Being able to attend an Olympic Games is a special moment for any person, and their family, friends, and community, and winning one is even more special.
For Wakaw’s Linden Vey both of those moments became reality, when the 26-year-old helped Canada capture a bronze medal in Men’s Ice Hockey in Pyeongchang in February.
After celebrating Vey’s trip to the Olympics with Vey Day in February, the community of Wakaw took the chance to celebrate their Olympic hero once again on June 6 with Vey Day 2.0, this time with Vey in attendance.
“We’re really excited that Linden was able to make it back in Wakaw. I was talking to him today and he’s got a very short window of actually being back in Canada from his professional hockey career overseas and so we’re pretty honoured to have him here in town today,” noted Mayor of Wakaw Steve Skoworodko.
Getting home to Wakaw does not happen very often with Vey currently playing hockey in Zurich, Switzerland.Being able to come
home was pretty special, he says.
“I’ve really got to thank the Town of Wakaw for putting this on. It means a lot to me and to my family and for me, this is where it all started and I’m very fortunate to have done what I’ve done.”
Vey returned to Wakaw for a small celebration, which included a barbecue, meet and greet, and floor hockey game with the children, something he says was a really nice addition to the celebration.
“It’s great that they threw in a little floor hockey game. I got to play an hour with the kids and I always enjoy giving back to stuff like that. I can remember when I was a young kid and going to even the Raider games or whatever it was and meeting those people was very special to me.”
The floor hockey component was also important to Skoworodko, he says, because it gave the kids a chance to mingle with a potential role model.
“It gives them a real opportunity to look at what they can achieve if they want to do it. Just because you’re from a small town doesn’t mean you don’t have the opportunities to achieve a lot of these goals and things if you want to do them.”
While Vey was on the other side of the world competing in the Olympics, he says, thanks to technology, he was very aware of the support he was receiving from his home town, something he says he is very grateful for.
“I’m very proud to have come from a small town and there wasn’t too many guys on the team that had the support I did throughout the Olympics and throughout my career. And I feel very blessed to have grown up in such a great community.”
