The Players Tribune: Scottie Upshall/Fort McMurray

[KootenayFlamesFan]

I took a few shots and then looked up into the stands again. Brent had his head down. His face said it all. When it’s your brother, you just know.

Our hometown of Fort McMurray, Alberta, was being engulfed by a wildfire. Brent and his fiancée, Shannon, had flown in from Fort McMurray to see me play. Their daughters, Avery, Emma and Grace, were back there, 2,000 miles away, staying with our mother.

Right as warmups were ending, I looked up at my brother one last time. He gave me a little fist pump, like, Go get ’em.

For him to have the strength to think of me in that moment — with all he was going through — meant so much to me. Hockey was always been an escape. It could be 5 a.m. or it could be midnight; it could be 20 below or 80° outside. When you’re in a hockey rink, there’s no time, no weather. Everything in the world goes away.

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/sco...rray-wildfire/

[habernac]

Everyone had the same ritual. The parents. The coaches. The kids. It was like a religious thing at Beacon Hill Arena. (Now called “the Frank,” after the late Frank Lacroix, a legendary ambassador for Fort McMurray Minor Hockey.)

The fire came for Beacon Hill first. That whole side of the city is gone now. I’ll never forget getting the text message that said, “The arena is gone, man.”

I thought about our banners that had been hanging in the rafters.

I played a lot of hockey in that building. Frank Lacroix, the guy who the rink is now named after, lived a few blocks from me and was a terrific individual.



We ended up winning seven tournament games in a row and took home the championship. More than 120 Peewee teams had come to Quebec, and we were the ones left standing. No small-town team from Alberta had ever won before. I still remember the kids on other teams looking at our jerseys like, What the hell is Leo Roberts Enterprises?

We were the Leo Roberts Enterprises Peewee AA Barons because of the generosity of Mr. Leo Roberts. He personified everything good about our town. He started his business with one welding truck. Then he added another. He ended up building an entire heavy equipment repair business from just one truck, and he was always the first to reach into his pockets for the kids in the town.

Leo is awesome. Talked to him quite a bit as he was also a crazy Habs fan. I think he bought one of the original Stanley Cup banners in an auction from the Forum.



Great article. My Facebook feed is full of people like the ones mentioned in this story. There's no doubt in my mind that Fort McMurray will be back and will be stronger than ever.

[Buff]

Most emotional Players Tribune article. One of the best articles to date. He wanted his article to show the community. He did what he set out to do.

[CaptainYooh]

Very moving and sincere article. Well-written too.

[FlamingHomer]

A lot of the doors we knocked on are no longer there anymore.

That line did it for me.