BCMML, photos on Flickr

Myles Mattila - Co-Chair Youth Action Team PG - Media Release by Myles Mattila

Press Release - May 5th Prince George BC - Myles Mattila - Prince George Local Action Team - CYMSU Collaborative

May 2-8th is Canadian Mental Health Association’s 65th Annual Mental Health Week and the Canadian Mental Health Association is asking Canadians to GET LOUD for mental health.

Getting loud means speaking up to stop the discrimination and the stigma around mental illness. It means using your voice to raise awareness and build support. For someone at school. For someone on the team. For yourself.

This year, one of the ways the Canadian Mental Health Association is getting loud is by working with the Prince George Local Action Team for Child and Youth Mental Health and Substance Use to start a Youth Action Team. The Youth Action Team is ready GET LOUD about child and youth mental health in Prince George.

It is estimated that 12.6% or 84,000 children and youth age 4 to 17 in BC are experiencing mental disorders at any given time. Two thirds of these - 58,000 children and youth - are not receiving the level of services they need. Some of the barriers to getting help:

• Fear of stigma, or not wanting others to know

• Not understanding their symptoms or when to seek help

• Not knowing where to go for services or how to get there

The Youth Action Team will work to break down these barriers - to reduce stigma and grow community awareness of mental health and substance use issues affecting children and youth. The Youth Action Team will also serve as a collaborative group that is available to Prince George agencies and organizations who want to include youth perspectives on mental health initiatives and activities.

I’ve joined the Youth Action Team as a Co-chair to help make it easier for children and youth to get the mental health and substance use services and support they need. Join me. We need young people to GET LOUD for mental health. Because the louder we all get, the bigger difference we will make. And there’s a lot of difference to be made.

For more information about the Youth Action Team visit or call …(contact information pending)

--

For more information about this Media statement please contact

Shari Wallace

Project Lead - Prince George Local Action Team

Mac's Mattila Scholarship by Myles Mattila

It’s a very prestigious award for a 17 year old local hockey player.

Assistant Captain and forward with the Cariboo Cougars, Myles Mattila has won the Mac’s AAA Midget Hockey Tournament Scholarship.

Calling the CKPG Newsroom from Calgary, Mattila says he’s overwhelmed. “I’m very honoured to just be nominated from the coaching staff so I thought that was enough already,” he said. “Honestly at the end of the day, it is very special to me.”

The award presented on Thursday recognized Mattila’s achievements on the ice, in the classroom, and within the community. He recently started a campaign called ‘Mindright’ which helps give local youth the resources needed to overcome mental health issues.

Mattila said the money he earned from the scholarship will go towards his post-secondary education. “Whatever I want to do, I definitely want to bring along my mental health, my advocacy in Prince George, and mindcheck.ca,” he said. “Whatever I choose, that’s what I will be bringing along so hopefully I want to become a civil engineer and if I still want to go to school after that, I want to become a lawyer.”

Prince George Ride Promotes Mental Health - Myles Mattila by Myles Mattila

Ted CLARKE Citizen staff

Myles Mattila is used to skating

circles around hockey opponents.

On Sunday, June 22, he’ll be

putting his legs to work in a different

kind of circular motion, cranking

the pedals of a bike to bring

awareness to mental health issues

and raise funds in the third annual

Ride Don’t Hide event.

Mattila is heading Team Mind-

Check PG for the ride, to help

promote the MindCheck website

set up last year following the

August 2011 suicide of Vancouver

Canucks forward Rick Rypien.

The mindcheck.ca website Mattila

promotes in Prince George

high schools is geared to youth

and young adults.

“I’m trying to get some teams

together and do what I can to

join my group or make their own

group,” said Mattila.

“I just want to raise awareness

for Ride Don’t Hide and raise

awareness for mental health.

Hopefully we’ll get 150 people.”

Mattila, 15, has just about finished

his Grade 9 classes at Duchess

Park secondary school and has

been trying to round up his fellow

students for the ride, which starts

at 10:15 a.m. on June 22 at the CN

Centre south parking lot.

There’s a short obstacle course

for the kids and older riders will

have a choice between a flat sixkilometre

course or a hilly 20 km

ride.

