A puppy named Stanley, 'good people' at Yellowknife's Hockey Day in Canada

People in Yellowknife sipped hot cocoa, got on the ice, and saw famous athletes and broadcasters at Hockey Day in Canada in the city on Saturday.

Meanwhile 10-year-old Tyler Castille was hard at work. The young entrepreneur was overseeing her lemonade stand inside a heated tent.

"We have a big table," she said, adding that business was going well. 

Animals nestle in Stanley Cup

Hockey Day in Canada didn't just bring people together for fun and commerce on Saturday — it also plopped three dogs into the Stanley Cup. 

Craig Wessner, who was tasked with taking photos of people with the Cup, said he was asked to photograph three different dogs literally in the Cup, one of whom arrived in Yellowknife Friday night. His name is Stanley.

"He was shivering, but he was the calmest of all three," said Wessner. "Born for it."

Shelley Ingram's miniature wired dachshund, Cooper, was one of the other dogs that found himself subject to a modelling session inside the Stanley Cup. 

In a Facebook message to CBC, Ingram said Cooper also won Hockey Day in Canada's dog contest on Saturday afternoon. 

"Cooper was wearing his hockey sock Kootenay Ice jersey," she said, adding she thinks being the only dog in a jersey gave Cooper the competitive edge — "and of course, his cuteness!"  

'A game that brings good people together' 

Wessner's vantage point let him see humanity at its best as the cold weather zapped people's phone batteries. Some phones died right when families got to the front of the line just before they could take a photo with the Cup.

He saw "people helping each other out, taking each other's photos and exchanging contact information" to share the pictures later.

"People are good, even when it's cold," he said.

Sportsnet Central broadcaster Ken Reid says that camaraderie is what events like Hockey Day in Canada are all about.

He said what makes Hockey Day in Canada so special each year is "the people."

"I've been to Corner Brook, Kenora, and now here in Yellowknife, and what you realize is people are good at heart," he said. "This is a game that brings good people together." 

Yellowknife mayor Rebecca Alty says NHL alumni as well as staff working on the Hockey Day in Canada show for Sportsnet told her Yellowknifers were very welcoming. 

Alty says the event is "a bit of a reminder of what a great place, what a unique place that we live."

"As you get into the day-to-day stuff you can forget about the beauty around you," she said.

Alty says she's already received messages from people who saw Yellowknife on TV Saturday, who are now looking to visit.

"Hopefully they do come up in the next couple years," Alty said.

A dream come true

When CBC dropped by the Hockey Day in Canada festivities on Saturday, a lot of kids and adults were in line to see the Stanley Cup up close.

"It's something so many kids dreamed about, but it's so rare to be able to touch it or stand beside it in real life," said Wessner.  

But just a few feet away from Wessner, Ashton Statchook and Cooper Burns were more focused on their own game of hockey rather than seeing the trophy or meeting star athletes. 

"I don't really play hockey," Cooper said. "I'm just playing with my friends today."