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HOCKEY: Players have all been touched in some way by cause

Langley charity hockey team chooses to donate to BC Children’s Hospital.
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The Walleye’s (white) face off against the BC Rockies (green) this Saturday at Langley Sportsplex, starting at 6:15 p.m. (Haley Wood photo)

by Alex Wilks/Special to the Langley Advance

The West Coast Walleye are once again raising funds for the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation at their upcoming game on Saturday (April 28).

The Langley hockey charity team will be taking on the BC Rockies, a deaf and hard-of-hearing hockey club that is based out of Port Coquitlam.

“When talking to the BC Rockies, [the cause] also means a lot to them as well, as many hard-of-hearing and deaf children spend a lot of time going to the BC Children’s Hospital,” explained founder and Walleye goalie B.J. Ayles.

“I consider the members of the BC Rockies friends and I am always blown away at the amount of skill that they have and play with.”

The 31-year-old hockey club member founded the team after playing alongside the CFox radio station’s hockey team late last year.

“I realized that the hockey community of the Lower Mainland would likely be very positive towards the idea of being a part of a team that benefits the BCCHF, as a majority of us have families or have had the children’s hospital touch our lives in some way,” he explained.

The team consists of players ranging from 19-years-old to their mid 40s and are all coming out to play for the same cause.

“Majority of our donations to date have come from players who pay for a spot on a per game basis,” Ayles explained.

The free family-friendly event will have goodie bags for the children and $1 raffle tickets featuring multiple prizes donated by Cariboo Brewing, Purdy’s, The Keg, SportsReplay, and the Vancouver Giants.

The Walleyes are also registered with the BCCHF and have an online page where people can donate directly through if they cannot attend the game.

“We have played against a few teams, at late night times, but have built a great relationship with Tracey Pope from the Langley Sportsplex, who donates the ice time to our teams to maximize our donation power,” he noted.

The puck drops Saturday at 6:15 p.m. at the Langley Sportsplex (20165 91a Ave).

“We just want the public to know that there are many ways to donate to the BCCHF, and we’ll do everything we can, with the amazing partners we have to maximize donations from every source we can,” Ayles concluded.