Hockey Night in Afghanistan

I received an email today from the wife of a Canadian soldier who is currently deployed with the U.S Air Force and she shared something awesome with me that the Edmonton Oilers & The Oklahoma City Barons did for our troops overseas.


"My Canadian husband is deployed overseas with the U.S. Air Force. The Canadians and American's at the deployed location got a great surprise and a real lift in spirits in December when they received a shipment of hockey sticks, gloves and t-shirts from the Oklahoma Barons Ice Hockey Team. There are Wednesday night games scheduled now and it brings a little bit of home and some friendly competition to the base. Between missions, it's a great morale booster, fantastic exercise and inspires a lot of camaraderie.

So a big thanks to the Barons and to their parent club, the Edmonton Oilers, who generously ensured that halfway around the earth, the Canadian spirit is alive and well and our game is being enjoyed by Canadians and Americans, giving them a needed reprieve from the serious business of the mission. Equally as important to the serving members is knowing that the Barons and Oilers were thinking of them, half a world away." - Wife of a Canadian soldier

Click the above image for full size view 

I want send out a huge shout out to the Edmonton Oilers & Oklahoma City Barons for doing this for our men and women serving our great countries and giving them a huge morale boost.

Thank You 

Many former and current NHL players have made the trip to Afghanistan in the past to play hockey with our troops, most recently former players Pierre Turgeon, Tiger Williams and Hall of Famer Lanny McDonald

"Everyone's thankful that we're here, but I've got to be honest with you, it's just a privilege for us to be here, t's so much fun to be around these guys and we enjoy it — big time." - Pierre Turgeon,

CBC's Don Cherry has also made a morale visit to our troops along with Brian Burke & Luke Schenn of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Below is a video showing soldiers playing hockey in Afghanistan last Christmas and features an interview on the bench with a Canadian soldier.