At nearly 60 years old and after little more than a decade of putting on the pads, a Sidney man has been awarded the title of best goaltender at an international hockey tournament.
But the tournament wasn’t organized by who most would expect, and John Lukie wasn’t playing for the expected team either.
The International Air Traffic Controllers Hockey tournament saw teams from all over the world gather in Charlotte, N.C. at the end of March. As he has done for most of his tournament career, Lukie played for the Prague Monkeys out of Czechia. While playing with the central European team was normal for Lukie, winning the award for best goaltending came as a surprise.
“It was totally unexpected, right out of left field, especially when we didn’t win the cup this year,” said Lukie. “Lots of credit has to go to my team, who are super supportive … it’s a nice accomplishment.”
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Lukie said the award was something he had been working toward since he first got into hockey, and goaltending, as an adult in 2008. While he played as a kid, it was the annual ATC tournaments which really got him into the sport and the goalie position.
He’s competed in five tournaments so far – some 48 have been held nearly every year other than the first two years of the pandemic – and most of them have been with the Czechia team, climbing its way up the tournament skill divisions along the way and winning the tournament in 2019.
Lukie said he ended up on the team one tournament after they were unable to bring their own goaltender, and his cadre of conatrollers at Vancouver International Airport, where he works, was unable to consistently field a team of its own.
“I got on their team and they were really friendly, supportive players. That kind of made it feel like family, so every year they come to a tournament, they say ‘once a Monkey, always a Monkey,’ so I’ve played with them the last three tournaments, and will be at the next tournament to be held in Moncton, N.B.”
The tournament itself is organized to celebrate and encourage the camaraderie shared between controllers across the world, and the teams often include a small number of family and friends, even if they are not controllers themselves. Several smaller events are organized throughout the year in the ATC community, but Lukie said the annual hockey tournament is the major one.
“Well, drinking has a lot to do with it, but its really about the camaraderie,” Lukie said with a chuckle. “There has always been a tight-knit bond among controllers, but being able to meet up with the same people, meeting new people each year is a big draw for people. Hockey players just love being able to go out there, have fun, and win if they can, even if it is not the main goal.”
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@JSamanski
justin.samanski-langille@goldstreamgazette.com
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