When you think of Kenya, ice hockey is not the first thing that comes to mind.

A few years ago, a Canadian living in the East African country started a hockey program at the ice rink at the Panari Hotel in Nairobi.

The team, captained by Benard Azegere and called the Kenya Ice Lions, was made up of young men trying out the game for the first time, reports Quartz.

They were enthusiastic and picked up the game quickly. Only one problem: they had no one else to play.

That’s when somebody decided to step up to the plate:

Tim Hortons, the Canadian coffee and donuts chain, learned about the team and decided to try and fix that problem over the North American summer by flying the team out to Canada, the home of ice hockey so the players could experience the NHL experience.

“We are so inspired by the story of the Lions, said Jorge Zaidan, Tim Hortons Canada head of marketing. “Despite having no other teams to play against, the players on the Kenya Ice Lions’ passion for the game is unwavering.”

The team was kitted out in their first ever official uniforms, and played their first official game against a team comprised of players from a number of different teams. They also got to play alongside two of the league’s current biggest names: Sidney Crosby, captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon, who is one of the league’s rising stars.

The experience was turned into a three-minute long advert for Tim Hortons. You might need the tissues for this one:

And that, friends, is how a Kenyan ice hockey team got to star in a Canadian advert.

[sourcev:quartz]