The Ride Don’t Hide movement

was started by Vancouver teacher

Michael Schratter, who completed

a 40,000 km, 15-month global

bike ride in 2011.

Schratter’s trip brought worldwide

attention to his lifelong

struggles with depression and

anxiety and helped tear down

some of the stigmas attached to

mental illnesses.

Ride Don’t Hide has expanded

beyond the B.C. border for the first

time and is being promoted in Alberta,

Saskatchewan and Ontario.

The national goal is to attract

3,600 participants and raise a total

of $800,000.

“All the money raised in Prince

George will stay here and will

be going towards mental health

education,” said Maureen Davis,

executive director of the Prince

George branch of the Canadian

Mental Health Association.

“We’ve basically gone national

with the event and the whole

thinking behind it is you don’t

need to be ashamed.”

The Prince George ride is being

sponsored by Shoppers Drug Mart

and Cycle World.

The top local fundraiser will win

a Norco bike worth up to $400.

Register at ridedonthide.com.

• Mattila, a native of Quesnel,

moved to Prince George last year

to play hockey and was captain of

the Farr Fabricating bantam Tier 1

Cougars hockey team.

The team went on to host the

provincial championship and Mattila

was selected by the Vancouver

Giants in the WHL bantam draft

May. 1.

The Giants picked him in the

ninth round, 183rd overall, and

he’ll report to his first Giants camp

on Aug. 22.

officials apologized to head coach Trevor Sprague. by Myles Mattila

After a 5-4 overtime loss to the Belarus National Under-17 team in the semifinal round of the Mac's AAA Midget Hockey Tournament, the Cariboo Cougars felt as if their chance to play for gold had been stolen from them.

Validation came moments later when tournament officials apologized to head coach Trevor Sprague.

"There were things within that game that were out of our control and the board's control and it ended up dictating what happened," Sprague said. "Let's just say it was officiating that was in over their head and probably shouldn't have been in the game. When you've got a board at the Mac's tournament that come and apologize to you for what happened, it kind of leaves a sick feeling in your gut."

The game was played on Dec. 31 at the Max Bell Centre in Calgary.

"(The penalty totals) were lopsided and there were a lot of calls that I haven't seen - like a broken stick right by our bench and (Cariboo forward Myles Mattila) jumps on our bench and a guy goes on and (the referee) calls it a delay of game because (Mattila's) stick was broken," Sprague said. "It was stuff like that - (Mason) Richey gets a breakaway, gets tripped, and (the ref) doesn't call it. When the referee is two zones away and can't keep up, you're not going to see a lot of things, too.

"And there was a little bit of diving (by Belarus)," Sprague added. "It's a European team so you kind of expect it, that there's going to be some diving."

In total, the Cougars were handed 32 minutes in penalties, including, in the same sequence of events in the third period, a double-minor for tripping, a minor for cross-checking and a game misconduct to defenceman Jonas Harkins. The referee judged the trip - which Sprague saw as accidental contact - to be a slew-foot by Harkins.

"The (Belarus player) played it like his knee was done," Sprague said. "Plus they gave (Harkins) a cross-checking penalty after three Belarus guys went in and cross-checked him, and they only gave one guy (a penalty)."

Belarus was whistled for 14 penalty minutes in the game, which saw the teams tied 1-1 after the first period and Belarus ahead 4-2 after the second. The Cougars scored the only two goals of the third and could have put the game away, according to Sprague, if not for all the lost momentum due to time in the box.

"It was pretty disheartening for the players because of how hard they worked," Sprague said. "We had (Belarus) on their heels - we could have scored three more goals if we would have capitalized and we would have won the game and the referee never would have come into being part of the game."

Belarus got a marker from Dmitri Savritski half way through the first overtime period and went on to defeat the Saskatoon Contacts 6-1 in the championship game.

"I think the wrong team won that tournament," said Sprague, whose club was also eliminated in the semifinals last year after Mac's gold the year before. "It should have been probably us and the Contacts (in the final).

"The players deserved a different fate."

The Cougars won their other five games, including a 4-1 victory against the Prince Albert Mintos in the quarter-final round. The Cats' round-robin wins came against the Calgary Northstars (7-3), Notre Dame Hounds (3-2 in a comeback) New York Junior Islanders (8-3) and the South Side Athletic Club Boston Pizza Athletics (7-1).

