Earlier this month, Talkeetna resident, Jack MacDonald, was presented with a hockey jersey, bearing his name with the number 33 on the back. But it wasn’t a uniform, it was a tribute to his long time presence at the Talkeetna hockey rink. KTNA’s Colleen Love has more.
If you grew up in Talkeetna and ever donned a pair of ice skates, you know who Jack MacDonald is. Jack is that guy we all see, shoveling the rink after a heavy snow, sharpening skates and coaching kids of all ages.
Jack is retiring this year, after 33 years with Talkeetna Hockey. He spoke with me about how he got involved with the program.
“Johnny Langham and Mary got me involved. John was the one who asked me back in 1988 if I’d help David Lee coach the Bantam Team at that time, that had Danny Valentine and Israel Mahay and the Langham boys on the team and Erik Barber. And that’s what started it for me.”
Jack said it seemed like the entire community rallied around the hockey kids.
“Back in 1996, we went to our first State Championship. That was memorable in that Jim Gleason had given me a painting with the whole team as cartoon characters of them and that hangs here in my house today. And every State Championship was different. I sent to five of them and lost all five.”
As the players grew up and progressed in their skills, Su Valley High School sanctioned a competitive hockey team. The team existed for eight years, with Jack as head coach.
“We had lots of good times, you know, I took the kids to Juneau, we went to Kenny Lake, we went to Tok. We played in twenty below, thirty below temperatures. The most memorable high school game was a Friday night on our ice. It was packed with people all around it, and I’m not sure, it was maybe Delta Junction, but we won that night and it was just such a cool evening, the people all coming out. It was Friday night hockey in Talkeetna.”
As eleven hockey players graduated in one year, and students dispersed to other sports, such as skiing and basketball, Su Valley High School retired their hockey team. Jack describes a very memorable evening during the last high school hockey season, when the Talkeetna Hockey Rink became the Jack P. MacDonald hockey rink.
“It was just before the game started and they had me out there, I think it was Senior Night, and my daughter carried the sign out, and Pat, and they had a little piece of paper that they read, and dedicated the rink to me.”
But despite not having a high school team, Jack remained a fixture at the rink. Maintaining the ice, shoveling it, flooding it and hot mopping it. This year, he coached the Kindergartners. Close to forty kids, under the age of twelve, came out to play hockey during Jack’s final year as coach.
The jersey with number 33 on the back will hang in the Talkeetna Hockey Shack for years to come. Some of Jack’s players are now parents and coaching hockey themselves, passing along his legacy.
“It doesn’t seem that 33 years could go so fast, but I had a good run, and everyone thanks me for what I did, but it was a two way street. Talkeetna’s been very good to me, the parents have been good to me, the kids. I’ve been very fortunate to coach here in Talkeetna.”
