Chuck Brown/Courier
Promoter Steve Walton is bringing some of the NHL’s biggest stars of the 1970s and 1980s to the Border Arena in St. Stephen on March 11. Butch Goring, Billy Smith and Bryan Trottier of the New York Islanders dynasty from the 1980s, Terry O’Reilly and Rick Middleton, of the Boston Bruins, six-time Stanley Cup winner Glenn Anderson and Toronto Maple Leafs sniper Gary Leeman are expected to be in the lineup.
By CHUCK BROWN
editor@stcroixcourier.ca
ST. STEPHEN – What has 21 Stanley Cup rings, thousands of NHL points, handfuls of NHL All-Star game appearances and all kinds of international appearances, game winning goals, legions of loyal fans and even a few Hockey Hall of Fame plaques?
The NHL Legends who are confirmed to be in the line-up for a March 11 game at the Border Arena in St. Stephen. The puck drops at 7 p.m.
“You really notice right away, in the first couple of shifts, that there is something special going on on the ice,” said event organizer Steve Walton, of Saint John.
He’s bringing NHL legends such as Bryan Trottier, Billy Smith and Butch Goring from the New York Islanders dynasty of the 1980s to St. Stephen along with Boston Bruins heroes Terry O’Reilly and Rick Middleton. They’ll be joined by six-time Cup winner Glenn Anderson, who was just inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and had his number 9 retired by the Edmonton Oilers, and Gary Leeman, who sniped 51 goals for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1989-90.
Walton is bringing his NHL Legends Maritime Tour to St. Stephen for the first time. And it’s the first time in years an event like this has come to the Border Town.
Walton has developed the tour from a friendship he struck up with Trottier, a seven-time Stanley Cup winner – four with the Islanders, two with the Pittsburgh Penguins and one as an assistant coach with the Colorado Avalanche.
“I’ve been working with various NHL alumni for four years,” Walton said.
He brought Trottier to Saint John for autograph signings, motivational talks and even to take a spin with Walton’s Southern Hockey League team, the Saint John Blackhawks. Walton said he brought Trottier in to meet some of the players in the city gentlemen’s league and they were stunned.
“I thought it was a room full of 10-year-old kids,” he said. “They were mesmerized.”
The legends are certainly a little more grey, a little more bald, a little less mean and lean than they were in their playing days but they’ve still got game.
“These guys have the edge when they want to show it,” Walton said. “They could turn this into a Globetrotters thing real fast.”
Anderson and Leeman have stayed in great shape since retiring, Walton said. They aren’t that far out of playing condition.
The competition will be provided by players from around Charlotte County. Most of them will come from the ranks of the Blacks Harbour-based Fundy Industrial Hockey League, which also has teams in St. Stephen and St. Andrews. More details on the lineup will be announced but they will be well-known names from the Charlotte County hockey community.
And in a unique twist, the team isn’t hand-picked or a bunch of players who lucked into a spot. In fact, there are still a few spots open on the roster for any Charlotte County hockey player who can skate and is willing to promote the event and sell some tickets. Walton said it’s a small price for a chance to skate with some of the biggest stars of the past few decades.
“It’s one of those memories that will last a lifetime,” Walton said.
Fans will have access to the NHL players, Walton said. He’s figuring out the logistics of setting up tables for autographs during intermissions. There will also be giveaways during the game and a reception following at a yet-to-be named restaurant or pub.
He’s also working with community groups such as the Boys and Girls Club and minor hockey to help promote the event and pack the rink. Walton has dreams of filling the Border Arena and if that happens, he said, you can bet the Legends tour will be back.
This year he’s doing three games – March 10 in Sussex, March 11 in St. Stephen and March 12 in Saint John. He’d like to expand the tour to six to 10 games next year, he said.
He was in St. Stephen on Wednesday distributing posters and tickets. Admission is $20 in advance, $25 at the door, and $15 for youth 12 and under. They’re available at Stuart’s in St. Stephen, Hooper’s Convenience in Blacks Harbour and Paul’s Wharf in St. George.
For more information about playing in the Legends game, call (506) 721-7423 or e-mail legends.hockey@gmail.com
CONFIRMED LINEUP FOR CHARLOTTE COUNTY/FIHL SO FAR...
G - Chuck Brown
Matty Walsh
Mike England
Jeremy Mahar
Jason McGratton
Mark Taylor
Joe Stevens
Greg Justason
Ryan Weatherby
Justin Sweeney
Mark Hatt
Jason McFarlane
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