Individually, Cougars forward Hunter Floris, the top point-getter in the tournament with eight goals and five assists, was named to the first all-star team. As well, Mattila earned the Mac's scholarship award.

Floris, a 16-year-old from Vanderhoof, received more good news after the tournament when the Western Hockey League's Tri-City Americans informed him they had added him to their 50-player protected list.

In the Mac's female division, the Rocky Mountain Raiders of Okotoks, Alta., edged the Saskatoon Stars 5-4 in the final. The Raiders lost the 2016 championship game to the Prince George-based Northern Capitals, who finished 1-3 this time around.

The Cougars, who will host the Telus Cup national championship tournament in April, will resume league play this weekend in Langley when they take on the Valley West Hawks. The Capitals, meanwhile, will be in Delta Jan. 13-15 for games against the Thompson-Okanagan Lakers.

2016-2017 Cromie Memorial Cup

The Cromie Memorial Cup, emblematic of the Midget AAA Amateur Hockey Championship in British Columbia, was donated by Don Cromie in memory of his late father Robert J. Cromie. The Cromie family ran the Vancouver Sun for much of the 1900s, starting in 1917 when Robert rescued the paper from bankruptcy. He ran the paper until his death in 1936, after which his sons Don, Peter and Samuel took over the family business. As Vice President, Don sold the newspaper in 1964. The Cromie family left a legend in Vancouver that transcended their era.

'Please support the Prince George Citizen and online news like this by purchasing a digital subscription.'

- See more at: www.princegeorgecitizen.com/sports/mac-s-loss-a-bitter-pi...

PGSS Prom Day by Myles Mattila

Prom Day

Myles Mattila

Author and humanitarian, Jean Vanier who served in the Royal Canadian Navy said, “Every child, every person needs to know that they are a source of joy; every child, every person, needs to be celebrated. Only when all of our weaknesses are accepted as part of our humanity can our negative, broken self-images be transformed.”

My name is Myles Mattila and I will be graduating in June, transformed. My time spent at Prince George Secondary School has been one I’ll never forget.

I write with mixed emotions. I feel excited about my future, which means you prepared me well. But nostalgic about what I’ll be leaving behind, which means I have enjoyed my time here.

My experiences here have been diverse and welcoming in nature. And, although I didn’t start at PGSS with many of my peers, I will be finishing my high school education here – an experience better than I could have ever imagined.

In the quote I read by Mr. Vanier, he alluded to our worth as humans and also, our weaknesses. Prince George Secondary School is not only an institution dedicated to helping students become better citizens; it is an institution dedicated to helping students become better versions of themselves. And for me personally, my time spent here has been beyond beneficial as a citizen and an individual.

Being a student at PGSS has an experience in facing my fears and weakness, while building upon my strengths and unique talents. It has been an opportunity to gain friendships and work as a team. It has been a time to progress intellectually and excel personally. I have had the fortune of playing right wing for the BCMML Cariboo Cougars and volunteered as an advocate for mental health. I have been challenged academically and worked to raise awareness of broken-self images.

Writing today, I realize I am not just graduating. We all are. I am not just better than I was before I entered PG. We all are.

We have grown, shared joy; celebrated, admitted weaknesses, collaborated and come together. We have been encouraged and inspired, taught to expect more and to forgive ourselves. Thinking back to when I first moved to Prince George, I wasn’t the best athlete. Not even close. But thanks to Coach Renzo Berra and our three seasons working together, I am not only more conditioned physically, I am more emotionally wise.

Coach Berra taught me many things, but if I may, I’d like to share with you three lessons I will take with me from my years spend here at PGSS.

1. Work hard and never give up. My parents also modeled these behaviours growing up. They are words I live by, and as an athlete, a student, a friend and an advocate for mental health, words I repeat daily.

2. Communicate effectively. In every class I’ve attended, I’ve participated in many group projects, met many new faces and delivered many presentations. One thing I’ve learned is to achieve the best possible outcome, you have to communicate effectively and work together. Anyone who has played a team sport knows, you’re better as a group than you are individually, two brains are better than one, working together is easier than working alone.

