I am going to my first NHL arena game in my life tomorrow here in Vancouver with a good friend. I would not have bought the tickets if not for Jordin Tootoo coming to play with New Jersey Devil's.

Day to day I don't even really think about hockey, much less ever think about putting money down for a ticket. In fact, I used to go to school literally a block away from the Bell Centre in Montreal. I could hear the roar of the crowd from my painting studio and never bothered to go to a single game! Still, I like watching the play offs and international tournaments. You might as well when you live in Canada when during these big events the games are what nearly everyone talks about. So it was during the 2003 World Junior Hockey Championships I first heard about Jordin's achievement as an Inuk player. I remember talking to my mom about him 'Oh yeah, Tootoo. And he's good too. I like watching him play!'

Being Inuk and living outside my home of Labrador I am always excited to meet other Inuit and see them doing their thing. Just in the last few years I have meet the film maker Zacharias Kunuk and activist Sheila Watt-Cloutier. And although we haven't met, I am honoured to have work in the exhibition 'Northren Exposure' with artist Annie Pootoogook at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. So when I heard Jordin had released his autobiography 'All the Way' the next chance that I had I bought a copy.

I am a little over half way through and it is really something. If you are thinking about getting the book this review at McLean's will convince you.

This is my first live NHL game I have put money down for because I am so pumped to see Tootoo play. I'll be in row 4 just behind the Vancouver net to the left for two periods. Got a helluva deal on StubHub. Perfect seats to see Jordin do his thing and dump in a goal or two. Can't wait.