Page 41 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 92

www.sportsenergynews.com Issue #92 September 2020 41

1916 Pitt Street N., Unit 1A (Heritage Business Centre)
CORNWALL • 613-933-1200

Registered Massage Therapist Sheryl Calvank-Rodriguez, RMT

360 Main Street South, Alexandria • 613-525-2836

Sports Panel
presents

Question: The hockey world is mourning the death of Dale Hawerchuk. Many consider him to be the all-time best
player to have worn a Cornwall Royals jersey. What is your favorite Dale Hawerchuk moment?

Peter Collins - Sports Enthusiast - Picking a Dale Hawerchuk moment isn’t easy because there were so many of those moments. What stood
out about Dale and what made him special is that on almost every shift, he gave us moments to remember.
Drafting 16-year old hockey players has never been an exact science, and the 1979 OHL priority draft proves that point. The thirteen players
drafted in 1979, the best young players in all of Ontario, went on to play 2,455 games in the NHL. Nearly 50% of those NHL games, 1,188
to be exact, were played by a then undersized phenomenon from Toronto named Dale Hawerchuk. When the Cornwall Royals made the sixth

choice in the first round of the 1979 OHL priority draft, only a few hockey insiders knew the potential that young Hawerchuk possessed.
That would change dramatically when he led the underdog Royals to two consecutive Memorial Cups. Two years after joining the Royals,
Dale was taken first overall in the 1981 NHL draft, by the Winnipeg Jets. Twenty years later, after a storied 16-year NHL career, he was

elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
What he brought to Cornwall was excitement; a combination of dogged determination and a hockey skill level that was off the charts. His stay
in Cornwall was brief, but his lasting effect on the community was felt for years. He made us proud because he was one of us and he helped
put Cornwall on the Junior hockey map. At a time in our history when the economy was down and factories were closing, Dale gave us hope!

Thanks, Dale - RIP.

Jake Lapierre - Conditioning Coach - The name “Dale Hawerchuk” is easily recognized in Canada and is synonymous with names like
Gretzky, Lemieux, Messier, Hull, and many others in the hockey world. I knew of Dale Hawerchuk when he played for the Royals, but I didn’t
have the opportunity to see him play in Cornwall. Dale’s hockey skill spoke for itself on the ice and he was also described as a real down-to-
earth guy off the ice.

Former Royal, Jim Kyte payed tribute to Dale in an interview in SJHockeyNow . “He set the example for how to treat the fans. Without the
fans, we don’t have a job. But I remember him as being one of the nicest guys you’d ever want to meet. He always took the time with fans.
He spoke to everybody. He was not dismissive of anyone. [He was] down-to-earth, caring. A great teammate, a great captain.”

I became a fan of Dale’s during his career in Winnipeg; my favourite Dale Hawerchuk moment is the 1987 Russia/Canada series; playing with
players like Gretzky, Lemieux, Messier, Gilmour, Sutter, etc. and Dale was named MVP of the winning game.

Jim Riddell - Seaway Karate Club - Dale Hawerchuk had a very accomplished hockey career complete with many memorable moments. He
led Team Canada to win Gold at the World Juniors, he won back-to-back Memorial Cups with the Cornwall Royals, and he won the Stafford
Smythe Trophy as Memorial Cup MVP. Hawerchuk was drafted 1st overall by the Winnipeg Jets and he went on to play 16 seasons in the
NHL, scoring 1409 points in 1188 games. He was a member of Canada Cup winning teams in 1987 and again in 1991, and he was inducted
into the HOF in 2001.

There are many memories to be had of Dale Hawerchuk, but my top moment may be a bit unique as he wasn’t even there for it! Last February,
the Montreal Canadiens Alumni were in town to play the Choose Cornwall Legends at the Civic Complex. The Benson Group, through Dave
Murphy, had donated a Cornwall Royals #10 Hawerchuk jersey that would be signed by the players on both teams and presented to Dale later.

During the pre-game “meet and greet” in the salons, I had just finished a Sports Energy interview with Alumni coach Chris “Knuckles” Nilan,
when Dave brought the jersey in to be signed. I got to watch each Hab sign it and then say a few words about Dale to the player seated next
to him as he passed it on. Coach Nilan, who was at the end of the line, was the last to sign it and he did a very nice video presentation which
Dale would get along with the Royals Jersey. Many of those players had played against Dale Hawerchuk at some point in their NHL careers
and the respect that everyone had for him was quite evident.