THUNDER BAY – Easter Seals Ontario has caught a Tiger by its tail.
Former NHL star Dave (Tiger) Williams is the latest player to sign up to take part in this month’s Easter Seals Celebrity Classic at the Tournament Centre, an eight-team event featuring the likes of Al Iafrate, John LeClair, Mike Krushelnyski, Rick Vaive, Wayne Primeau, P.J. Stock and Dave McIlwain.
Rhonda Harrison, manager of community engagement for the Northern Region at Easter Seals Ontario, on Friday said it’s just great to be able to offer the event again, for the fourth time, after taking last year off due to COVID-19.
It’s been a tough 18 months in the fundraising community and events like the Celebrity Classic can have a huge impact on what organizations like Easter Seals are able to do.
“Here we are, back doing the Celebrity Hockey Classic. It’s going to be a great event. There’s going to be a great lineup of players and we’ve sold out. We have eight teams signed up, but if you still want to participate, we have some teams that are still looking for players,” Harrison said.
“You just have to raise your minimum of $400, and of course, we’re always looking for superstars who raise more.”
The tournament is a chance for pick-up hockey players to play alongside former NHLers like LeClair, a three-time 50-goals scorer and key member of the Philadelphia Flyers Legion of Doom line, and Vaive, another former 50-goal scorer, who scored 299 times for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1980s, finishing his career with 441 goals – tied with Thunder Bay’s Eric Staal.
Williams, as fans of a certain age might remember, is the NHL’s all-time leading penalized players, but also lit the lamp 241 times in a career that spanned 962 games and included a trip to the NHL final with Vancouver in 1982.
“It’s a great opportunity, because not only are you going to be playing on the ice, three games of hockey, you get an NHLer in your dressing room. They’re going to be hanging out with them all day long. You’re going to have the draft-day experience, so you really get to know the players,” Harrison said.
“Plus we have jersey giveaways and socks and lots of stuff for you to take home and remember the day.”
The money raised is used to help youngsters with mobility issues through the purchase of equipment and other supports.
The tournament will take place on Oct. 29 at the Tournament Centre, with the draft-day event being held the previous evening.
