The Richmond Sentinel, Jim Gordon sat down with Doug Paterson, president owner of the Richmond Sockeyes JR ‘A’ Hockey Club.

JG: Welcome Doug. It is a great pleasure to have you here. There's a saying that, you can't go home again, but I think your story proves that’s not so. You were the first captain of the Richmond Sockeyes back in 1973 and now you're back as president and as an owner. What does that mean to you?

DP: It tells you how old I am, but I still remember vividly our first season. Our coach was an interesting and enjoyable fellow, and a handful of guys that I played with are still around – some 53 years later. 

I've been involved since 1971 as a player and the last 27 years I’ve been actively involved. We're very proud of the team’s rich history. Since 1992, we've won six provincial championships and two Western Canadian keystone championships. We’ve been part of the development of a handful of players like Danton Heinen that just got traded to the Canucks, he played for us in 2013 when we won a Western Canadian championship and Jason Garrison from the Canucks is another player along with Dave Tomlinson now the voice of the Canucks and of course, Orland Kurtenbach who played for the Canucks, and in 1986, coached the Sockeyes to a win in the 1987 Centennial Cup championship. 

JG: I played hockey as a kid in the 1970’s and 1980’s and the game and equipment has really changed. For example, at the beginning of summer, you hosted a prospect hockey camp for young kids. For me, back in my All-Star days, it was maybe one week. Obviously, you prospect year-round – how important is that?

DP: Every year we get anywhere from 10 to 12 players aging out or they are fortunate enough to move up to the next level. That means we’re always recruiting and it is a 10 to 12 month job. Our team is in the age group of 16 to 20 and we feel it’s important to include older players on the team as leaders for the younger players. At the prospect camp we sign on an average, three to four players that we have an interest in.

JG: Do you ever sign anyone from out of the province?

DP: On occasion we'll get a player for example Kevin Bieksa, and Kevin's son is probably going to come and skate with us next year when he’s ready as he’ll turn 16.

JG: Let's talk about the challenges in this modern age of hockey. There are so many other sports competing for sponsorship dollars can we talk about some of the challenges that are still here post COVID-19 that you didn’t have to worry about say 15 years ago.

DP: That’s true sponsorship support is a challenge, and the other unique challenge we're faced with in Richmond is the demographics. Today we're a multi-culture community and many new families don’t follow hockey and don’t know who the Richmond Sockeyes are so, were looking into programs to educate the families in Richmond and hopefully grow our fan base through social media and sponsors like the Richmond Sentinel.

JG: I’ve seen this for example in British soccer where people immigrate to a country and they want to feel part of the country and sports is one way. People can develop an interest in hockey if you can get the message out. You mentioned social media, are you reaching out to different cultures in the community, and offer to put on demonstrations to educate them in the sport.

DP: Most definitely and we also promote the team not just as a hockey team, we're promoting that we are a community team. You probably saw us at the July 1 Salmon Festival parade and the team also volunteered at the temple on No. 5 Road, where they provide meals for people less fortunate. We're committed to being a community team that gets involved. We have an obligation to be engaged in the community because if we want people to come out and follow us, we’ve got to reach out to the people, and that's the position we've taken.

JG: You mentioned the Richmond Sockeyes are a community family. I know from experience that in life, when your part of a group, something bigger than yourself, the bond is strong. In reference to this, you had an experience last year where you had a memorial for a former player, which I thought was a really respectful thing to do for a young man named Ray Sawada who played with the Sockeyes, and went on to play professional hockey before he retired and became a firefighter. Can you share with our viewers that story?

DP: Ray was a tremendous human being and he was a great family man and one heck of a hockey player. He had it all. To be taken from us that early in life, was devastating. Ray and his twin brother, Steven both played for the Sockeyes and then from the Sockeyes, Ray went to Nanaimo, then he went to university on a four-year ride and then played in the American League before being drafted by the Dallas Stars. I'll always remember his first NHL game happened to be in Vancouver. He was at his parents for dinner and I wanted to, on behalf of the Sockeyes, wish him well because we are very proud of him. 

After his pro career, he extended his career in Europe before coming back and that’s when he got involved in our alumni. Three weeks before Ray died, we brought him into the Sockeyes’ dressing room and he gave a speech to the players and I will always remember what he said, “guys, you're not playing for the name on the back of your sweater you’re playing for the crest which is the name of your team”. Three weeks later Ray was no longer with us. 

We wanted to do something to honour Ray. We had never, ever retired a hockey Jersey. We let the dust settle before approaching the family and with their approval we planned a memorable event on November 16 and people came from all over including his friends from university. It was an emotional send off and today, his Jersey is hanging from the rafters over center ice and I'm hoping that the city will never take it down.

JG: Doug that is a great story, thank you for sharing. For our viewers the Richmond Sockeyes play on home ice at the Minoru Arena every Thursday night at 7 p.m. If you’d like to see the video version of this interview, go to richmondsentinel.ca/videos