Members of the Pistons enjoy a skate with local kids

As far as the opening of backyard hockey rinks go, this was a pretty big one for Steinbach.

It's not every day you get the Mayor cutting the ribbon to kick-off play at a frozen water and plywood facility complete with a parental firepit and industrial lighting.  But, not everyone is Chris Koop of Chez Koop Design House.  Anyone who knows Chris knows nothing is too small for a big grand opening.  Not only was the Mayor on hand, Koop also convinced his high school friend Paul Dyck to bring over a few of his Steinbach Pistons to play some of the local kids.  He also convinced his wife, Michelle Sawatzky, to sing the national anthem before the game got underway. 

To say this was a postcard Canadian winter moment would be an understatement.

When asked how it all came together, Koop was very quick to point out this was a community team effort.

"This is not just one person.  This is about my friends in the neighborhood who thought this was a great idea.  It just so happened we had the space and it was on our yard, but it's a team effort here.  Guys are out here flooding and when we're not home, people are shoveling it off or flooding it themselves.  It's really been maybe 10-12 couples that have banded together and that's fantastic."

Mayor Chris Goertzen, who lives in the neighborhood and was there with his young son, says Steinbach needs more of this.

"We want to encourage as many of our neighborhoods as possible to get together and create these backyard community connecting places.  We think it is great for the kids, great for the parents and it definitely creates a connection between neighborhoods."

The ice surface itself is about a third of the size of what the Steinbach Pistons are used to wheeling around on.  Still, defenceman Matt Franczyk says they know how important it is for the kids to be able to skate with players they idolize and admire.  He reflects on a similar experience from his childhood which has provided him with great perspective.

"I remember skating with some guys who were triple-A guys and I was just awestruck, so I have to take every moment with these guys and just play along and have fun with them."

His coach Paul Dyck was also feeling a little nostalgic.

"I tell the guys all the time – it's a great game and you have to have fun when you're practicing it and when you're playing it, and this takes you right back to how when you first started, you loved it.  That's why you gravitate towards it and start playing it at higher levels."

Dyck adds close ties to Chris Koop or not, they are just honored to be asked to come and skate.

"It's great that we can participate.  I know for all these players, this is getting back to their roots too.  Guys talk about doing this kind of thing on their own sometimes, so for this to be out here in our town is awesome.  I know there are a few others in town but Chris (Koop) and the community around here has done a great job with this."

Koop and Co. shy away from the kudos, preferring to simply say that this is what makes Steinbach, and Canada, a special place.

"The camaraderie of kind of building it together and then the parents sitting around on a Sunday afternoon watching the kids skate while the fire's going, as a father playing with your kids in the evening….I know we're a city but I still think of us as a town and that's what we're about, so to kind of get an opportunity to make this happen is pretty exciting."

As he chases down his son, who is too young to skate but isn't shy about going on the ice, Goertzen wholeheartedly agrees with that sentiment.

"It's fantastic.  The kids are having fun, the parents are having fun, it's really a great way to have neighborhood spirit and community spirit."