3. Know yourself. Grade 12 came with many new opportunities, but also many challenges – mostly how to keep everything in balance. When life is overwhelming, it is especially important to remember to let it out – talk to someone you trust. But, it is also just as critical to just slow down. Find a counsellor, play a sport or hang out with family and friends. Life can be overwhelming for all of us, but thanks to the support systems and intrapersonal skills I’ve learned, chaotic times can be best managed if you know yourself and what you need.

I guess you could say all of these lessons align with a personal value of mine, which is connection – also a theme for time spent here at Prince George Secondary School.

My grade 12 year has passed very quickly. If I could rewind time, I would tell myself to have the most fun possible, to not lose sight of the important people and to make the most out of every day. When things become challenging, don’t give up and always chase your dreams. After all, if you really put your mind to something, you can achieve it.

Today, we are coming together as one. After many years of group work, teamwork and schoolwork, we are embarking on our own, unguided paths. Whether you travel or go straight to post-secondary, whether you dive right into a passion or spend time searching, always remember where you came from and the skills you’ve taken with you.

I would like to wish every one of classmates the very best. We all stumble. We all fail. We all feel alone, we all have insecurities – they make us human. But we all also have the ability to share our worries, work hard to achieve our dreams and believe in ourselves. Never give up and always remember where you came from.

Myles Mattila

Tyler Brough - Donating To MindRight Pub Night by Myles Mattila

Tyler is a Red seal certified Electrician who for the past 6+ yrs has been a Locomotive Maintenance Electrician at CN rail performing preventative maintenance, inspections & locomotive troubleshooting on a daily basis. Tyler lives in Prince George, BC with his wife Erica, Daughter Kennedy & son Hudson.

Tyler has been involved in hockey his whole life playing minor hockey in Grande Prairie, Ab & moving onto 3 yrs with the Prince Cougars of the WHL, 1 season with the Ft McMurray OilBarons of the AJHL, was a member of the National Champion winning team in 2000.

Tyler's hockey stick & gloves are in the Hockey Hall of Fame for scoring the game winning goal.

Tyler played Senior AAA/AA hockey all over BC & Alberta with the Grande Prairie A's, HorseLake Thunder & Ft St John Flyers & was part of the 2010 Allan cup champion team. Tyler has made the transition from player to coach recently & hopes to continue to help young athletes make the next level. Tyler is very involved with the Prince George Cougars Alumni association & the Alumni golf tournament.

We are finalizing our 5th annual Mental Health fundraiser to be held at Moxies in Prince George on December 5th 2016. The general Manager of Moxie's has Rick Devore has graciously agreed to Support this event. We are confident that this will also be a success as we have previously hosted 4 events in Kelowna / Quesnel locations and wish wish to continue the tradition.

This will be a private party for 100 guests looking to have a good time and raise some funds for MindRight/Cariboo Cougars

We have draws and auction off the items to raise funds for the current Mental Health Project www.MindRight.info

If you or any of your friends would like to attend to support MindRight/Cariboo Cougars please contact me @ 250-255-0498. 100% of the proceeds will go to our team.

Mission Statement

MindRight is a mental health lifestyle program designed to educate Cariboo Cougar players, coaches, parents, and supporters about mental health awareness and provide support contacts. We aim to provide accurate information and support with a compassionate approach. We are proud to work with the communities in Prince George, BC and the surrounding areas to help reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness. Our goal is that it will be recognized as important/vital to player health and development, and that the initiative will spread throughout the league in the coming years.

Sweep Okanagan Rockets - yes by Myles Mattila

Swept - Okanagan General Manager - Braeden Pistawka after Saturdays dinner.

This past weekend the Cariboo Cougars clinched first place in the BCMML with two consecutive wins over the third place ranked Rockets in hard fought home games and the Cougars will not have to leave Prince George for the rest of the season.

This season has been one filled with milestones and will certainly be one for the record books.

The Cats finished the 2016/17 season with their best record in franchise history at 34-5-1.

A season that included a dominant appearance at the Mac’s Tournament in Calgary, where Myles Mattila received the Committee Scholarship.

Zach Wickson finished the season with an impressive record of 16-3-0 while collecting a 1.70 Goals Against Average, the best in that stat column.

