By Nathan Kanter

Grant Fuhr to be part of Hockey Day in Sask celebrations

Dec 14, 2017 | 11:00 AM

He is a legend of the game and he is coming to southern Saskatchewan this January.

Grant Fuhr, a five-time Stanley Cup champion and Hockey Hall of Famer, will be the guest of honour for the Friday night banquet at the annual Hockey Day in Saskatchewan celebrations, which are being held in Balcarres from Jan. 19 to 21.

“All the credit for getting Grant Fuhr to come to Balcarres for Cameco Hockey Day in Saskacthewan goes to Kelly McClintock at the Saskatchewan Hockey Association,” Cameco director of corporate relations Jonathan Hungtington said following the official announcement on Thursday morning. “We sat down as a group and talked about who would be a great guest speaker to come to a small community like this and thanks to the SHA, they pulled some strings and Grant Fuhr agreed to come, so that will be one of the highlights this year.”

Balcarres is a town of roughly 600 people located 90 km northeast of Regina. The organizing committee hopes to raise $80,000 to pay off recent rink renovations, including new lighting. 

Huntington said renovations at the local rink have been ongoing.

Fond Memories

North Stars' 20-year-olds reflect on junior hockey experience: Part 1

9h ago

Trades in Sask.

Skilled trades need not limited to building homes

Apr 17, 2024

Battlefords Volleyball Club

13U BVC Impact take provincial silver in Warman

Apr 17, 2024

“They’ve actually been renovating the rink since 2004,” Hungtington said. “It is a wonderful small-town rink, so this $80,00 will help them continue their renovation project.

“Like so many small communities, the rink is a very big source of pride for their community.”

As always, festivities over the course of the three days will include the banquet, a Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League game, a Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League game, and a Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League game, but there willl also be a senior hockey game and a Prairie Junior Hockey League game this year.

The SJHL game will feature the Melville Millionaires and Battlefords North Stars on Saturday night, while the SMAAAHL game featuring the Yorkton Maulers and Regina Pat Canadians, as well as the SFMAAAHL featuring the Melville Prairie Fire and Swift Current Wildcats, will precede the SJHL game and be played in the afternoon.

On Sunday, the senior game will see the Qu’Appelle Valley Hockey League all-stars take on the Bethune Bulldogs AAA team that will compete for the 2018 Allan Cup. There will also be a Prairie Junior Hockey League contest between the Saskatoon Westleys and Fort Knox on Sunday.

Because the community of Balcarres is very close to Melville (roughly 50 km), it will be the Millionaires who help this year with the skill development session with youth in the community.

“This will be the first time the Millionaires have done the skill development camp on the morning of the big festivites,” Huntington said. “In the past, that actually used to be the Battlefords North Stars and they’ve done a wonderful job for us the last few years.”

Huntington also reiterated how big it is to have someone of Fuhr’s stature at this year’s celebrations.

“We’ve had great guest speakers int he past, but we haven’t had a hockey player that has been this decorated, with the types of Stanley Cups and Canada Cups involved,” he said. “This will be something very special.”

Last year, the communities of Shellbrook and Pinehouse co-hosted Hockey Day in Saskatchewan, with a record-setting $175,000 raised for Shellbrook’s arena. Bryan Trottier was the guest speaker.

nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @NathanKanter11