90-year-old hockey players prove you’re never too old to play

Long before they were men with silver hair and titanium knees, they were boys bundled in mismatched wool, wide-eyed and restless, chasing any excuse to play hockey until daylight slipped away.

Their childhood rinks were maintained not by Zambonis, but by fathers with shovels. Their curiosity carried them onto whatever frozen stretch of water winter offered.

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“I was about five years old,” 80-year-old Robert Julé recalled. “Our dad used to make a rink at the farm. I remember him hauling water with five-gallon pails.”

It’s a faraway memory that Julé can almost step back into: the pink glow of a winter sunset, the scrape of metal on ice and a father determined to give his kids a place to play.

An outdoor rink tends to become a gathering place in any community. The rinks in Robert Julé’s memory didn’t have boards or lights. They were made by hand by his father, one five-gallon pail at a time. (Alex Brown/650 CKOM)

Across the prairies, other families were making memories just like these. For Harve Birns, age 82, it’s his first pair of skates that lingers in his mind.

“Dad got me a pair of skates,” Birns shared. “In those days, they were always too big. They’d stuff paper in there and say ‘You’re growing into them!’”

Bill Orban, age 81, said his first skates were even more primitive.

“They were called cheese cutters,” he said with a chuckle. “You strap them on your snow boot and there were two blades.”

The boys didn’t care about loose laces, wobbly skates or how many hands a stick had passed through before it reached them. They were just happy to be out there, where the cold bit their cheeks and the game grabbed hold of their hearts for good.

The equipment was simple. The game was pure. And the passion — well, that part hasn’t changed at all.

From a distance, you’d never guess that all of the players on the ice are eligible for a senior’s discount. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

More than hockey

In Saskatoon’s Schroh Arena, the sound of those same boys echoes, even though they’re now in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and even 90s.

Blades carve crisp lines into the ice, the puck snaps between sticks and laughter spills out from the dressing room.

Here, age is just a number and the ice is a place where friendships thrive as much as competition.

This is the Saskatoon 60+ Hockey League.

Founded in 1993 by Stan Halliwell and Reg Morrison, the league has grown from a handful of friends into a group of more than 350 men.

“It’s made up of guys from 60 to 93 now,” said league president Ken Crump, age 79. “It’s a fantastic league. Best league in Canada, by the way. Nobody can touch it.”

Ken Crump is president of the Saskatoon 60+ Hockey League. He said he once had a goal to play hockey at 80. With that birthday rolling around in January, he’s decided to push the goal up to 90. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

Growth aside, the heart of the league remains unchanged. It’s not about trophies and it’s not about glory.

“It’s more than just hockey,” Crump explained. “Sure, you’re coming out to win… but it’s camaraderie, it’s friendships you build. A lot of the alumni guys will come down and have a beer or two and have a good time with us. It’s more than hockey.”

Orban, a former NHLer and 10-year member of the league, puts it even more simply.

“Hockey is the glue for all of us,” he said.

Bill Orban played 114 games in the National Hockey League between 1967 and 1970. Now, you’ll find him tearing up the ice with the Saskatoon 60+ Hockey League twice a week. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

These men don’t just play. They persist.

“These guys out here right now,” Orban said, eyes scanning the ice, “I bet you I could count about five or six that have knee replacements… hip replacements… had a bout with cancer. We’ve had heart attacks on the ice and recovered.”

No matter the injury or illness, he said the first question out of any league member’s mouth is always the same: “How long can I be before I get back to skating? Just tell me when I can start skating again with the boys.”

The STANdard

At the centre of the league is a man who never intended to become a legend: 91-year-old Stan Halliwell, the co-founder and the last surviving member of the original league.

No one, least of all Halliwell, expected he would still be lacing up his skates today.

“No, no, never thought I would,” he said of playing hockey in his 90s. “It’s just because of this league that I am. They’ve made room for older people.”

