The Manitoba government named one of the lakes north of Flin Flon after NHL star Jonathan Toews. Thousands of lakes in the province are unnamed. (Province of Manitoba)

The Manitoba government didn't intend to offend families of fallen Canadian soldiers by naming a lake after a young National Hockey League star, Premier Greg Selinger says.

Selinger's NDP government was on the hot seat Thursday for its decision to name a small provincial lake after Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, a Winnipeg native, at a ceremony last Sunday.

The province and City of Winnipeg honoured Toews, 22, for his championship hockey season as well as for winning gold with Team Canada at the Vancouver Olympics.

But the gesture made the parents of Cpl. Mike Seggie, a Manitoba soldier killed in Afghanistan in September 2008, wonder why they were still waiting for a similar honour for their son.

'We've reached out to those families … and let them absolutely know that we respect the sacrifices those families have made.'— Greg Selinger, Manitoba premier

His mother, Shirley Seggie, told CBC News on Wednesday that she has nothing against hockey players but she believes soldiers who put their lives on the line are the real heroes.

The province's chief of protocol defended the government's actions, saying the two cases aren't comparable. Dwight MacAuley said all war dead automatically have a geographic feature named after them.

Under the rules of Manitoba's Commemorative Names Project, the naming of a geographical feature after a dead soldier is delayed three years to give the family time to grieve, MacAuley said.

But Selinger said later that Manitoba officials have started contacting soldiers' families to explain they meant no disrespect.

"We've reached out to those families … and let them absolutely know that we respect the sacrifices those families have made and we'll continue to honour their sacrifice and their contribution," Selinger said.

He said the province will hold a lake-naming ceremony for some of Manitoba's fallen soldiers and their families around Remembrance Day.

Toews Lake, north of Flin Flon, is one of thousands of unnamed lakes in the province.

With file from The Canadian Press