Ron Graves at 82 is the oldest player on the ice everytime the 100 Mile Oldtimers Association’s 100 Mile New & Used team hits the ice in the Lac la Hache Arena.
However, his story on how he got there is quite unique.
“I started actually skating when I was 35 when the original Stan Halcro Arena opened and then started playing hockey at that point, once a week for maybe seven or eight years,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed listening to the games on radio and when we moved here of course with just two channels we got Hockey Night in Canada and I was always interested in the game.”
When he was a young kid living in Fort McMurray, Alta. he was able to get on the ice at the outdoor arena once or twice but when his family moved to Mission, there was no venue he could skate.
Graves never had any formal skating lessons.
As an adult, he moved his family to the 100 Mile House area in 1963, where his sons grew up playing hockey and the girls did figure skating.
When the Oldtimers League started 15 years ago he was on the ice two to three times a week.
“We started that league when that curling rink was built. Time has a way of sliding by. I’ve been playing with that [league] and working with the board of directors of that league for that time,” said Graves.
He also turned out for a Kamloops Oldtimers team on quite a few occasions and also the group of guys from the Burnaby Winter Club.
“I’m not what I would classify as a very good hockey player. I just enjoy being out there and with the guys and all the things that go on the team and the camaraderie that’s there,” said Graves. “My goal was to get comfortable skating and then try to put in the rest with the hockey, being able to control the puck, making passes and that sort of thing and have fun.”
The 82-year-old player plays mostly on the wing, where he says he feels more comfortable.
So far, he has one point (assist) in five games. Typically, he might get six to seven points a year.
Graves said that the main thing was contributing and not make too many mistakes where other players have to cover for him.
The Oldtimers League is a draft league, so the teams are evenly matched. It also a no-contact league and slapshots aren’t allowed (though they sometimes happen), so it’s not like Graves is making big hits or on the end of them. He does consider himself in ‘reasonably’ good shape and comfortable doing the things required as a hockey player.
He said it’s also made it easier for him that the other players on his team and league accept him for the skill set he has and what he can do with it.
Graves, who was a former educator, said one of his favourite things while playing in the league was when he finds himself playing against his former students.
“That’s kind of pleasing,” he said. “Well, you see these kids grow up and watch them play because they played with or against your sons and as they got older and moved into the Oldtimers Group once they got to be 35 you start to play against them. If anything it’s a very positive kind of thing.”
Graves still has a few more years in him yet.
“My goal is to play as long as I can in the league where I feel like I can contribute in some way,” he said.
brendan.jure@100milefreepress.net
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