More icing on the cake was watching Daine Dubois finish on top of league scoring for the second straight year with 27 goals and 40 assists.

Those are only a few highlights on the #RoadToTelusCup, and now a team that has dominated the league takes aim at the BCMML title.

The playoffs begin this Friday as the Cougars will host the Kootenay Ice as they make their first post season appearance in their 11 year franchise history. The Cougars dominated the season series winning all four games skating away with a 32-3 goal differential.

ROUND ONE SCHEDULE:

ALL GAMES AT KIN 1

Friday, March 10 – 3:30 pm

Saturday, March 11 – 2:30 pm

Sunday, March 12 – 10:15 am **IF NECESSARY

Grant Sheridan by Myles Mattila

“Grant made me aware that he believed in me and he was proud of my representation of the Kelowna

Chiefs,” says Mattila, a third-year business student, “I’m very fortunate to have met Grant Sheridan, he was a great owner,

general manager, good friend and mentor.”

Sheridan, Grant: It is with the utmost sadness that the family of Grant Sheridan announces his passing after his battle with bacterial meningitis on Sunday, July 28, 2019 at the age of 47. His memory will be forever engraved in the hearts of his wife of 17 years, Cherie, and his son Tanner; as well as his parents Dale and Sharon and brother Rod; father & mother-in-law Jim and Ann Culic, brother-in-law Chet Culic; nephew Zack and niece Abby Culic. Grant grew up in Grande Prairie, AB, later moved to Calgary, AB to receive his degree from the University of Calgary. Kelowna, BC became his home after university where he met and married Cherie, the love of his life, and together their son, Tanner, became their world. Later, Grant and his partner Brent Peacock founded Peacock Sheridan Group. Grant was an active member of the hockey community where he had an infectious passion for the game. He became the General Manager of the Kelowna Chiefs and mentored many young hockey athletes. His action-packed lifestyle included playing and coaching hockey, snowmobiling, surfing, water-skiing, boating, fishing trips, and Mabel Lake building projects.

#myles_mattila12 by Myles Mattila

Biography

Myles Mattila was born April 19, 1999 in Quesnel BC. He was dual enrolled French

Immersion program since kindergarten. Myles has always been very interested in hockey and

learned how to skate at 3 years old.

Myles relocated to Prince George to pursue his dreams of hockey with encouragement

from his parents September of 2013. He was dual enrolled to 2 high schools in Prince George.

Myles attended PGSS for the hockey program and Duchess Park for French Immersion.

Throughout his life he has excelled in his studies and receives top scholastic honors. In July

2015 Myles relocated to Kelowna with his family to take advantage of the lifestyle.

Myles currently plays for the Okanagan Rockets of the BCMML playing right wing

position. Myles was a 9th round draft pick for the Vancouver Giants in the WHL bantam draft.

Myles was also a finalist for BC bantam player of the year and was inducted into the Quesnel

sports hall of fame for outstanding athletic achievement. In 2015 Myles was the recipient of the

YMCA Youth Initiative of the year award and was the 1st recipient of Northern Health

Community Health Star award. In 2015 Myles was a Torch Bearer at the Canada Winter Games

as Well as a guest speaker at Balancing Our Minds at Rogers Arena. Myles is also on the

Advisory Committee for the 2016 Balancing Our Minds event

Cariboo Cougars by Myles Mattila

Road to Telus 2017

Road2Telus

Jason La Rose | March 13, 2017 | Favourite (0)

The Cariboo Cougars hope the end of a record-breaking regular season is just the start of something even bigger and better.

The Cougars, who will host the 2017 TELUS Cup in late April, closed out their schedule with seven consecutive wins, clinching first place in the B.C. Major Midget League and setting a franchise record for victories in a season, with 34. They held off the Vancouver NE Chiefs by just two points for top spot.

Cariboo also set all-time team marks for most goals scored (214) and fewest goals allowed (75) in a season.

Returning much of the team that was swept in the BCMML final by the Valley West Hawks a year ago, the Cougars took control of the league early, posting a 23-2-1 record before the calendar turned to 2017.

They were 14-2 on Prince George ice, and went 9-3 against the three teams that finished right behind them in the

standings – the Chiefs (2-2), Okanagan Rockets (3-1) and Greater Vancouver Canadians (4-0).

