Three years ago, Keith Aulie saved his father's life. Today, he is playing for his country at the world junior hockey championship.
In Rouleau, Sask. -- population 500 -- that makes the 6-foot-6 defenceman almost as popular as its other famous residents -- the crew from the TV sitcom Corner Gas.
"Corner Gas still takes the crown," said Aulie. "It's amazing how big that show has become."
True, but Brent Butt can't clear the front of the net like Aulie. And he probably never pulled his father from a tractor after it crashed through the ice and plunged into a pond on the family farm.
That's what Aulie did on Dec, 23, 2005. His father was clearing the pond for a game of shinny when the ice cracked and swallowed the tractor up to its roof. Aulie, then just 15, ran to the scene and pulled his 6-foot-4 dad from the freezing water. He was later given a Red Cross Rescuer Award and a rescue commendation by the Lifesaving Society of Saskatchewan.
"We skated on it all the time, but we laid off it since the incident," he said.
WHEAT KINGS CAPTAIN
He's still finding plenty of ice time. He is the captain of the Brandon Wheat Kings and a fourth-round draft pick of the Calgary Flames. On Team Canada, he is paired on defence with 6-foot-7 Tyler Myers to shut down the opposing team's top line.
"They can cover a lot of territory and they're certainly imposing and they're both mobile," said coach Pat Quinn. "They're young and as they learn the game and go forward, they could potentially have a good career in front of them."
Even if he lands in a big NHL city, Aulie will still be a country boy at heart.
He grew up on a farm just outside Rouleau, where Corner Gas is filmed.
"They've actually filmed right in our yard," said Aulie. "They're always around. They're awesome, except when you're hauling grain, trying to go through town and they're stopping all the time."
In the summer, Aulie drives the tractor and helps his family seed, spray and harvest 3,500 acres of grain.
"It's definitely a lot different than what a lot of my teammates do in the summer, but I really enjoy it."
In the winter, before he went off to play hockey in Brandon, Aulie helped his father raise Clydesdale horses.
They currently have 55 in the barn.
"We find them when they're young and raise them up and teach them how to drive -- basically break them till they're tame and sell them down south to people (in the U.S.) that want to go around a show them and take them to parades and stuff.
"Basically like a junior hockey team."
