It’s a good thing Mayor Keith Hobbs is a good sport.
A die-hard Boston Bruins fans, whose tattooed logo adorns his bicep, on Wednesday Hobbs had to do what no fan wants to do and donned a Patrick Sharp jersey while raising the Chicago Blackhawks flag above the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.
It’s a tradition he started at city hall in 2011, when his beloved Bruins captured their first Stanley Cup since 1972.
Game 6, when the Hawks scored twice in the final two minutes to capture their second Cup in four seasons, was still fresh in the mayor’s mind as he and former Chicago player Steve Hrymnak joined Coun. Larry Hebert and sent the flag skyward.
“I was sitting at city council and my son was texting me, saying, ‘Dad, we’re going to Game 7.’ Ten minutes later I got a text and we’d lost,” Hobbs said, the Hawks jersey he was sporting the result of a bet he lost.
“If you can lose to any team, the Chicago Blackhawks would be the team to lose to, the Original 6. Twenty-three players from the Thunder Bay region have played for that team.”
This year’s squad was especially overflowing with local stars.
In addition to Sharp, goaltender Carter Hutton was a member of the team’s black aces during their playoff run, while Jamie Kompon was behind the bench as an assistant coach and Norm Maciver is the team’s assistant general manager.
Defenceman Duncan Keith also hails from the region, calling Fort Frances home for a lengthy portion of his childhood.
Like Hobbs, NWO Hall of Fame executive director Diane Imrie doesn’t usually cheer for Chicago, especially when the Toronto Maple Leafs are in contention.
However, she was more than happy to see the Hawks flag raised over the May Street facility, where it will fly for the next month.
“It feels good, because five people from Northwestern Ontario are connected to that flag, in terms of bringing honour to the region,” Imrie said.
“Although I’m a diehard Leafs fan, it’s an honour to have it flying.”
It’s a great tradition and one that’s not limited to just hockey, she said.
“What we’re hoping is teams and athletes from Northwestern Ontario who win national and provincial championships, or international awards, we encourage them to contact us and we would love to fly their flag here for a month,” Imrie said.
“If they provide the flag, we’ll fly it.”