Cariboo had offensive leaders up front (Daine Dubois co-led the BCMML in scoring with 67 points) and on the blue-line (Jeremy Gervais paced all defencemen with 49 points) and weren’t too bad defensively (goaltenders Zack Wickson and Marcus Allen finished one-two in goals-against average at 1.70 and 2.01, respectively).

“We’re very deep; there’s not one guy or one line that does it all,” Dubois told the Prince George Citizen at the end of the regular season. “We all bring different stuff to the table and we just try to execute our strengths as best we can and I think we do a good job of it when we’re on.”

Balanced would be a good way to describe the Cougars. In total, 11 of 12 forwards and four of six defencemen reached the 20-point plateau, and eight players recorded double-digits in goals.

Now it’s on to the playoffs.

The postseason started with a first-round showdown with the eighth-place Kootenay Ice, and it went much like the regular season, with the Cougars rolling to 5-1 and 3-0 wins to sweep the best-of-three series.

The season series between the two was a mismatch, with Cariboo taking all four games in convincing fashion; they earned 8-2 and 6-0 wins on the road to open the season, and posted 8-0 and 10-1 victories at home in mid-December.

Cariboo is no stranger to playoff success, having reached the league championship series five times in the eight seasons Sprague has been behind the bench. But they haven’t been the last team standing since 2008.

This year, though, the pressure is off. They don’t necessarily NEED to win. Could that be the difference?

“We already know we’re in [the national championship] as hosts so we don’t have to worry about the TELUS Cup,” Sprague told the Citizen about his team’s mindset. “We just have to worry about what we need to do in each series and be able to play our way and be successful at that.

“I think having the majority of our team back [from last season], understanding that we made the final last year [and lost], it's something that all these guys – including the guys that are new to the team – all have that bee in their bonnet, like, 'We've got to complete the mission.'”

Cariboo drops the puck on Canada’s National Midget Championship on April 24 when it takes on the Pacific Region champions to wrap up Day 1 play at the CN Centre.

Dubois, Daine,

Floris, Hunter,

Kolle, Ty,

Krane, Riley,

Long, Darian,

Maser, Tyler,

Mattila, Myles,

Perepeluk, Reid,

Richey, Mason,

Rowley, Brandon,

Sutton, Devin,

Thomas, Trey,

Gervais, Jeremy,,

Harkins, Jonas,

Malgunas, Brennan,

Patsey, Joel,

Pomeroy, Jesse,

Sutton,

2016-2017 Cromie Memorial Cup

The Cromie Memorial Cup, emblematic of the Midget AAA Amateur Hockey Championship in British Columbia, was donated by Don Cromie in memory of his late father Robert J. Cromie. The Cromie family ran the Vancouver Sun for much of the 1900s, starting in 1917 when Robert rescued the paper from bankruptcy. He ran the paper until his death in 1936, after which his sons Don, Peter and Samuel took over the family business. As Vice President, Don sold the newspaper in 1964. The Cromie family left a legend in Vancouver that transcended their era.

MindRight Jersey by Myles Mattila

Elite young hockey players are accustomed to looking after their physical well-being. To prepare themselves for peak performance on game days, they train on the ice and off and do their best to eat properly and get plenty of sleep.

A player's mental well-being is no less important but, sometimes, gets overlooked. In an effort to make sure their players are just as healthy mentally as they are physically, the Cariboo Cougars have helped launch a new program called MindRight.

"MindRight is for the Cariboo Cougars team," said coordinator Jessie Sprague. "It's a wellness program, so we aren't trying to diagnose or treat any mental health problems or mental illness. We're just hoping to educate and bring awareness to mental health because we're aware that this age group (15-year-olds to 17-year-olds) is at high risk of developing problems, for one thing because of their age - they have a lot of things going on.

"Also, a lot of them are experiencing being away from home for the first time and they've got a lot of stress just being in high school and then they've got this big-time pressure of being on a high-level athletic team," Sprague added. "And nobody talks about (mental health) in sports. Nobody talks about it at all. And a lot of the coaching staff don't have any kind of training or background in mental health. They spend more time with these boys than their parents do a lot of the time so (the MindRight program) just seems like a logical thing to do."

