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Greg Nesteroff
5 days ago24 min read
The evolution of Trail hockey uniforms
The Trail Smoke Eaters’ famous logo has seen far more changes in the last 90 years than you think. So have their sweaters.
883 views0 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Apr 28 min read
Chinese-Canadian, Black, and Indigenous players of the WKHL and WIHL
Larry Kwong was the first Chinese Canadian to play senior hockey in the Kootenays. But he was not the only one.
765 views1 comment
Greg Nesteroff
Dec 18, 202311 min read
Evel Knievel’s Kootenay connection
Before Evel Knievel was a motorcycle stuntman, he was Bob Knievel, hockey player.
1,402 views0 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Oct 24, 20235 min read
How old is the KIJHL, anyway?
The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League’s beginnings have long been mired in confusion. The league’s own website is wrong.
694 views2 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Nov 6, 20226 min read
Seth Martin’s mask
Exactly when did legendary Trail Smoke Eaters goaltender start wearing a mask? And was it before or after Jacques Plante did the same thing?
1,147 views1 comment
Greg Nesteroff
May 24, 20227 min read
Kokanees, Red Wings, Maple Leafs, and MRKs
From 1927 to 1934, Nelson’s senior men’s hockey team changed names four times. Why? Finding out is proving more challenging than I expected.
676 views6 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Mar 1, 20216 min read
Tiny Thompson and Sandon
Sandon produced a Hall of Fame NHL goaltender. But Tiny Thompson’s relationship with his birthplace has not been explored — until now.
978 views0 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Sep 28, 20203 min read
Old Boyes club
Did former Montreal Wanderers goalie Art Boyce (aka Boyes) play for Nelson in 1917? Spoiler: no. It’s a case of mistaken identity.
295 views2 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Jul 3, 202019 min read
Syd Desireau: West Kootenay’s first pro hockey player
The first professional hockey player born in BC was from Nelson.
1,001 views5 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Mar 6, 20207 min read
Patricks on postcards
The remarkable postcard seen below sold in 2020 on eBay for $168 Cdn. It’s a previously unknown image of the Patrick Lumber Camp No. 1...
754 views3 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Nov 8, 20182 min read
Larry Kwong (1923-2018)
You heard it here last: Larry Kwong, the NHL’s first player of Asian descent and the oldest Trail Smoke Eaters alumnus, died on March 15,...
591 views0 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Oct 17, 20183 min read
Lester Patrick’s Slocan tryout
I recently came across a charming anecdote about hockey legend Lester Patrick in West Kootenay that I had never seen before — and in fact...
396 views2 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Oct 17, 201821 min read
The Cornwall Cup
From 1909 until the early 1950s, the Cornwall Cup was awarded for the men’s hockey championship of the Slocan. Officially engraved as the...
773 views0 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Oct 16, 20182 min read
WIHL reunion, 1999
On Sept. 4 and 5, 1999, Trail hosted a reunion of Western International Hockey League players and officials. The senior league existed...
1,236 views2 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Oct 1, 20184 min read
More Holy Grails of local history
A previous post enumerated historical finds I have made only to lose track of them or fail to document their discovery, to my everlasting...
524 views1 comment
Greg Nesteroff
Aug 26, 20181 min read
Sign dedicated to Patrick Lumber Co.
I devoted an earlier post to West Kootenay sites associated with hockey’s Patrick family, including the Crescent Valley beach, where the...
570 views0 comments
Greg Nesteroff
May 15, 20185 min read
Lester Patrick returns to Nelson
A previous post looked at surviving West Kootenay landmarks related to the Patrick family, hockey pioneers who lived in Nelson from...
475 views0 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Feb 10, 201811 min read
6 Kootenay sites connected to Hockey’s Royal Family
From 1907 to 1911, members of the Patrick family lived in Nelson while operating a lumber company that owned timber limits in the Slocan...
1,908 views3 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Feb 8, 20182 min read
Miracle in Rossland
Here’s a gallery of photos I took on March 3, 2003 during filming in Rossland of the Kurt Russell movie Miracle. Columbia Avenue was...
3,235 views0 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Jan 28, 20185 min read
Last of the LA Ramblers
The last surviving members of what was probably the strangest hockey team ever to play in the Kootenay have died. Terry Cavanagh...
1,210 views0 comments
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