Gold ulu heads to Hockey Hall of Fame to mark Nunavut's historic Arctic Winter Games win

It was an offer so special, David Clark thought at first it must be fake. 

But the offer was real, and now Clark's gold ulu from the 2023 Arctic Winter Games (AWG) is going to be displayed at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

Clark was the coach of Nunavut's U18 male hockey team when the team defeated Alaska at the 2023 games in Alberta to bring home the gold. It was the territory's first gold in hockey at the AWGs.

"I couldn't be more proud," Clark said about his gold ulu going on display. 

"You know, like, I'm just a kid from Nunavut and I never thought I would go to the Hockey Hall of Fame for anything.

"Getting my gold medal at the Hockey Hall of Fame and having those boys be part of it just means the world to me. I'm getting emotional just talking about it."

The hall of fame's interest began with a recent visit from a group of young hockey players.

Lee Barter is a youth hockey coach in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). He's helped to facilitate a youth hockey exchange where teams from southern Ontario visited Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, and Rankin players visited the GTA.

While the Nunavut players were in Ontario, they visited the Hockey Hall of Fame archives. Barter said the museum had set aside special Nunavut items like Jordin Tootoo's jersey. Tootoo is a Rankin-born former NHLer and was the first Inuk to make the major league. 

Barter said his team told archives staff that several of the players on prior exchanges had been part of the gold-winning AWG team, and the hall of fame was interested in acquiring a jersey or gold ulu to pay tribute to the win. 

"When they realized that there was a historic moment that had happened that they could commemorate, they were happy to reach out and we were excited to help make the connection," Barter said.

Having had many of the players on that winning team participate in the exchange, Barter said it's been special to follow those players' progress as young athletes and see the AWG win.  

"We were very proud of them from here in Toronto, so we're obviously excited to see that they'll be celebrated at the hall of fame," he said. 

For Clark, the recognition shows the value of working hard and dreaming big. 

"I knew when we were going there, I said, 'we have the team.' We got the team and I believed when we left that, hey, we're going to win."

A ceremony to induct Clark's gold ulu into the hall of fame will take place this summer in Toronto.