There's an old adage that says you should never meet your heroes. People say you won't hold them in the same regard afterwards.
I met one of mine recently. I wasn't disappointed.
The Estevan Bruins held their annual Sportsman's Dinner last Thursday night at the Power Dodge Curling Centre. Keynote speakers were Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Paul Coffey and Doug Gilmour.
I was pretty giddy when I saw who the Bruins were bringing in for this year's dinner. I developed a real admiration for Gilmour thanks to his competitiveness and clutch performances. But Coffey was the big one for me.
When I was a seven-year-old kid living in Fort St. John, B.C., Paul Coffey was my favourite hockey player. I'd him on the list with Matt Dunigan when Dunigan was starring for the Edmonton Eskimos, professional wrestling icon André the Giant and cartoon superhero Optimus Prime.
Living in northeast B.C., the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames were the closest teams. And they were the league's powerhouse teams. There were years in which the Oilers and the Flames were the top two teams in the league.
The Vancouver Canucks? They were tucked away in the southwest corner of the province, a good two-day drive away. And they were not a powerhouse.
I wasn't the only one at school who identified as an Oiler fan. Other kids would list Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri or Glenn Anderson as their favourites. The goalies might cite Grant Fuhr or Andy Moog. Not me. It was Coffey. The way he skated up the ice with the puck was nothing short of scintillating. (Note: seven-year-old me would not have described it as scintillating. But I have no doubt I would have tried to use a big word that I would have mispronounced).
In October of 1986, my family decided to head to Edmonton for the weekend for my eighth birthday. Fun times were had at the West Edmonton Mall. And dad took me to my first NHL game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Detroit Red Wings. I still have the program. And Thursday night, I strayed from professionalism and had Coffey sign that keepsake.
That 1986-87 season was the last time that the Oilers had the core of their team together. Coffey and Moog were gone the next season. Gretzky was dealt in the summer of 1988.
Also, in September 1987, dad was transferred to B.C.'s Lower Mainland. I committed myself to a lifetime of playoff heartbreak and rejection by becoming a Vancouver Canucks fan. The following year, in 1988, the Canucks drafted a lanky 18-year-old from Medicine Hat named Trevor Linden, and I had a new favourite player. He's still my hockey hero. It saddens me that Linden never won a Stanly Cup, but that's what happens when you spend most of your career as a Canuck.
(Of course, I always have a soft spot for the local products, too, guys like Brenden Morrow, Tanner Jeannot, Brayden Pachal and a list that seems to get longer each year).
It was a pretty big thrill to sit down for a few minutes and talk to Coffey, the guy who was my first favourite player, the guy who created so much excitement for me and many others I knew living up north in the 1980s.
He was fairly soft spoken. Didn't have a big, booming voice. But he took the time to sign every autograph from every fan present, to talk to people, to get their names.
And he told stories. Lots of stories. Some of them wouldn't be suitable for print. At times, the language was a little coarse, but I've heard worse from other guest speakers at sports celebrity dinners. And besides, when you come to one of these events, you expect to hear some occasional profanities.
The best prize of the night in the live auction came when Trevor Dutka spent $4,100 to drive Coffey and Gilmour to the Regina Airport the following day. That would have been a fun drive. The stories would have been stellar. I would have taken a few detours and taken them to Regina via Moose Jaw.
Regardless, the dinner was a great night. And proof you can still meet your heroes.