As part of MindRight, the coaching staff of the Cougars is in the process of taking 15 hours of mental health first aid training through the Canadian Mental Health Association. And, when the South Island Royals arrive in town for weekend games against the Cats, players from both clubs will sit down for a three-hour session on Saturday before they step onto Kin 1 ice at 3:45 p.m.

"I think it's called the Mental Health Toolkit, where it's kind of an overview of the different kinds of mental health problems there are and then where to get help," Sprague said.

The Saturday game is being dedicated to mental health awareness. During the contest, the Cougars will be wearing special green jerseys paid for by a grant from Make Children First, a provincial government program aimed at fostering the healthy development of kids. As well, information booths from local agencies will be set up in the arena. Admission to the game will be by donation.

Another component of MindRight is a website (www.mindright.info) that provides mental health information and access to different kinds of help and support.

The MindRight website was developed by Sprague, Cariboo Cougar parent Don Mattila and Cariboo player Myles Mattila. It was the 17-year-old Myles Mattila, an advocate for youth mental health, who came up with the idea for MindRight and has now seen it become a reality.

Myles Mattila first became interested in mental health a few years ago when he read a newspaper story about Rick Rypien, a former Vancouver Canucks player who suffered from clinical depression and, at the age of 27, took his own life in August 2011. The story led Mattila to mindcheck.ca, an organization that sprang from Rypien's death and has become a valuable resource for youth and young adults coping with mental health issues. Mattila, who also recognized first-hand the struggles being experienced by a friend and hockey teammate, became a spokesperson for mindcheck.ca.

This summer, Mattila came up with the idea of MindRight, which he envisioned as a place of help for youth athletes dealing with the same types of problems.

"When I was looking on the web, there was nothing for athletes and that's what we needed to create," said Mattila, a Cougars' assistant captain and a Grade 12 honour-roll student at PGSS. "Playing hockey or soccer or any kind of sport, there's always pressure, and how you deal with the pressure is going to help you in the long run compared to having that pressure and not dealing with it in the right way."

The Cariboo Cougars, as an organization, saw the value of Mattila's concept and decided to partner with him. Mattila said he now hopes the 11-team B.C. Hockey Major Midget League, of which the Cougars are a part, will take notice of the MindRight model and adopt something like it.

"My goal is, hopefully the whole Major Midget League, or most teams, have a similar thing to MindRight because I think it's a great resource and if they get the right connections - even partners with their local mental health association, it might be Canadian Mental Health or a local action team - I think it would be great if maybe once a month or once every two weeks they could talk to somebody about what is truly going on," he said. "I think it's interesting that Cariboo is partners with MindRight this year because it's the Telus Cup year - lots of pressure. By Jessie and (Cariboo head coach and GM) Trevor Sprague partnering with MindRight, I think it's a great idea. It's going to take a lot of pressure off the athletes if they know where to go if they need help."

The Telus Cup is the national midget hockey championship and will be hosted by the Cougars in April.

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City of Quesnel Sports Hall of Fame - Myles Mattila by Myles Mattila

Brock Campbell photo

The Tier 3 Bantam Quesnel Thunder celebrate their provincial championship after beating the Castlegar Rebels 5-4 in overtime at Memorial Arena on Thursday.

MARCH 22, 2013

BROCK CAMPBELL

Quesnel Thunder forward Myles Mattila played the hero yesterday in the finals of the B.C. Bantam Hockey Championships. Mattila's overtime winner with 48 seconds left in extra-time gave the Thunder a 5-4 win over a stunned Castlegar squad.

"It's a pretty emotional time for us," said Thunder head coach Allan Slaney as his team skated their Tier 3 banner around the ice of Memorial Arena."These 17 boys worked hard all year. They travelled a lot of miles to play throughout the season. They worked so hard and I'm just so darn proud of them."In a wild finish, that left the Castlegar Rebels heartbroken, the Thunder defended the provincial title they won last year in Burnaby."We kind of rebuilt from last year and set our sights from Day One, and this is what the goal was and right where we wanted to be," said Slaney.And for the Thunder to get where they are now they had to get past a tough, never-say-die Rebels.

