These families left the Mackenzie Delta for Yukon, and a chance to pursue their hockey dreams

Thirteen-year-old William Gruben said when he first moved from Inuvik, N.W.T., to Whitehorse in August 2024, he missed his friends back home. 

His family decided to make the move to give their son a chance to excel in hockey, a sport he says he loves and hopes to play in university or college one day.

"Obviously it's not an easy decision to uproot your whole family and relocate to a new surrounding," said William's father, Christopher Gruben. 

"You have to think of things like housing, and education as well too. You leave all your support systems behind, you leave all the familiarities of the local life."

Christopher said the move has paid off as William's game has improved and he's now made friends in their new community. 

Christopher said they chose Whitehorse partially due to its relative proximity to Inuvik via the Dempster Highway. Another reason was Whitehorse's reputation for developing high-level hockey players like Ottawa Senators centre Dylan Cozens, and top prospect Gavin McKenna. 

Christopher and William followed in the footsteps of another family from the Mackenzie Delta.

Gary Jerome, who's Gwich'in, moved from Fort McPherson, N.W.T., to Whitehorse in 2017 so his son Evander Jerome could play competitive hockey.

The move was a sacrifice. 

"It's leaving the bush life right? It's leaving the traditional life of hunting, trapping, fishing," Gary said. 

Gary says the move wasn't just for hockey, it was also due to a lack of general recreational sports available in Fort McPherson. 

"Mental health is such a problem right now, and what do kids do when they have nothing to do?" he said.  

Evander said he appreciates having access to the sports facilities in Whitehorse. He's also happy to have William Gruben on the team. 

"He's like one of my closest friends," Evander said.