Imagine racing down an alpine slalom course while balancing on hockey skates. Then, for fun, add in a handful of other athletes who want to reach the bottom just as fast as you.
That’s pretty much what Vernon’s Kyle L’Arrivee will be up against this week when he makes his debut in Red Bull Crashed Ice, which runs Thursday to Saturday in Quebec City.
L’Arrivee, a third-year sports business student who played this season with the Okanagan College Coyotes in the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League, signed up on a whim.
“It was pretty unexpected,” said L’Arrivee, who turns 24 on April 1. “The qualifiers came to Kelowna this year and I was just sitting on my couch and had my laptop and the commercial came up.”
He was one of more than 10,000 adventurous Canadians to register for the chance to compete at one of 13 qualifying cities across the country.
L’Arrivee, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound forward, showed up for the February trials at the Capital News Centre not really knowing what to expect. With organizers obviously unable to replicate the 500-metre sloped Crashed Ice course, they tested entrants’ speed and agility by having them race through obstacles on the CNC ice.
“You had to jump over things and dive under things,” said L’Arrivee, who qualified third out of about 200 applicants.
“It’s obviously going to be way different, but skating has always been my kind of thing. I’ve played hockey since I was five. It’s going to be a bit scary for sure, but I think I’ll be fine with it.”
L’Arrivee, a Kalamalka Laker grad, has a fairly straightforward game-plan heading to Quebec: “The fastest guy who stays on his feet is going to win.
“You’ve got to be pretty agile. The course is obviously pretty crazy and athletes are going fast. As long as you’ve got speed and agility and are able to keep your balance, those three things would help an athlete out the most.
“You’re not allowed physical contact on purpose, so that’ll make it a little easier because we’re not trying to kill each other down the track.”
Crashed Ice competitors typically wear regular hockey gear, and cages are mandatory. However, there is one piece of equipment missing, and L’Arrivee says it makes a big difference.
Like most hockey players growing up, from the time he started skating, L’Arrivee has had a stick in his hands. Without one, balance becomes a whole new issue, especially when he is careening down a pitched sheet of ice that features turns and jumps.
“That was the one thing with the qualifier; it was pretty weird because obviously I’m used to having a stick in my hands,” he said.
L’Arrivee transferred to Okanagan College from Calgary’s Mount Royal, where he played with the Cougars. He collected 10 goals and nine helpers for 19 points in 23 games with the ‘Yotes in 2011-12.
Before that, he played Junior A with the now-defunct Quesnel Millionaires and Merritt Centennials. The bulk of his Junior experience was with the KIJHL Princeton Posse, who he led in scoring in his final season, posting 19-32-51 in 52 games in 2008-09. He also racked up 100 penalty minutes.
Red Bull Crashed Ice airs Saturday at 5:30 p.m. PT on Sportsnet Pacific.
