Thunder Bay’s love affair with hockey was on full display on Saturday at Prince Arthur’s Landing.
Fans of Canada’s game flocked to the waterfront to take in the Rogers Hometown Hockey Celebration, seeking a chance to shake hands with former NHLers Greg Johnson and Wendel Clark, catch local favourites Poor Young Things performing on the main stage or take part in any number of hockey-related activities.
What a great way to spend a wintry Saturday, said Kristi Fitzgerald, who brought daughter Michaela down to check out the fun.
“I’ve seen it on TV before and we were really interested in seeing what it’s all about and bring the kids down to enjoy some of the festivities.”
Her daughter had other reasons for coming.
“I wanted to meet some of the different hockey players,” she said, moments after getting an autograph from Clark, the ex-Leafs captain who also spent time in Quebec, New York, Tampa Bay, Chicago and Detroit.
“I watch them on TV a lot and I wanted to meet them in person.”
Clark, the 1985 first overall draft pick, has been out of the game for more than 15 years, but still loves to connect with his fans, many of whom are too young to recall his playing days.
The Hometown Hockey celebration has been a huge hit everywhere it goes, Clark said.
“I think it’s great. I think it puts all the communities, as it travels through the country, on the map. Players come from everywhere. The whole world loves hockey, so there’s nothing better than to get out into the community where it starts, where the roots originate,” Clark said.
For Johnson, it was a chance to head back to his hometown, where his late father Jim was a hockey icon who helped restart the sport at Lakehead University.
Now living outside of Detroit, where his NHL career began in 1993, Johnson said hockey has played an important role in Thunder Bay’s history.
“Thunder Bay is all about hockey and youth hockey, so I’m honoured to be here to be a part of it.”
Seeing family, friends and fans is what made the weekend special for Johnson, who played 785 games in the NHL, the majority with the Nashville Predators, a team he captained from 2002 to 2006.
“I love this city so much and these people mean so much to me, so to come back and be a part of this, to see familiar faces and to meet some new kids who want to come up and get a picture and an autograph means a lot.”
All in all it added up to a whole lot of fun, said Kaitlin Prezio, sporting a bright yellow Predators jersey with goalie Carter Hutton’s name and number on the back.
“We love hockey. We’re pretty proud of Thunder Bay and all the great players who have come out of our city and we wanted to come check everything out,” said Prezio, one friend decked out in Robert Bortuzzo’s St. Louis Blues jersey, the other in a Dallas Stars No. 10 jersey for three-time Stanley Cup winner Patrick Sharp.
The Hometown Hockey event wraps up on Sunday with musical performances by breakout star Coleman Hell, autograph sessions with Johnson, Clark and former Olympian Katie Weatherston, and culminates with a Hockey Night in Canada broadcast featuring Ron MacLean. MacLean will be doing segments from Thunder Bay during an NHL game between the Ottawa Senators and Chicago Blackhawks.
