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Sahir Gill’s hometown of Terrace, British Columbia, was actually a town formed by natural terraces in the landscape. Nestled in the northwest corner of the province, Terrace was surrounded by mountains of lush forest and was pretty isolated from larger cities. Gill passed the time by playing hockey in the town’s only rink or on the frozen ponds and lakes, he did some fishing in the summer and explored nature on the terraces.
Now that his career has taken him to other areas, Gill said he sees a similarity between Wilkes-Barre and Terrace, and it has nothing to do with the landscape.
Player: Sahir Gill
Hometown: Terrace, British Columbia
Type: Small town
Population: 11,486
Distance from Wilkes-Barre: 3,143 miles
What does Terrace look like? “It’s in between a bunch of mountains. Anywhere you look you’re always surrounded by mountains. The town is built on what they call benches. It’s three or four major hills that go all the way around the city and the houses are up there. It’s all surrounded by nature with a major river and a lot of fishing. One of the nicest places to grow up.”
What do people do in Terrace? “Most people work at the lumber mill. It’s all about forestry up there. The mill runs the town and it’s where a lot of people work. There’s only a couple schools and you go to school with the same kids growing up. I fished a little bit. My neighbors were pretty into that and I used to go with them sometimes. They had a boat and we went out on a lake. Other than that I stuck to hockey.”
Is Terrace pretty isolated? “The next closest town to us is about a 40 -minute drive away. The biggest city is six hours, Prince George – where Nick Drazenovic is from. It’s a 16-hour drive to Vancouver, and 14 hours to Calgary. It’s in the northwest corner of British Columbia and closer to Alaska. It’s far up there.”
Where did you play hockey in Terrace? “We had one rink in Terrace and on the ponds that would freeze over. There was a pond on one of the benches where everyone would go and play. Two or three lakes that would freeze, to, and a lot of people would go out and play pick-up games. There was always ice around. With not too many people there wasn’t that much demand for the ice. We’d practice before school and play games after school. I was on the ice quite a bit. I started going to Vancouver in the summer to play a bit more competitively when I was 10-years-old. You had to get out and get a little exposure. You can’t play in Terrace your whole life and expect to move along. It was a typical small Canadian town where hockey is everything.”
Any similarities between Terrace and Wilkes-Barre? “They’re both blue collar towns. Wilkes-Barre is a lot bigger but there’s some similarities. A big passion for hockey here to, which is nice. You don’t always see that. Everyone here is really passionate about hockey, which is always good to see.”
Would you like to go back to Terrace after hockey? “I’ve always thought that would be where I would settle down. But it’s tough being so far away from everything else. I think I’d go back for a little bit. It’s been a while since I lived there full-time. I loved growing up there and I miss it a lot. I try to go back at least once a summer. It’s a big part of who I am. I’m very proud to be from there.”