The iconic Fuller Lake Junior B Flyers hockey program is among the 2019 inductees for the North Cowichan/Duncan Sports Wall of Fame.
The Flyers operated for 10 years in what was then the South Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League and drew some massive crowds to Fuller Lake Arena along the way.
Some of the best young players in the region laced up their skates with the team during the early years of the arena’s opening and set the tables for others to follow. Even with home games starting at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays in those days, it was the place to be to follow a hockey team that made the community proud and heaped loads of attention on the players.
“The players grew up in the Valley and were raised there,” noted Mike Armstrong, who played on the 1970-71 and 71-72 Flyers and put the Wall of Fame application package together.
“The more I read, the more I found this team from 1970 to 1980 and the people that were there really influenced things in the Cowichan Valley.
“I’m really excited about all the athletes that are out there who will get recognized as well.”
Rick Adams was the captain of the first Flyers team in 1970.
The franchise folded in 1980 and players wanting to continue in Junior B went to Kerry Park Arena in Mill Bay to play for the Islanders.
There’s sure to be a huge turnout of former Flyers at the induction ceremony Nov. 16.
Other inductees from the Valley include: Roz and Wes Craig (curling); Patrick Kay (rugby); and, posthumously, Brian McKinlay (fastball) and Ted Webb (basketball/volleyball).
A plaque will highlight the extraordinary efforts of the board of directors and community volunteers for the 1991 B.C. Winter Games, the 2005 B.C. Senior Games, the 2008 North America Indigenous Games and the 2018 B.C. Summer Games.
