MOOSOMIN — Winnipeg filmmaker Randy Frykas recently won an award for his Outdoor Hockey Club videos.
Frykas was one of the three winners in the Outside Awards video category who was awarded a $5,000USD cash prize and will be taking part in the upcoming Warren Miller film tour.
Frykas’s film featured outdoor rinks across Canada, including Moosomin’s outdoor ice rink.
The ten-episode documentary series captured different outdoor rinks on scenic lakes, frozen rivers, extraordinary backyard rinks, local community clubs, and more from all across Canada.
Frykas said he was excited when he found out he won the award.
“It was a pleasant surprise to end August and come into the fall with that excitement,” said Frykas.
“Honestly, I was super surprised. If you look at a lot of the content on Outside Magazine and Warren Miller films, they focus on skiing. I wasn’t sure how hockey was going to fit into the mix with everything else, it’s an American-based company so hockey isn’t as popular down there as it is here in Canada.
“The focus is more on skiing, ice climbing, more adventure-related stuff, I was surprised to hear the hockey footage won, but the feedback I’ve heard from them since was the story was so strong, and the characters were very compelling and the emotion and feeling was quite clear with the film.
“The judges loved it, I’m surprised, but at the same time, I’m very confident and very proud of the short film that I made.”
Personal meaning behind creating the film
The video series Outdoor Hockey Club was created to capture the special moments families shared at different outdoor hockey rinks in communities across Canada.
“What I did with the short film is I went back and took some of the moments from the entire winter that I felt worked together,” said Frykas.
“I wanted to convey the importance of outdoor hockey, and just being outdoors, and enjoying the love of the game. The film highlights different characters and settings from across Canada.
“Moosomin is in there a couple of times, with a couple of the folks that I met when I was there.”
Aside from Moosomin, Frykas included Beavercreek Farms near MacGregor, MB, Jeff Nash’s backyard rink in Edmonton, AB, Washiiyeh and Andrew Jeannotte’s rink in Maniwaki, QC, Moe’s backyard rink near Smiths Falls, ON, Hillcrest Community Rink in Whitehorse, YT, Lions Park Rink in Newmarket, ON, and a special season-ending episode in Stonewall, MB, in his series.
Last winter, Frykas travelled across Canada to capture different outdoor hockey moments. He came to Moosomin in December 2022, to film the episode focused on Moosomin’s outdoor ice rink.
“For me, sometimes it’s easier to put what I want into a film instead of me saying it myself,” he said.
“I feel like everyone who I met along this Outdoor Hockey Club journey so far, it felt like I knew them already just because of our love for hockey, and our love for being outdoors.
“The fact that I was able to construct how I was feeling through other people’s thoughts and in their words, it was a very special connection.
“Even when I met Hadlee McMullen, the hockey player in Moosomin. That day I was pretty much ready to pack it up. I had a great day filming at the rink, and there was something inside of me where I was like maybe I should just go back to the rink to see if I could find one other person to talk to.
“I walked back to the outdoor rink, I saw Hadlee and her dad, Jesse, getting ready to skate around the trail. I walked up to them and said, ‘Hey this is what I’m doing, I came from Winnipeg and just wanted to see what your thoughts were on outdoor hockey, and why you’re doing it.’
“Lo and behold, Hadlee is such a well-spoken girl and everything she said was pretty much what I wanted Outdoor Hockey Club to symbolize.
“I look back at all of those experiences, and my time in Moosomin, and it feels like it was yesterday, the memories are still clear and vivid.
“To put all of it together into a film memorializes it, now it’s out there not only for people to see in Moosomin, but it’s going to be out there in this tour.
“I just hope more people get to understand and share the message of what’s so good about outdoor hockey. Also to get a bit of an educational tour, but also to meet new people and see a part of Canada.”
Hopes to share the love of the game with others
Frykas was asked what he wishes people take when watching the short film.
“In general, organized hockey gets a lot of the spotlight with the NHL, competitive hockey, the registration and tryouts, there’s so much focus on that, that I feel the peer version of the game sometimes gets left in the shadows,” said Frykas.
“Ultimately this film is a way to show that hockey doesn’t have to be so serious. You can just grab your stick and a ball, and play road hockey with your friends or even some strangers.
“Everyone who plays hockey has done it, you can end up being on an outdoor rink or pond with complete strangers and before you know it you’re high-fiving because you scored a goal with a guy you just met.
“Outdoor Hockey Club is more focused on the pure love of the game. Hockey is a great game, and sometimes everything around it puts some negativity that doesn’t need to be there, but deep down there’s a beautiful game out there that people should not forget about.”
SASKTODAY.ca is Saskatchewan's home page. Bookmark us at this link.
