SUMMERSIDE – P.E.I. holds a special place in Cassie Campbell-Pascall's heart.
She remembers there was nothing she looked forward to more than coming back every summer to visit her grandmother as a child.
In 1991, the Canada Games were being held in P.E.I. and she was just the right age to make the team in the first year women's hockey was an event.
"We were supposed to win," she laughed. "We finished fourth."
On Thursday the former captain of the Canadian Women's Hockey Team and two-time Olympic gold medalist was back on P.E.I. as a part of the Hockey Day in Canada festivities.
She and "Hockey Night in Canada" host Ron MacLean where honoured for their involvement in Island hockey during a luncheon at Credit Union Place in Summerside.
She said she is thankful for her Island background.
"It's a big part of my upbringing, soul and spirit. I spent a lot of time here as a kid and it is a big part of who I am today," she said.
So Campbell-Pascall was really looking forward to having her family back together on the Island.
"To get back here and visit to tell stories and share experiences of how this province has supported me – it's pretty special. That's why I have my whole family here."
Campbell-Pascall's father Donald Campbell, who was born here but later moved to Ontario, said, "P.E.I. is a great hockey province and Summerside is a great hockey town, and to be here with my daughter is just great. It lets the whole country get to know P.E.I. better."
For Campbell-Pascall the Island has impacted her in such a positive way that even though she lives in Calgary, she is going to make sure her young daughter will get to experience what she did here.
"I want this place to be a part of her life as well."
But as for this weekend, it is about celebrating the heroes of hockey, said Campbell-Pascall. But she doesn't mean the pros.
"We often hear the stories of NHLers, but it is even greater to hear the stories of the people in places like Summerside who make our game so great. It's no coincidence P.E.I. is the first province to come together and do this (host "Hockey Day in Canada") as a whole province."
