NHL All Stars Day!

A totally non-knitting post.  On September 30 there was an NHL All Stars game held at our local arena to help raise money for a local group trying to build a skatepark for the kids.  Last year was the first year we ever had one here, it was a Maple Leafs Alumni game.  (Basically, there's a team of former NHL players along with three or four local players who pay to play with them.  They take on a team of all local players, each who have paid to play as well.  It costs more to be on the NHL team, of course.)  This year there was an added bonus -- in the afternoon there was a hockey clinic for atom and peewee aged kids who were registered with our local minor hockey association.  It was limited to 25 kids, cost of $20 to cover the ice rental, so of course the Littlest One who starts his first year of peewee next week, got to go!

So a lot of the players ended up getting here late, their flights were delayed.  So the kids started out on the ice with Gary Leeman (on the left) and Dennis Maruk (on the right).  In the middle behind the net with the Calgary Flames jersey is the Littlest One.  (Though I should call him the Youngest One cuz he ain't so little!)

And I can honestly say that these two men are two of the nicest people I've ever met.  Great guys, Dennis came in the locker room after the clinic and signed a picture for each kid there.  About halfway through the clinic Al Iafrate arrived.  He's in a conversation here with TLO, apparently he asked Al to show them his slapshot.  (He held the hardest slapshot record for 16 years, his was clocked at 105.2mph.  In 2009 it was beaten by a measly .2 mph.)  He didn't, of course, if a shot like that hit one of the kid it'd be game over.

The other NHLer who helped with the clinic was Mike Krushelnyski.



Posing at the end of the clinic with the kids.  My new boyfriend, Mike K (ahem!), has his arm around TLO on the back row.

So after the clinic when Dennis came into the locker room TLO took of his stinky, sweaty Calgary jersey and got him to sign it.  He wanted the others to sign it, too, but I told him he couldn't barge into their locker room, so he said he would knock, lol.  However, the organizer of this fine event gave him an all access pass, so upstairs he went in his stinky, sweaty gear, to get more autographs.  I didn't have a pass, so I was waiting outside the room for him when a lady came to the door and told me to come in.  Bonus for Mama, she got to meet the others, too!

Dennis Maruk

Gary Leeman and Stephane Richer



Rick Middleton and Ray Bourque



Bob Sweeny and Mike Krushelnyski

Al Iafrate

So now the Calgary Flames jersey gets retired because of all of the autographs on it.  The guys were all super nice.  Ray was a little on the quiet side, but I guess he wasn't feeling the greatest, he had a bad cold.

After supper was game time.  This was just before they started.

The only one I didn't get to meet was Ron Duguay - -his plane was so late that he got to the arena just as they were announcing the players.  He got out of the limo and into his gear and right onto the ice, lol.  But since TLO had an all access pass he got to go to the locker room between periods and got his autograph on the Calgary jersey as well.

The coolest part of the whole game to me was between the first and second periods, the all stars play the local novice team.  It was just too cute!

Final score of the game, the local players 2, all stars 7.



It was a good day!!

Happy knitting!