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Same thing happened in Northern Ireland, except it was Canadian students at Queens University there. Belfast has a hockey team now, the Belfast Giants.
It’s interesting what people miss when they go abroad, also what they bring with them 🙂
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I don’t follow hockey, but I’m glad Canada gave us Luc Robataille. Easy on the eyes!
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I don’t follow hockey either, so I had to look Luc up.
I agree.
Nice looking man, even better without the helmet, and he’s from my home town of Montreal 🙂
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