Chinese-Canadian, Black, and Indigenous players of the WKHL and WIHL
Larry Kwong was the first Chinese Canadian to play senior hockey in the Kootenays. But he was not the only one.
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Greg Nesteroff
Dec 18, 202311 min
Evel Knievel’s Kootenay connection
Before Evel Knievel was a motorcycle stuntman, he was Bob Knievel, hockey player.
1,282 views0 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Oct 24, 20235 min
How old is the KIJHL, anyway?
The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League’s beginnings have long been mired in confusion. The league’s own website is wrong.
672 views2 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Nov 6, 20226 min
Seth Martin’s mask
Exactly when did legendary Trail Smoke Eaters goaltender start wearing a mask? And was it before or after Jacques Plante did the same thing?
1,125 views1 comment
Greg Nesteroff
May 24, 20227 min
Kokanees, Red Wings, Maple Leafs, and MRKs
From 1927 to 1934, Nelson’s senior men’s hockey team changed names four times. Why? Finding out is proving more challenging than I expected.
658 views6 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Mar 1, 20216 min
Tiny Thompson and Sandon
Sandon produced a Hall of Fame NHL goaltender. But Tiny Thompson’s relationship with his birthplace has not been explored — until now.
964 views0 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Sep 28, 20203 min
Old Boyes club
Did former Montreal Wanderers goalie Art Boyce (aka Boyes) play for Nelson in 1917? Spoiler: no. It’s a case of mistaken identity.
294 views2 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Jul 3, 202019 min
Syd Desireau: West Kootenay’s first pro hockey player
The first professional hockey player born in BC was from Nelson.
980 views5 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Mar 6, 20207 min
Patricks on postcards
The remarkable postcard seen below sold in 2020 on eBay for $168 Cdn. It’s a previously unknown image of the Patrick Lumber Camp No. 1...
747 views3 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Nov 8, 20182 min
Larry Kwong (1923-2018)
You heard it here last: Larry Kwong, the NHL’s first player of Asian descent and the oldest Trail Smoke Eaters alumnus, died on March 15,...
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Greg Nesteroff
Oct 17, 20183 min
Lester Patrick’s Slocan tryout
I recently came across a charming anecdote about hockey legend Lester Patrick in West Kootenay that I had never seen before — and in fact...
396 views2 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Oct 17, 201821 min
The Cornwall Cup
From 1909 until the early 1950s, the Cornwall Cup was awarded for the men’s hockey championship of the Slocan. Officially engraved as the...
756 views0 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Oct 16, 20182 min
WIHL reunion, 1999
On Sept. 4 and 5, 1999, Trail hosted a reunion of Western International Hockey League players and officials. The senior league existed...
1,203 views2 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Oct 1, 20184 min
More Holy Grails of local history
A previous post enumerated historical finds I have made only to lose track of them or fail to document their discovery, to my everlasting...
522 views1 comment
Greg Nesteroff
Aug 26, 20181 min
Patrick Lumber Co.
I devoted an earlier post to West Kootenay sites associated with hockey’s Patrick family, including the Crescent Valley beach, where the...
567 views0 comments
Greg Nesteroff
May 15, 20184 min
Lester Patrick returns to Nelson
A previous post looked at surviving West Kootenay landmarks related to the Patrick family, hockey pioneers who lived in Nelson from...
473 views0 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Feb 10, 201810 min
6 Kootenay sites connected to Hockey’s Royal Family
From 1907 to 1911, members of the Patrick family lived in Nelson while operating a lumber company that owned timber limits in the Slocan...
1,900 views3 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Feb 8, 20182 min
Miracle in Rossland
Here’s a gallery of photos I took on March 3, 2003 during filming in Rossland of the Kurt Russell movie Miracle. Columbia Avenue was...
3,124 views0 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Jan 28, 20185 min
Last of the LA Ramblers
The last surviving members of what was probably the strangest hockey team ever to play in the Kootenay have died. Terry Cavanagh...
1,201 views0 comments
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