Watson Lake hockey players laced up their skates alongside some of their NHL heroes last weekend.

Arizona Coyotes goalie Mike Smith was joined by current free agents David Booth and B.J. Crombeen for the Yukon hockey camp Aug. 1 and 2.

Former NHL players Brent Gilchrist and Mike Crombeen were also part of the festivities.

“It’s part of our season,” said B.J. Crombeen, who spent last season with the Coyotes. “You take a week or two off after the end of the season, but then you get right back into training. ... It’s always fun to make time to do something like this.”

The 30-year-old from Denver said it’s important to show that NHL players were once kids, too.

“We want to make hockey fun and get them out there to enjoy it. It’s obviously a sport that we all love and to share that with the kids is when you realize that the most.”

Ninety-seven participants were split into three groups for the on-ice sessions, which were led by Whitehorse coach Martin Lawrie.

Nine Yukon communities were represented on the ice, as well as two from northern British Columbia – Dease Lake and Telegraph Creek.

The hockey camp was held free of charge in Watson Lake, located 430 kilometres east of Whitehorse.

Hockey wasn’t the only sport the NHLers enjoyed. They also participated in a fishing derby with members of the community.

Several of the NHL players were also slated to spend time this week in the wilderness on a guided hunting trip.

Smith, who owns gold medals from the 2014 Olympics and 2015 world hockey championships, spent time in the Yukon last summer on a similar hunting expedition.

Booth, a renowned hunter who has faced controversy for his hobby in the past, said he would not be taking part – this year at least. He wouldn’t rule out a future foray into the Yukon wild.

“I won’t be on the hunting trip – you can let the people know that,” said the forward who spent last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. “I think in the future it would be quite an experience. Flying in here was beautiful, it looked like endless amounts of area to explore and that’s something I enjoy to do.”

Regardless, the 30-year-old Detroit native said hockey camps like this are important to be a part of.

He called Watson Lake a unique community that includes plenty of sports-minded residents who rarely get a chance to see professional athletes up close.

“When I was a kid growing up, we had the ability to go down to Detroit and watch the Red Wings. These kids may never see an NHL game being up here.”

The tour kicked off in Whitehorse last Friday night with a press conference and autograph session at the Air North hangar.

RCMP Const. Jean-Michel Sauvé, JDS Energy and Mining president Jeff Stibbard and Smith all spoke to an audience that included a Rogers camera crew.

While the crew said they were in town on “unofficial” business, Whitehorse city council has recently expressed interest in hosting the Rogers Hometown Hockey tour next year.

The show will start its second season this fall on Sportsnet. It sees host Ron MacLean visit 24 communities over the course of the season and feature hockey stories from each of those areas.

Meanwhile, the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) committed to donate 25 sets of youth hockey equipment to the Watson Lake Minor Hockey Association.

Smith and three others also publicly pledged $1,000 each to keep the ice in Watson Lake’s Morgan Chaddock Recreation Centre, but it wouldn’t be enough.

“It’s coming out as we speak,” Watson Lake recreation director Alyssa Magun told the Star this morning. “They don’t understand the costs. A couple grand is not going to do it.”

The ice was out as of April, but was reinstalled on July 13 to give locals a week’s worth of skating prior to the camp.

They began skating on July 25.

Another weekend highlight saw the NHL players coach a recreational old-timer hockey game.

The NHLPA Goals and Dreams 15th anniversary tour was presented in partnership with the Watson Lake Minor Hockey Association, the Watson Lake RCMP, JDS Silver, ATCO Electric Yukon and Air North.