Stan Halliwell is a co-founder of the Saskatoon 60+ Hockey League. He is 91 years old, and says he is taking his hockey career one month at a time. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

Back in 1993, he and his friend Reg Morrison were playing in a 50+ league that skated late at night. It was fun, but exhausting.

“Reg and I were both just turning 60,” Halliwell recalled.

“There was ice available during the day, so why not play during the day? The ice was cheaper then too!”

It was a simple idea: a daytime skate for older guys. But it quickly grew one of Canada’s most remarkable hockey communities.

Halliwell has always insisted on kindness as a rule of play.

“Our league was started to be a fun league,” he said. “That’s why we mix our guys up. No strong teams, no weak teams. Nobody keeps score. But of course,” he chuckled, “everybody knows what the score is.”

The 60+ dressing room at the Schroh Arena is legendary, featuring 213 stalls where players are welcome to leave their equipment year round. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

Crump pointed to Halliwell as the reason so many other league members push past their limits and continue to show up.

“Hopefully, he’ll be the first player to play at 100,” Crump said. “And then the goal is really high. He’s out there now, and he’s still playing a pretty good brand of hockey! He is the standard.”

For Halliwell, the secret to longevity is simple: keep on moving.

“Rather than sit around the coffee shop complaining about the government or something, it’s nice to be out here,” he said with a grin.

Flying the flag at 80+

This October, five of the league’s players — Birns, George Wilson, Julé, Ed Haussecker, and Orban — travelled to Burlington, Ont. to represent Canada at the 150 Canada Cup, an international showdown between American and Canadian teams, featuring players age 80 and over.

The series was tied at three wins apiece entering the event, so Canada needed a statement.

They delivered a shutout: 5-0, gold on their shoulders and grins as youthful as dawn.

Harve Birns, George Wilson, Robert Julé, Ed Haussecker, and Bill Orban proudly represented Canada on the international stage. They bested the US to bring home gold. (Saskatoon 60+ Hockey/Facebook)

Birns said he felt the weight of the responsibility of representing his country at the tournament.

“Everyone who plays hockey knows it’s an emotional game. Standing out there in Burlington, hearing national anthems from both teams just added to the intensity of the good ol’ hockey game,” he recalled. “You could be a nice guy after you get off the ice, but on the ice it was all business.”

For Julé, the achievement isn’t only measured in scores or medals. It’s measured in the eyes of his family.

“My kids really think it’s great I play hockey,” he said proudly.

Robert Julé, 80, has been chasing pucks for more than seven decades. The biggest changes he’s noticed in the game are in the equipment. “I always say (if) Wayne Gretzky had the sticks we have now, he would have scored way more goals,” Julé said. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

And when asked about a game, Julé just shrugs and offers a grin.

“If somebody asks me ‘How was your game?’ I say, ‘I survived,’” he laughed.

The spirit of the game

What these men carry onto the ice is more than muscle memory. It’s the memory of their fathers hauling water, of $1.25 sticks that had to last the whole year, of squeezing feet into three pairs of socks, hoping to make those oversized skates feel a little less wobbly.

But they also carry something more immediate: each other.

“My goal always was to play hockey at 80,” said Crump. “Well, now I will be. But now you got these guys out here that are playing at 90, so now the goal has been pushed… We’ve gotta play another 10 years.”

The walls in the dressing room are littered with autographed photos and memorabilia. It’s clear that in this league, hockey is more than a pastime. It’s a passion. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

Birns joked that retirement is always just around the corner.

“Every year, most of us say, ‘Oh, man, this is our last year,’” he said. “I always said I’d quit after my last pair of skates. Well, I’m on my fourth last pair now!”

The boys who once skated on ponds now glide forward together at Schroh Arena, still chasing the puck, still chasing one another, still chasing the simple thrill of cold air in their lungs and friends at their side.

Stan Halliwell summed it up best: “Age disappears when you get out on the ice.”

Players hit the ice twice a week during daylight hours. While they may not play aggressive hockey, they certainly are competitive. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)