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My Take on Snow Lake - Jan. 12, 2018

First annual Ken Baird Memorial game played on Boxing Day
Ted Stabback (in old Jets sweater) and Terry Hornyak, present a new Jets sweater to Ken Baird’s daug
Ted Stabback (in old Jets sweater) and Terry Hornyak, present a new Jets sweater to Ken Baird’s daughter Amber Samborski.

Snow Lake’s annual Boxing Day hockey game has been a tradition among resident and returning players since Dec. 26, 1965. During many of those 52 years, one competitor has been looked upon as an inspiration to players, both young and old. Ken Baird was that man. He was a guy who honed his skill, tuned his work ethic and made it to the pinnacle of the game, prior to returning home in retirement to work for Hudbay.

Sadly, Ken passed away last December at the age of 65. In addition to his family, the community mourned. In the past number of years, Baird was a fixture in Snow Lake. He was employed as a group leader in Hudbay’s Snow Lake Concentrator, retiring several years back. He was a humourous and steadfast friend to many, an avid golfer, an "honest" fisherman and a big supporter of minor hockey.

So it was that many of the men who played regularly over the years with Ken wanted to do something to honour his memory. When the 70th anniversary of the community came about this past summer, they acted.

On July 2, during the Snow Lake North Stars Hockey Club 40th anniversary golf tournament held in conjunction with the 70th, organizer Ted Stabback stated that he and longtime North Star Terry Hornyak had concluded that they would like to honour the memory Baird. In doing so, they were renaming the Boxing Day hockey game the Ken Baird Memorial. “Ken was a friend of everyone and anyone he ever played with, and reached heights in his career that most only dream about,” said Stabback in mid-December. “He was the only Snow Laker ever to dress for an NHL game, and had a successful WHA career, as well as an international player in Europe.”

Stabback noted that with the help of Ken’s older brother Dave, the golf tournament raised enough money to buy a couple of sets of sweaters for the new tournament in honour of Ken. With the proceeds, they purchased a set of Edmonton Oiler jerseys with Baird’s name and number (from his playing days with the club) and a set of Winnipeg Jet jerseys with his name and number. Former resident Darryl Wooley did much of the leg work in procuring the sweaters of the two teams Ken played for the in the old WHA.

Baird got his start in minor hockey in Flin Flon, and when his family moved to Snow Lake in 1962, the 12-year-old continued playing at the midget level. It was in Snow Lake that he made up his mind to pursue a career in hockey. He played two years at the junior level, most of it with the Flin Flon Bombers; however, there was a one-game stint with the Estevan Bruins.

He set a record with the Bombers for points by a defenseman, with 75 during the 1970-71 campaign. He also made the 1970-71 WCHL All-Star Second Team. That second year of junior must have impressed NHL scouts, as he was selected in the second round of the 1971 draft, 15th overall by the California Golden Seals (who became the Cleveland Barons, then subsequently merged with the Minnesota North Stars, eventually becoming the Dallas Stars). He also played with the Oklahoma Blazers of the CHL, Duisburg SC of the Bundesliga (Germany), the WHA’s Calgary Cowboys, the WHA Edmonton Oilers, who honoured him and others during the April 2016 opening of Rexall Place, and the WHA Winnipeg Jets, who in November of 2014 inducted him into the Winnipeg Jets Hall of Fame.

When the inaugural Ken Baird Memorial rolled around Dec. 26, there were 22 players who showed up – 18 skaters and four goalies. Additionally, there were close to 100 fans in the stands and a group of minor hockey players who played a 15-minute game between the main game’s 45-minute halves.

With players split into two teams, the age 34-and-under group wore the Oiler sweaters and 35-and-over donned the Jets jerseys. Local Bill Pleasance reffed during the day and René Gagnon and Tyler Samborski looked after the minor hockey game between halves. Judging by the double-digit score in the affair, calling the periods halves seemed appropriate. A young Oiler team trashed the older gentleman Jets 18-11!

There were several items of note that occurred during and before the game. Firstly, the official puck drop occurred between Mike Korchinski and his son, former Norman Northstar and Flin Flon Bomber Tanner Korchinski. Tanner travels from Camrose, Alberta each year for the game and his dad drives in from Flin Flon. Ken Baird’s son-in-law Tyler Samborski dropped the puck in addition to taking on time clock duties during the day.

Prior to the game getting underway, a special presentation was also made. Baird’s daughter Amber Samborski was called out of the stands and onto the ice, where Ted Stabback and Terry Hornyak presented her with a Jets jersey emblazoned with her dad’s name. The sweater was donated by his old team … the Winnipeg Jets!

After the game, Ted Stabback noted that there were numerous people who made the event and the day possible. They included those who donated to the sweater purchase, the Snow Lake Ice Devils, the Snow Lake North Stars, Dave Baird, Nick Shaw and Darryl Wooley. He added that they’d be back next Dec. 26 to do it all over again.

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