Post by JETStender on Dec 20, 2009 23:42:53 GMT -5
Cornering Hawerchuk
CORY WOLFE, Canwest News Service
Published: Sunday, December 20, 2009
Today, Hockey Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk gets cornered. He's in Saskatoon to help kick off festivities for the world junior hockey championship.
Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk has won a Memorial Cup and a Canada Cup, but the cup he covets most is the Stanley Cup he never won.
Canwest: You are now under oath, Mr. Hawerchuk. On the decisive goal in Canada Cup '87, did you or did you not hook a Russian player just long enough to spring a seam for Mario Lemieux?
Hawerchuk: "He dove. (Laughs)"
Ah, okay. That's funny. In that tournament, you were used as both a scoring threat and a grinder, depending on the situation. Which role did you enjoy more?
"Both were great. We were there to win, so we were willing to do whatever it took."
Who's the most superstitious character you ever encountered?
"Any goalie. Doug Soetaert, a good Western boy, used to lay his equipment out in front (of his stall) and it was always in the way. He'd lay it out on the floor just like he was going to wear it. I remember one time Jim Kyte tripped on his stuff and it went all over the place. Soetaert couldn't stop a beach ball that night."
Well, goalies have their routines. That makes them comfortable. Speaking of teammates, few people can grow a moustache as marvellous as the one worn by your former winger, Paul MacLean. How would your life be different if you had a 'stache like that?
"Geez, that's a good question. I always said that Paul MacLean's moustache was underrated because of Lanny McDonald. The way those two had their 'staches going, I don't think I had any chance, so I never even went there."
Members of a Quebec punk band called Les Dales Hawerchuk are obviously fans of yours. Are you fans of them?
"I can only say that I've listened to a few songs, but I met them once and they seemed like good kids. They asked me if they could use my name for the band and I told them, 'As long as you stay out of jail, go ahead.' "
That's nice that they asked. Name a trophy that you've coveted besides the Stanley Cup.
"The Stanley Cup and the Stanley Cup. I've won the Memorial Cup and I won a Canada Cup, but I still covet the Stanley Cup."
You raise horses in southern Ontario.
"Yeah, we do that and I coach the junior (hockey) team in Orangeville."
Yes, the Crushers. Regarding the horses, do you ever name them after ex-teammates?
"We name them after great athletes and one of our best jumpers is called Winnipeg Jet."
That's a fantastic name.
"Yeah. And we name them after different athletes. Sometimes when they come out of certain stallions, the offspring has to start with a certain letter. We have one we call Seve after Seve Ballesteros. We've also had an Ernie Banks. We've had some interesting ones for sure."
You were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001. Which retired player has been wrongfully overlooked by Hall voters?
"Probably the guy that comes to mind is (Dino) Ciccarelli. The guy scored an awful lot of goals not to be there. If you score over 600 goals in the NHL, you're doing something right."
As a member of the Cornwall Royals, you won your first of two Memorial Cups in Regina. What's your Kodak moment from that 1980 tournament?
"The winning goal in overtime. Robert Savard didn't score many goals all year (just four during the regular season) and it wasn't a hard shot, but it found its way into the net."
Okay, last question. The trademark feature of the late, great Winnipeg Arena was its enormous portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. Last we heard, that portrait was in storage in Whitby, Ont. How much would you pay for it at auction?
"(Laughs) I don't know. The problem is not buying the picture; it's where do you store it? It's funny because I was in Peterborough the other night and they've got a huge picture of the queen. It's gotta be a close second behind the queen picture that was in Winnipeg Arena. It would be interesting to see that one resurface one day."
Did she make you nervous?
"No, she was guiding us. (Laughs)"
CORY WOLFE, Canwest News Service
Published: Sunday, December 20, 2009
Today, Hockey Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk gets cornered. He's in Saskatoon to help kick off festivities for the world junior hockey championship.
Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk has won a Memorial Cup and a Canada Cup, but the cup he covets most is the Stanley Cup he never won.
Canwest: You are now under oath, Mr. Hawerchuk. On the decisive goal in Canada Cup '87, did you or did you not hook a Russian player just long enough to spring a seam for Mario Lemieux?
Hawerchuk: "He dove. (Laughs)"
Ah, okay. That's funny. In that tournament, you were used as both a scoring threat and a grinder, depending on the situation. Which role did you enjoy more?
"Both were great. We were there to win, so we were willing to do whatever it took."
Who's the most superstitious character you ever encountered?
"Any goalie. Doug Soetaert, a good Western boy, used to lay his equipment out in front (of his stall) and it was always in the way. He'd lay it out on the floor just like he was going to wear it. I remember one time Jim Kyte tripped on his stuff and it went all over the place. Soetaert couldn't stop a beach ball that night."
Well, goalies have their routines. That makes them comfortable. Speaking of teammates, few people can grow a moustache as marvellous as the one worn by your former winger, Paul MacLean. How would your life be different if you had a 'stache like that?
"Geez, that's a good question. I always said that Paul MacLean's moustache was underrated because of Lanny McDonald. The way those two had their 'staches going, I don't think I had any chance, so I never even went there."
Members of a Quebec punk band called Les Dales Hawerchuk are obviously fans of yours. Are you fans of them?
"I can only say that I've listened to a few songs, but I met them once and they seemed like good kids. They asked me if they could use my name for the band and I told them, 'As long as you stay out of jail, go ahead.' "
That's nice that they asked. Name a trophy that you've coveted besides the Stanley Cup.
"The Stanley Cup and the Stanley Cup. I've won the Memorial Cup and I won a Canada Cup, but I still covet the Stanley Cup."
You raise horses in southern Ontario.
"Yeah, we do that and I coach the junior (hockey) team in Orangeville."
Yes, the Crushers. Regarding the horses, do you ever name them after ex-teammates?
"We name them after great athletes and one of our best jumpers is called Winnipeg Jet."
That's a fantastic name.
"Yeah. And we name them after different athletes. Sometimes when they come out of certain stallions, the offspring has to start with a certain letter. We have one we call Seve after Seve Ballesteros. We've also had an Ernie Banks. We've had some interesting ones for sure."
You were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001. Which retired player has been wrongfully overlooked by Hall voters?
"Probably the guy that comes to mind is (Dino) Ciccarelli. The guy scored an awful lot of goals not to be there. If you score over 600 goals in the NHL, you're doing something right."
As a member of the Cornwall Royals, you won your first of two Memorial Cups in Regina. What's your Kodak moment from that 1980 tournament?
"The winning goal in overtime. Robert Savard didn't score many goals all year (just four during the regular season) and it wasn't a hard shot, but it found its way into the net."
Okay, last question. The trademark feature of the late, great Winnipeg Arena was its enormous portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. Last we heard, that portrait was in storage in Whitby, Ont. How much would you pay for it at auction?
"(Laughs) I don't know. The problem is not buying the picture; it's where do you store it? It's funny because I was in Peterborough the other night and they've got a huge picture of the queen. It's gotta be a close second behind the queen picture that was in Winnipeg Arena. It would be interesting to see that one resurface one day."
Did she make you nervous?
"No, she was guiding us. (Laughs)"
