Posted on 14th Feb 2012 @ 9:36 PM

Bruce Rainnie one of the hosts of Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada 

  Last week I had the honour of being on the Host committee for the Stanley Cup coming to the O'Leary Community Sports Center. We were part of the cross Island caravan where the Keeper of the Cup , Phil Pritchard , Curator of the Hockey Hall of Fame made appearances in small communities across PEI with the original Stanley Cup. Mr. Pritchard and his entourage arrived in O'Leary just as announced at 1:10 PM and the eight classes that make up the O"Leary Elementary School quickly had their class pictures with the Cup. The excitement in the arena was palpable at the site of the Cup and people young and old remained wide eyed during the stay. Many of the crowd wore jerseys showing their allegiance to their favourite NHL team . Fans from eight months of age to eighty waited patiently in line until it was their turn to pose with The Holy Grail of Hockey. All were proud to be in the prescence of such greatness and were justifiably proud. Following the photo session a reception was held upstairs where there was food served , stories told, memorabilia was on display and there was a judging of Stanley Cups made by the students. It was a great day and we  felt priviledged to have Mr. Pritchard and the Stanley Cup in our prescence.

     On Friday I drove down to the Eastlink Arena in Summerside to meet some of the NHL Alumni brought in for the week. CBC' s  Maritime Noon host Norma Lee MacLeod hosted  famed CBC Hockey Night in Canada host Dick Irvin and at the end of the show I went over to chat with him. What a delightful gentleman he is and he graciously signed some cards and a book for me. His favourite all time player was Gordie Drillon. Other players who signed for me included a very gracious Lanny McDonald who allowed anyone to put on his 1989 Stanley Cup Ring . While I was in his midst he was attemting to contact former linemate Errol Thompson who lives in Summerside and after phoning three different numbers he finally reached him and they made arrangements to meet on Saturday. A really personable guy who still has a great moustache. Other players included Bryan Trottier who was a tremendous signer and Wendel Clark, who signed everything albeit very sloppily that was put in front of him , and PJ Stock who was constantly joking with everyone. All in all a great day! These players all participated along with Mark Napier,Doug MacLean ,Tessa Bonhomme, and Stephane Richer in hockey skils sessions on ice surfaces across the province.

    Saturday was the big day and people came out in droves to see the live Hockey Day in PEI broadcast hosted by the unflappable Ron MacLean. The day went off without a hitch and I had the opportunity to get on set with Bruce Rainnie  and Cassie Campbell just  before they aired. Bruce is agreat guy  who I admire because of his awe shucks attitude and I would like to thank him for the opportunity to talk with him and Cassie just before showtime. In closing I would like to thank CBC for coming to PEI for Hockey Day and the PEI Host Committe for doing such a great job. Don Cherry as usual had the crowd in a stupor while making his appearance at the hockey game and during Coaches Corner but the week was much more than just him . Don was great as usual  but the weeks events were even greater.