(Clifford Wuttunee School/Facebook)

By Alyssa Rudolph

new program

Red Pheasant introduces hockey academy for local students

Nov 6, 2025 | 3:09 PM

Red Pheasant Cree Nation has introduced a new hockey program at its school to help bring new opportunities to children in the community.

Red Pheasant’s Chief and council have supported the idea for a few years, but it wasn’t until this year that Clifford Wuttunee School had enough staff to be able to provide the program, which Eldon Wuttenee Jr. will be overseeing.

It will run like a hockey camp with one hour of ice time and one hour of dry-land training twice a week towards the end of the school day, between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. During the on-ice sessions, students will work on skill development with Jay Peeayachew, a hockey player and community member. Wuttenee Jr. will coach the hour of dry-land training in the school’s gym. During this time, the school also hopes to bring in special guests and Elders from the community to teach and support the young athletes as well.

Principal Lionel Pillar said teaching students the game of hockey is not the school’s only goal.

“We want to not only promote the program but also teach these young boys and girls how to be strong teammates with discipline and respect, and just to develop not only the hockey skills, but them as good young people as well,” said Pillar.

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On Tuesdays and Thursdays when the program is running, students will only attend regular classes during the morning hours. Any additional schoolwork that is missed in the afternoon will be completed as homework.

“We’re ensuring that their language arts and their literacy and math are a priority, plus the other subjects as well,” said Pillar.

Once the athletes become familiar with the skills needed for the sport, the school hopes to set up games that could eventually be played against other communities in the area.

“We just want to develop our kids, give them the opportunity, the ability to move on and whether they become superstars or just learn to love the game, I think that’s our goal,” he said.

Helmets and skates will be provided for those who choose to participate.

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alyssa.rudolph@pattisonmedia.com