The Bantam UCT Yorkton Terriers were on TV one night last week, albeit for about 15-20 seconds, but they can now lay claim to fame that they were on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada at the tender ages of 13-14.
They were also the only hockey players who will be on TV that don't get paid for it.
When Hockey Night in Canada aired over the weekend, it is full of NHL stars.
The first few shots of it, however, show minor hockey players in their respective communities going nuts for the camera, introducing the teams that are about to play that night.
Yorkton's Bantam UCT Terriers were one of those teams selected and are scheduled to introduce the Toronto/Washington game on CBC this Saturday night.
"The players were all very happy to be chosen to be on Hockey Night in Canada," says head coach Grant Ottenbreit. "They had a lot of fun with the taping.
CBC's Neil Cochrane told the newspaper the broadcast will start at about 5 p.m., Saskatchewan time.
Chad Holinaty, a parent of a player on the team, said his team knew about the opportunity from previous years, and that they were accepted as the team being sponsored by Scotiabank.
Holinaty said news became public about his team being shown on HNIC about two weeks prior to the taping.
The taping took place at Kinsmen Arena.
He said the players on the team, who are ages 13-15, were told they were going to be on the TV, one night at practice.
"They're all very excited to be a part of a national program."
"I was pumped," offered Turner Ottenbreit, team captain. "I was so excited.
Grayson Neufeld said he heard about it "from the guys".
It's his first time being on TV and "thought it was fun" going through the taping of it, he added.
Neufeld said that once the cameras started rolling, all he could think of was "don't mess up".
He was also one of the few players who got to speak on camera.
Part of the taping took place in the dressing room, where certain players cued up the matchups for this Saturday's HNIC broadcast.
CBC videographer Neil Cochrane, who works out of CBC Regina, said the tape of the raw footage is being sent to Hockey Night headquarters in Toronto.
He said the footage with the Terriers will likely come on around 5:02 p.m.
Cochrane has been taping Hockey Night intros for 3-4 years.
"It's fun to do this."
