From left, Austin Garrett, Benjamin Nelson, Miley Nelson, Kendra Nelson, Craig Nelson, Layla Nelson, Isabella Nelson and Finlay Klippenstein pose during a Battlefords North Stars event. (Image Credit: Kendra Nelson)

By Kenneth Cheung

BILLET FAMILY

A home away from home: how a North Stars billet family is shaping a rookie’s journey

Jan 29, 2026 | 5:00 PM

This feature is part of an ongoing series to highlight the contribution of Battlefords North Stars billet families.

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When Finlay Klippenstein walks through the door after a game night at the rink, it rarely feels quiet.

There are children still awake, questions about the game, and the familiar sounds of a busy household settling in after cheering on their favourite player.

Sometimes there’s food waiting. Other nights, there’s ice cream. Win or lose, someone is there.

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“It feels more like home,” he said. “Rather than the first couple months of just starting something new.”

For the 19-year-old forward, home this season is a house in North Battleford – more than 1,500 kilometres from his family in British Columbia – where he lives with his billet Kendra Nelson, her husband Craig, their four children and another teammate, Austin Garrett.

Before the season began, they were strangers. Months later, they have become family.

Opening the door

For Nelson, the decision to become a billet family started with space and encouragement.

“We just have friends that billet, and they always encourage us to billet,” she said. “And we didn’t have the space in our [old] house. So when we got this house, we had extra rooms.”

There was also her 10-year-old son, Benjamin, who she said “really wants a brother,” and since he plays hockey too, she liked the idea of becoming more involved in the community at various levels.

They chose a Junior A player deliberately. Nelson said older players tend to be more independent, which fit their already busy household.

From left, Kendra Nelson, Finlay Klippenstein and Craig Nelson pose outside the Nelson family’s home in North Battleford. (Image Credit: Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW)

Adjusting to a new kind of family

For Klippenstein, who is from Cowichan Bay, B.C., the move to Saskatchewan meant learning how to fit in to a new province, a new team and a new family.

Over time, that unfamiliarity faded.

“I would say now it feels a lot better, because it’s the way it’s been for five or more months,” he said. “So it’s kind of like we’re more of a home.”

Nelson said the transition was eased by something simple: mutual respect. Klippenstein described it the same way.

“It’s just respect,” he said. “Just earning respect in the house.”

Battlefords North Stars forward Finlay Klippenstein poses with Benjamin Nelson (left) and Miley Nelson at the family’s home in North Battleford. (Image Credit: Kendra Nelson)

That respect showed up in small, everyday ways – from keeping things quiet at night to letting Nelson know when he arrived home late after games.

Some of the moments that stand out aren’t dramatic. They’re ordinary and that’s what makes them meaningful.

Nelson recalled one of Klippenstein’s first days in the house, when one of her daughters began crying at the dinner table, asking for a treat.

“I was kind of, like, holding the baby and kind of trapped,” she said. “And he didn’t ask any questions. He just opened up the fridge and handed her a yogurt.”

She paused.

“Some people can say, ‘Well, that’s bare minimum,’” Nelson said. “But at the same time, it’s the first time you’ve been in someone’s house before, and you don’t know any of these people.”

Those small gestures told her something important.

“It’s nice to know that there are good kids in the world,” she said.

“Sometimes it’s a little nerve-wracking trying to picture what your kids are growing up to be. So it’s nice to know that Finn and all the guys he’s brought over are good kids.”

From left, Kobe Sawyer, Finlay Klippenstein, Adam Konowalchuk and Austin Garrett play Lego with Benjamin Nelson, far right, and his friend Konnor at the Nelson family’s home in North Battleford. (Image Credit: Kendra Nelson)

The kids are watching

The impact of billeting, Nelson said, hasn’t been one-sided.

At the rink, her children point excitedly when Klippenstein steps onto the ice.

“Every time there’s a goal, Isabella’s always like, ‘Was that Finn? Was that Finn?’” she said. “Whenever he is on the ice, like, both girls will point at him.”

Her son Benjamin also watches closely.

“He’ll be like, ‘I hope people talk about me the same way they talk about Finn when I grow up,’” Nelson said.

“He’s not talking about him being good at hockey. He’s talking about people talking about him being a good guy.”

Finlay Klippenstein high-fives Isabella Nelson and Benjamin Nelson, along with their friend Mika, following a Battlefords North Stars game in Kindersley. (Image Credit: Kendra Nelson)

For Klippenstein, the connection goes both ways. He’s attended Benjamin’s hockey games and spent time with the kids outside the rink.

“It was kind of cool to be that for Ben,” he said. “Because I have a brother of my own that I hang out with pretty much all the time.”

On the ice, Klippenstein plays in a league defined by long seasons and emotional swings. Off it, he said, the stability of billet life helps carry him through both.

“It’s obviously cool when people watch you, and they’re in the same spot, like, every night, every game,” he said. “It’s pretty warming in the heart.”

That support doesn’t disappear after tough nights.

“After a night, big win or loss, get some McDonald’s sometimes just waiting for me,” he said. “It made it feel like home.”

For those wondering what Klippenstein’s go-to McDonald’s order is, Nelson knows it by heart.

“Big Mac without pickles and root beer,” she said.

Finlay Klippenstein holds three pucks after recording his first career SJHL hat trick for the Battlefords North Stars against the Flin Flon Bombers on Dec. 12, 2025. (Image Credit: Battlefords North Stars)

Nelson said the family tries to show up in small, consistent ways – whether that means cooking on game days or celebrating milestones late at night.

“When Finn got the top goal scorer, we bought a cake at 10 o’clock at night,” she said. “The girls went and helped me pick out the cake, and then they went and decorated it.”

More than hockey

Nelson believes relationships like this help young players become more than athletes passing through town.

“I think they’re not only having a good year on the ice,” she said. “I think people in the community are actually understanding that they’re not just a group of teenage boys, but they’re actually being a part of the community.”

As the season moves forward, the routine continues. Games, late nights, and the comfort in knowing his billet brother and sisters will be waiting up for him when he walks through the door.

For Nelson, the relationship feels like one that won’t simply end when the season does.

“I think so,” she said, when asked if it could last a lifetime. “Like, I have fun.”

For Klippenstein, home no longer feels like just a place on a map – and for one junior hockey player far from where he grew up, that makes all the difference.

“It fuels me,” he said.

“56 games in the season, pretty long. Not every day I really feel like doing it. It’s nice having a family here.”

READ MORE OF THIS SERIES: ‘It’s such a huge experience’: inside a family’s 14-year commitment to North Stars billeting

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com