“He says he never played before”
The NHL’s Edmonton Oilers recently held a fundraising bonspiel for their Oilers Alumni department at the Shamrock Curling Club.
The gaggle of former players included Dave Hunter, Cam Connor, Doug Hicks, Kyle Brodziak, Mark Fistric, Ben Scrivens, Jason Strudwick, Shawn Belle, Joaquin Gage, Jeff Deslauriers and Richard Petiot.
NHL alumni Matt Kassian was also there, as were a few of the team’s former equipment managers.
Maintaining order were two of Canada’s top curling stars, Val Sweeting and Marc Kennedy.
Sweeting is the import player on Manitoba’s three-time defending STOH champion Kerri Einarson squad. Olympic and world champion Kennedy now plays for Edmonton’s Brendan Bottcher, and starts his latest Brier run at the Alberta provincials tonight at the River Cree Sports Twin Rinks in Edmonton.
“I’ve been lucky enough to work with many of the Oilers alumni in the past,” said Kennedy. “They are great community ambassadors and a very down-to-earth group.
“Curling is a great way to get a whole bunch of people together and have a great time. You could tell by the laughter and excitement on the ice that everyone was having a great time.”
Oilers Alumni will use the funds to cover costs for apparel, tickets, alumni lunches and breakfasts, donation drives and more.
Kennedy pointed to Joaquin Gage, the former goaltender, as the standout curler amongst the hockey crowd.
“He surprised me with his skills,” said Kennedy.
“He says he never played before, but he made almost every shot.”
Gage rattled off numerous high points of his team’s victory.
“It’s probably one of the most social sporting events you can do with people,” Gage said. “(It was great to) get together again with old friends while making new ones, (and) the competition did ramp up as the tournament progressed.
“We won, and on the path to victory we defeated two world champions.”
We’d like to add our kudos for his team’s bright gear, which included crazy pants.
