It's even more of a big deal, now, to be on the Buccaneers.
The Nanaimo Buccaneers junior B hockey club is adding a little panache to the program with the construction of its own locker room at the Nanaimo Ice Centre. Team owners Phil and Brenda Levesque oversaw the ground-breaking on Tuesday morning.
"It always was in the back of Phil's mind that a junior B team should have its own dressing room," said Brenda.
The new locker room is being built adjacent to the Nanaimo Minor Hockey Association office on the north side of the NIC. R.W. (Bob) Wall Contracting is handling the construction, but the $100,000 project has only become a reality thanks to numerous community sponsors. The City of Nanaimo's parks and rec department was receptive from the start, said Phil.
"We told them what we wanted to do, they told us what we could do and it went way faster than I dreamed," he said.
Buccaneers players will play a part in the project, volunteering to help with any grunt-work they can.
"It's good training for them, good experience and it teaches them to give back," said Brenda.
The Buccaneers are coming off a successful inaugural season in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. The Bucs won the North Island division's regular-season title in 2012-13 and made it to the semifinals of the playoffs.
"We set the bar high last year with the team and we're going to continue to grow that," Brenda said.
ICE CHIPS … For season ticket information, please visit buccaneers.vijhl.com.
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