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December 25 2009
WJC.029
By: Mitchell Ward
Frigid temperatures and last minute holiday shopping weren’t enough to keep fans from showing their
support for Team Canada at a pep rally at TCU Place in Saskatoon on Thursday. With painted faces and flags
waving, they cheered on the team with chants of ‘EH! O’ CANADA GO!” as the players were announced to the
public for the first time in the city.
Allison Sherdahl, co-director of special events communications for the tournament, said, “It was a typical
Saskatchewan event and show of pride. Just to see how many painted faces, Team Canada jerseys and excited
kids there were was great."
Mike Tornopolski of Saskatoon showed up in true Canadian fashion waving the flag on a hockey stick. "It's
an amazing experience to go away for the juniors but it's even better at home. You can just feel the hype and
the emotion of the whole city," he said.
To kick things off five local cheerleading teams helped fire up the fans in attendance.
The real highlight though was when Team Canada was announced, and not surprisingly the team’s three
Saskatchewan born players, Jordan Eberle, Jared Cowen and Brayden Schenn received the loudest reception.
Schenn, a native of Saskatoon and member of the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings thanked the crowd for coming out
and talked about how special it is to play in Saskatoon.
“It’s an honour just to throw on the Canadian jersey and to do it in my hometown it’s even better,” he
said.
The event was truly a family affair as fans of all ages were in attendance. Among the fans was Bob Woytowich
of Saskatoon and his nine-year-old son Michael.
“It's really special for my son, he's just the right age to start getting into it and it's like a dream for
him to see these guys,” said Woytowich, while son Michael predicted a gold medal for the Canadian team.
Charles Mullner from Prince Albert, Sask., is in Saskatoon for the tournament with his wife and two kids,
six-year-old Kiana, and three-year-old Carter said.
“It's about developing a tradition with my kids and passing on a love of hockey; we had a blast,” said
Mullner.
With the tournament officially kicking off on Boxing Day, it’s obvious that the fans are ready to cheer on
the team. GO CANADA GO!
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