Three Canadian Olympic medalists highlighted the Outlook Mainline Ice Hawks Sportswomen's Banquet & Casino Night this past weekend.

Hockey players Sami Jo Small and Colleen Sostorics along with speedskater Catriona Le May Doan spent Saturday afternoon and evening, in the community of over 2,300 people, interacting and entertaining the crowd with personal stories.

Ice Hawks Assistant Coach and Vice-President of the board Nikki Stewart was impressed by the way Jo Small, Sostorics, and Le May Doan presented themselves to those in attendance.

"The humility that those three have and the inspiration that they showed the community and team was awesome," she said. "It didn't feel like they were these big celebrities, they were so comfortable with everybody."

The stories the trio shared during their speeches around suppertime and afterwards at the fireside chats caught captured the attention of the room.

"Having them pave the way and now come back and give back to the smaller communities and encourage other female hockey players and young athletes to continue pursuing their dream was phenomenal," she said.

Fun for the U22 team began before the banquet even began. They took to the outdoor rink for a 2 p.m. practice that Sostorics accompanied them with. 

"When Colleen had a bit of a different perspective for them, I think they kind of had a bit of an awakening of, oh this is why we do that," she said. "We had practice last night and I would say the effort level and the intention to make perfect passes was so much better this practice than it was before the practice with Colleen."

Stewart believes the event will become an annual fixture in the community and hopes they can bring in world-class women athletes again next year.