The Battlefords community came together Sunday afternoon to honour Colby Cave and retire his #26, which will be hung on the wall in Battleford Arena. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Honouring #26

Colby Cave’s jersey enshrined in pre-game ceremony at Battleford Arena

Jan 8, 2023 | 5:30 PM

It was a full barn at Battleford Arena Sunday afternoon, for a special pregame ceremony ahead of the U15 AA NorthWest Stars game versus the U15 Moose Jaw Warriors.

The Stars held a special presentation revealing the Colby Cave #26 jersey from his time with the NHL’s Boston Bruins, which will be retired community-wide and hang on the wall at the arena in memory of the local hockey icon.

Colby’s parents Jennifer and Allan Cave were on hand for the event, with Jennifer thanking the community for their support, and calling the ceremony ‘an honour.’

She said Battleford Arena was always a special place for Colby, who played much of his youth hockey there, from his earliest years at the grassroots level, including two years with the U15 Barons (recently renamed NorthWest Stars), from 2007-09.

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Mayor of the Town of Battleford, Ames Leslie also spoke at the ceremony, and said seeing the turnout for the event just speaks to the impact that Colby and the sport play in the community.

“It’s a testament to how important minor hockey is to the Town of Battleford, and the impact the Caves have had,” Leslie said.

“The U15s are an age group he played for a few years, and like his mother said, time after time he always mentioned about being from Battleford and that this was his home rink, so to have this today is a great honour for all of our community.”

The NorthWest Stars went on to win the hockey game 7-5, led by a two goal, five point performance from their captain, Kash Alger-East.

Following the game, Alger-East said it was an important one for the whole team to win, as more than just any hockey game.

“It’s obviously a great feeling [to get the win], and we did it for Colby Cave’s family,” he said. “It was a great effort, we battled for 60 minutes there, and just gave it all our effort.”

Head coach of the NorthWest Stars, Kim Kramer added that all things considered, they couldn’t have asked for a better day.

“It was a big day at the rink and it was nice to see the crowd out and the Cave family out,” Kramer said. “It’s a big honour for our team to be a part of this event to be retiring Colby’s jersey here at the Battleford Arena, and we got a win for the Caves and for our team.”

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1