The first Hockey Night in Canada broadcast in Plains Cree has a Lakeland connection. Rogers Sportsnet announced on Thursday that the game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, March 24th will air on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network entirely in the Plains Cree language.
The in-studio host for the game will be Earl Wood. Wood is from the Saddle Lake Cree Nation and is a member of the music group the “Northern Cree Singers”. The group has been nominated for six Grammy awards and two Juno awards in their 30-plus year career.
Saskatchewan personality Clarence Iron and former Montreal Canadiens forward John Chabot will join Wood on the broadcast. The game comes as the Rogers Hometown Hockey festival makes a stop in the Enoch Cree Nation just west of Edmonton that weekend.