Linking history, community and a sense of pride, the Lower Kootenay Band and the Creston Valley Thunder Cats have teamed up to create a third jersey for the Junior B hockey team.
Unveiled in early November, the jersey has a new logo featuring a “thunder cat” head designed in a First Nations style by Warren Bruns, with the words “Yaqan Nukiy” above. The LKB logo is on the sleeve.
“What you see the most is the ‘Yaqan Nukiy’ and the Thunder Cats head on the jersey,” said LKB Chief Jason Louie. “It’s just a huge step by the Thunder Cats organization to acknowledge the traditional homeland of the local First Nations.”
To instill a sense of pride in the players, Louie took them on a hike to the Yaqan Nukiy site, a spiritually significant place with a rock formation overlooking the Kootenay River.
“The intention wasn’t for the Lower Kootenay Band to be a mascot for team,” said Louie. “We wanted it to be meaningful, and wanted it to bring honour to the team and community.”
“He wanted to the kids to see the brotherhood they have from wearing it,” said marketing director Grady Hunt.
It seems to have worked, he noted, because the first time the team wore the jerseys, they handed the Nelson Leafs their first regulation-time loss of the season.
The new logo and colours, which will be used only on special occasions, will go a long way toward modernizing the Thunder Cats’ image, which will help to attract new team members.
“We were trying to spruce it up,” said head coach Josh Hepditch. “We want to be appealing to players because when kids get here, they love it here.”
He started thinking about further developing a relationship with the LKB this summer, when he was assistant coach for the B.C. Aboriginal team and taking part in the reality TV series, Hit the Ice.
“It’s not just a little reserve you drive by,” said Hepditch. “It means something.”
Louie hopes that the Thunder Cats’ initiative will be picked up on by other teams.
“The Thunder Cats organization really took a huge step in creating a trend, I hope, for many teams, even outside the KIJHL,” he said. “Hopefully, it will catch on.”