While it is not unusual for families to get together to attend the CREE Senior Hockey and Broomball Tournament, for the Cooper boys the tourney is truly a family affair. At this year’s event, no less than three generations of the Cooper family are participating.
Allan Cooper participated in his 30th tournament in 2011. A former Class A and Old Timer hockey player, Allan now plays the role of PA announcer and manages the music and big screen in the main arena at the Air Creebec Centre in Val-d’Or – primary site of this year’s tourney.
“This is the 31st year of the tournament and I have only missed one year. I have been here since it started both as a fan and a player. Now I get to watch my sons and my grandson play together. It is amazing,” said Allan.
The Cooper effect was being felt in Val-d’Or by the Class A Waswanipi Chiefs; the team that Allan’s sons Chris and Naaman and nephew Alex played pivotal roles in getting into the playoff round, where they were defeated in a scrappy match by eventual champions, Bar Chez Frid of Amos.
Alex has had to make the biggest adjustment to Class A, where he is playing against much older and experienced players for the first time in his career.
“This is my second year in this tournament,” said Alex. “It is a whole different level playing with older guys with experience. But it doesn’t change my game much.”
Although he is one of the youngest players in the tournament, Alex already brings a great deal of experience to the Chiefs. The 19-year-old was recently traded to the OCN Blizzard of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League and will join the club after the Christmas break.
Alex has also enjoyed some early success in his hockey career as a part of the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves team that won the 2008 Telus Cup National Championship.
“That is one of the great things about this tournament,” said Alex’s uncle and teammate Naaman Cooper. “A lot of these young guys are playing out of town now. They have tremendous skills and it just makes the tourney better.”
To his credit, Naaman has now played nine years in the CREE Senior Hockey tournament, all at the Class A level. Prior to joining the Waswanipi Chiefs, Naaman was a member of the Chisasibi Hunters that won the Class A title in 2008.
“We broke the streak for the Mistissini Trappers that year. It was pretty special to win.
I moved to the Chiefs the year after and we’ve been trying to win a championship since,” continued Naaman, who has now settled in Waswanipi, where he is the Assistant Coordinator with the Waswanipi Recreation Department.
“I have always loved playing hockey. But things like school and my job are more important now. I mostly play in Native tournaments now in other communities. What I do at work and with family is what is most important.”
Chris is the oldest of the Cooper boys and, with the exception of his dad Allan, is the one with the most on-ice experience at the CREE Senior Hockey Tournament.
“I’ve been playing here for a lot of tournaments. I’ve played with all my brothers, now my nephews and soon my son,” explained Chris who counts 2011 as his 20th year playing in Class A.
“I’ve also played with my other brothers, Johnny and Allan. Actually, I have seen four generations come and go in this tournament. I see a lot guys in the room now, I used to play with their dads, now I play with their kids,” said Chris with a laugh.
“When I started I was 16, I was playing with men in their 30s. Then guys started coming in round my age, then I started playing with my younger brothers and now I am playing with Alex’s generation,” continued Chris, who currently works at a sawmill in Waswanipi operated by Nabakatuk Forest Products.
But if you think that makes Chris feel old, guess again. He plans on playing for as long as he can, and he hopes that is a long time.
“I want to come back, that’s for sure. If I make the team, I will be back. I’m going to try out again,” he said through his infectious laugh.
“Right now I am just having fun. I am glad they invited me to play with them. For years I took care of the team but now I am just here to have fun.”
Both Allan and Chris have seen a lot of changes in the decades they have been part of the CREE Senior Hockey Tournament. Allan remembers one story in particular.
“I remember it clearly when one of the players fought a referee. I won’t name him, but he was banned for life and I haven’t seen him since,” recalled Allan.
“The tournament has had hard times; times when teams couldn’t make it, when there was no money, when people didn’t show up. But the tournament has always managed to pull it through,” said Allan in a more serious tone.
“Every community must build things that that are important for people and their families. Every annual event is important to its community. And this tourney is good for the Cree and non-Natives alike. This type of event has really maintained relations between Natives and non-Natives and I think it is very important that there are other events in northern Quebec and Cree territory where Cree and non-Natives get together,” continued Allan.
The Coopers are not the only family that has multiple members on the Waswanipi Chiefs squad. In fact, of the 14 players on the team, nine come from three families, including the Coopers.
The other family trios on the Chiefs include the Happyjacks (Clayton, Jimmy and David Jr.) and the Gull-Chums (Rylan, Eldon and Chris Saganash)
And Chris, Naaman and Alex are not the only Coopers with hockey talent. Vern Cooper, 21, made his pro-hockey debut this season with the Missouri Mustangs of the Central Hockey League, following five years in the OHL split between the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and the Plymouth Whalers.
“Vern has worked very hard to make it to the pro level,” said Allan, who is clearly a proud father. “He spent five years in the OHL and at the end of his last game, he cried because he was sad to be leaving the league. He is getting his chance in the pros, but hopefully we will see him at this tournament again.”
In the meantime, it is Chris, Naaman and Alex who carry the torch for the Cooper family. But the most important question remains to be answered – which of the three teammates is the best hockey player?
“The one with the young legs,” said Chris.
“We are all different,” added Naaman. “We play defence, Alex plays forward and we all have different styles.”
And, has playing with his uncles changed Alex’s approach to the game? “Not very much,” said Alex. “But there’s a few things that I’ve probably taught them.”
Given the strong hockey blood that runs through the Cooper family, there can be little doubt that each new generation will have something to teach the older ones.
