The Lil Bands hockey tournament of 20 years ago would have been unrecognizable to anyone who walked into Dryden and Eagle Lake arenas this week. The competition features hundreds of First Nations players from across northwestern Ontario
Ziggy Beardy helped start the Lil Bands hockey tournament 20 years ago. Since then, it's grown from a 'rag tag' tournament of four teams, to the top tournament for young First Nations hockey players in northwestern Ontario. He explains how that happened, and the mission to provide a positive space for young people.