Although billets are a junior hockey tradition in Powell River, it is one that a host family is just getting to know this year.
Chris and Gemma Neath are new to the hosting tradition, taking in their first billet for Powell River Kings.
“Every time we went to a game, we wanted to experience more,” said Gemma. “We thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to have a person on the team who was kind of like ours so we could cheer him on extra hard?’”
Chris said the Kings are a great organization “and what it does for Powell River is huge. It’s good for us to be a bigger part of it.”
Although Chris grew up playing hockey, his family, including Liam, seven, and Jacob, 10, only started attending games two years ago after Jacob won a pizza party with the Kings.
Gemma said that lunch party soon turned into season tickets and bundling up the family in the Kings fan bus for away games.
“We went to our first game and then we were hooked,” she said. “Season tickets last year, and now billeting this year.”
Winnipeg’s Jeremey Leipsic, who just turned 18 and plays forward as number 18 for the Kings, couldn’t be happier with his new billet family and his new “brothers,” he said.
“We played a few games of pickup hockey,” said Leipsic, about games with Liam, a novice hockey player this year.
“We’re tied 3-3 and the next game decides it,” said Leipsic. “Whoever loses has to do the dishes or buys wings for the winners.”
The boys look up to Leipsic, said Gemma. “He fits right into our family.”
Familiar with large Saint Bernards at his family home in Winnipeg, Leipsic looks comfortable tossing around the football for his billet family’s dogs, Barnaby and Siegfried.
“I’m lucky to have such a great family and a nice place to stay during the hockey season,” said Leipsic, a bit unsure how a Powell River winter will play out. “I am used to -30 to -35 on the daily for five or six months. There’s just a
little rain here, right?”
Leipsic has been busy since arriving at Kings hockey camp on August 22 and said he has definite goals for the year.
“It’s my first year of junior hockey, so I want to get to a good start with the Kings and hopefully develop some chemistry with some guys that will take us through the season,” he said.
Chris said his family wanted the opportunity to give Leipsic a nice place to live where he can focus on being successful. “His goal right now is to excel at hockey.”
