Former hockey players from the Garden Valley Collegiate (GVC) Zodiacs recently returned to Winkler for the annual alumni tournament.

"Back in the day when I was coaching the team I just thought it would be a fun way to wrap up the season, to play some alumni. It kind of grew every year as guys continued to graduate and it turned into a tournament back in 2008," says coach Brendan Neufeld.

Throughout February and March, he receives a number of emails from alumni asking when the tournament will be happening.

He says, "I can tell it's important for a lot of guys to get back on the ice, it's always fun to play hockey, but I think even more important than that it's just to connect and build those relationships."

Neufeld adds, the reason so many of them come back to participate is because of the great experience they had playing high school hockey, and getting together in the dressing room for another time brings back those wonderful memories.

"We've had many come in from out of town, out of province over the years. This year I guess the furthest would have been flying in from Vancouver. Garrett Thiessen always makes it a priority to get in here and have fun together with so many old high school buddies."

For the current Zodiacs, it's also a chance to see the tradition and talent of the former team players. Neufeld says, keeping up this tradition is even more essential considering the work they did to get a GVC team back on the ice again after a few years with no team.

He says the current team is "often blown away with how some of the older guys can still play . . . That's been real neat to see from a program standpoint, but as soon as they graduate I think they're always looking forward to coming the following year, and then years after to play against the current team."

The tournament also comes with some bragging rights on the line, but Neufeld notes the real purpose is to connect generations of Zodiacs.