Tied 3-3 late in the third period, Castlegar looked to take command when forward Tanner Costa jammed home the puck between Thunder goaltender Reign Turley's skate and the post. However, the referee waved off the goal having lost sight of the puck, much to the dismay of the Rebels who thought they had secured a 4-3 lead.

After the no-goal, it was Quesnel that capitalized in the dying minutes, with Mattila again being the man to get the job done. His goal with just over a minute left in regulation had the Thunder thinking it was all over.

But in the dying seconds and with their title hopes on the line the Rebels never let up. With the extra attacker on the ice and a late face off in Quesnel's zone, Castlegar forced overtime when Costa took a quick shot right off the face-off win that found the back of the net to tie things at 4-4.

In the extra frame, with double-overtime looming, Mattila worked his magic scoring the unassisted marker that brought his teammates flying over the boards.

"It was a fantastic game," said Slaney, who expected to see Castlegar in the Championship Game after having faced them in preliminaries. "I said to my assistant coach after we played Castlegar in the round robin and we beat them 2-1, that 'we just saw the preview of the final.' I truly believed that we would see them in the final.

"They are well coached and are a class-act organization and should be proud of themselves for what they've achieved here in Dawson Creek," added Slaney. "They [Rebels] have a lot of speed and a very aggressive forecheck but all week long, for us, we never focused on what the other team had. We focused on what we had. We just had to do our job."

Mattila finished the game with three points; assisting on one other to lead the Thunder, and Keith Redden had two goals for Quesnel. On the losing end, Costa had two points, while Kyle Chernenkoff, Kadrain Klimchuk and Troy Negreiff each had a goal.

,#RYP.

IMG_1440 by Myles Mattila

2014 Okanagan Rockets Ice Breaker Exhibition

Weekend Myles Mattila - 1999 Vancouver Giants Prospect

- Prince George Cougars

#ITSAWAR, BCMML,

MindRight.info - FundRaiser #RoadtoTelus by Myles Mattila

Myles Mattila - MindRight

Mission Statement

Cariboo Cougars’ Support Program

MindRight is a mental health lifestyle program designed to educate Cariboo Cougar players, coaches, parents, and supporters about mental health awareness and provide support contacts. We aim to provide accurate information and support with a compassionate approach. We are proud to work with the communities in Prince George, BC and the surrounding areas to help reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness. Our goal is that it will be recognized as important/vital to player health and development, and that the initiative will spread throughout the league in the coming years.

Jamie Randolph Benn[1] (born July 18, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who currently serves as captain of the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). Benn played his junior hockey with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL) prior to turning professional. He represented Canada at the 2009 World Junior Championships, where he helped capture a gold medal. With Team Canada, he won a gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. He is the younger brother of defenceman Jordie Benn, who also plays for the Dallas Stars.[2] In the 2014–15 season, Benn was awarded the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer with 87 points.

Former Moxie's logo as Moxie's Classic Grill

Moxie's began as a small deli and diner in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1986, before transforming itself into an upscale premium casual dining restaurant and lounge in 2004. Following recent economic and development booms, Moxie's has begun opening new locations rapidly across Canada with a focus on globally inspired comfort food. Their niche is providing clients with an upscale experience compared to their competition, with their bathrooms even being luxurious. The menu focuses on house-made ingredients with a global inspiration. Their direct competition would be other premium casual chains such as Earls (restaurant chain) and Cactus Club Cafe. Northland Properties Group owns Moxie's Grill and Bar, as well as Chop Steakhouse & Bar, Shark Club Bar & Grill, Rockford Wok, Bar One Urban Lounge and Denny's Restaurants.

Moxie’s restaurants feature dining rooms and lounges that are open seven days a week. The exciting lounge atmosphere and the seated restaurant area are perfect for any occasion - from weekend brunch with the extended family, a romantic meal with someone special, pints and appetizers after the game, or a bottle of wine with a tight-knit group of friends. Moxie's has daily drink specials, and patios across the country open throughout the summer.

In December 2006 Moxie's expanded its brand to include CHOP Steakhouse & Bar and opened the first location in Edmonton, Alberta. CHOP has since expanded and has locations in Edmonton, Kelowna, Richmond, Winnipeg, and Calgary.

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