West Kelowna fire chief will drop puck at Vancouver Canucks game

Photo: Twitter

West Kelowna fire chief Jason Brolund is in Vancouver to drop the puck at the start of the Vancouver Canucks game against the Minnesota Wild.

Brolund has been on a whirlwind tour with stops in Ottawa and Toronto ahead of tonight's Canucks game.

"I never want to let an opportunity go by, especially if it means sharing our story and trying to improve things for our firefighters and for the community," he said.

Brolund will be following in the footsteps of Royalty, Prince Harry dropped the puck at Rogers Arena at the game between the San Jose Sharks and the Canucks on Nov. 20 as part of the lead-up to the 2025 Invictus Games.

"If he can do it, then I should be able to pull it off," says Brolund.

The idea for the puck drop started in the summer when Canucks captain Quinn Hughes stopped by the fire hall in the September, which Brolund called a "real boost" for the department.

What a very special day for the men and women of West Kelowna Fire Rescue. @WestKelownaCity

Thank you @Canucks and @_quinnhughes for your generosity and boost to our team! https://t.co/PjOioeBymR

— Jason Brolund (@jasonbrolund) September 16, 2023

Hughes' grandfather was a New York City firefighter for 30 years.

"It was a neat link and our guys were obviously really impressed and able to spend some time with them. And following that, he invited us to come to a game. So some of the firefighters and myself are attending the game tonight, and it's gonna be a really neat experience."

Brolund says he's looking forward to spending some quality fun time with his fellow firefighters. The Canucks already donated $125,000 to the Red Cross wildfire relief fund.

"It's good for the morale of my staff. Everybody's been really looking forward to it. And we appreciate the Canucks hosting us and their generosity," he said.

A portion of all of tonight's ticket sales will also be donated to the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund.