Visitors admire the new Winnipeg Falcons display in the main concourse of the MTS Centre.

Winnipeg’s Icelandic and hockey communities came together at the MTS Centre Sunday, April 17th to remember a championship hockey team and unveil a permanent display in its honour.

In 1920, the Winnipeg Falcons—a team predominantly composed of Icelandic-Canadians—won gold in the world’s first Olympic hockey championship, held in Antwerp, Belgium. Although the achievement has been praised by local Icelanders for nearly 85 years, Manitobans, Canadians, and the world hockey community have only recently realized the significance of the Falcons win.

For cousins Audrey Fridfinnson and June Patson, descendants of Winnipeg Falcons players, the hockey story is one they know well.

“I was born two years later, after they won the medal, but I remember hearing things about it,” Fridfinnson said after the display ceremony. Her father was Secretary Treasurer for the team and her uncle, Kris Fridfinnson, was one of the players. “It was a wonderful experience for that young group of men . . . The team and their games were very popular over in Antwerp, and I think it was a popular win.”

“I think it’s wonderful,” she added, about the display. “My father would have been so proud of the team, he would have been just quite thrilled. It’s a well-earned honour.”

Patson agreed. “I’m just so proud of them; it gives you chills, you know.”

The new MTS Centre display—located near the northeast corner of the facility’s main concourse—joins a long list of high-profile appearances of the Falcons name, logo, and story. Players for Canada’s 2004 World Cup team and 2005 World Junior team all wore replicas of the Falcons jersey early-on in each tournament and, interestingly, went on to win gold.

Coincidence? Manitoba Premier Gary Doer doesn’t think so: “Now I don’t know the Icelandic name for ‘karma,’ but it is important to note that the start of both those tournaments with the Falcons sweaters led to gold medals this year, as opposed to previous Olympics where we didn’t win, or previous tournaments where we failed to win the Junior championship,” he said prior to the display unveiling.

The ceremony was an important one for Winnipeg’s Icelandic community, Dan Johnson, volunteer for the Falcons Forever Exhibit Committee, said. “It’s important to finally give proper recognition to the history by having a permanent display in this Centre.”

“I think it’s first and foremost recognition of the fact that players from Winnipeg won the first gold medal in hockey history, they deported themselves so wonderfully in the community before and after, they were wonderful representatives, and it brought great respect to the Icelandic community at the time,” he continued. “Being new immigrants, like many others, it was a tough road, and this helped move us forward as a community and unified us.”