Centennial Classic Alumni Game wish list

Darcy Tucker and Kris Draper in studio on HC at Noon to discuss their rosters for the upcoming 2017 Centennial Classic Alumni game from BMO Field.

This was supposed to be a blog about the Centennial Classic Alumni Game and how my one goal was to talk to two people: Felix Potvin, who was my favourite Leaf as a kid, and Mats Sundin.

Then they released the rosters for the game and…

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Um… where’s Mats? So I asked the team.

Many people asked me about Tomas Kaberle as well and he won’t be at the game either due to a funeral back in the Czech Republic.

Obviously awaiting the birth of a child is an exciting and joyous occasion which takes precedence, but I was pretty bummed, as I know many other Leafs fans were, too. I had some people tweet at me that they had bought tickets to the alumni game just to see Sundin.

That stuck with me a bit.

Look at the Leafs alumni game roster. Now look at the Red Wings alumni game roster. Even without Sundin or Kaberle, fans will still get to see two teams full of legends.

With “Operation Mats and Felix” out the window, here are some players I’m hoping to see and talk to.

    • Dave Andreychuk: Everybody is going to ask him the same thing. “Do you think you’ll finally get into the Hockey Hall of Fame this year?” I’d rather ask him about when the Buffalo Sabres traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs, which is the reason he’s at this game at all.
    • Curtis Joseph: Is “Dude, it’s Curtis Joseph!” a good enough excuse? I’m curious to know what he thinks of the young Leafs and how shooters are different today.
    • Bryan McCabe: One of the first YouTube videos I ever made over nine years ago was called “Leave Bryan McCabe Alone”, a parody of Chris Crocker’s infamous “Leave Britney Alone” video. The original version has a lot of swearing so I can’t post it here (Google it). My version was featured by a site called BryanMcCabeSucks.com and it helped me get some of my first few YouTube viewers. It’d be a weird full-circle thing, provided McCabe doesn’t punch me in the neck.
  • Felix Potvin: I paid for his autograph over nine years ago, so to get the opportunity to talk to him now would be incredible. I want to know what he thinks of Bibeau’s mask, but also the state of the QMJHL and if he thinks Quebec can turn back into the goalie factory it once was.

That’s just a wish list. There are so many other Leafs I’d love to talk to. Stumpy Steve Thomas, Tie Domi, even Danny Markov or Dmitri Yushkevich. I expect guys like Doug Gilmour, Gary Roberts, and Darcy Tucker to be absolutely mobbed by reporters, so I might skip them strategically. It’s a jungle in there, I’m telling you.

If I get the chance to go into the Red Wings’ room…

  • Kris Draper: I met Kris Draper in the spring of 1996 when I was eight-years-old. Draper’s Red Wings had just lost to the Colorado Avalanche in their notoriously violent 1996 playoff series. My Grade 2 teacher at St. Brendan’s in Scarborough that year was Mr. Coady, who had taught Draper at the same school years before. After Claude Lemieux hit him from behind and knocked him unconscious, my entire class wrote Draper get-well letters.
  • After he healed up, Draper visited my classroom. I happened to have his hockey card in my desk. I told the principal and he took the card, ran down to the office, and photocopied it about 60 times so every kid in the grade could get an autograph. He’s a bit of a legend in my old neighbourhood so I’d probably just ask him local stuff.

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  • Brendan Shanahan: Oh yeah, the freaking President of the Toronto Maple Leafs is playing in this game. For the other team. Believe it or not, I think I’ll try my best to stick to questions about his playing days. This won’t really be the time or place to badger him with Leafs-related stuff. No promises, though. I might not be able to help myself. I don’t think any reporter will be able to, either.
  • Chris Chelios: I want to know what Chelios think of Jaromir Jagr being the new guy in the NHL that everybody calls old.

I call things like this alumni game “Kid in a candy store” events. No, Mats Sundin and Tomas Kaberle won’t be there, but you know who will be though? Pretty much everybody else. It’s going to be fun no matter what and I’m looking forward to giving you a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like.

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