No Sedins, no Thornton? No problem.
The Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks kept several of their notable players on the shelf Monday night, but it mattered little to the crowd that jammed The Q Centre in Colwood for the Kraft Hockeyville NHL exhibition game, won 1-0 by the Canucks in overtime on a goal, fittingly, by Adam Cracknell of Victoria.
Pretty much everybody else who is anybody in the hockey world was here — from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to Coach’s Corner icons Don Cherry and Ron MacLean, the latter making his first broadcasting appearance in the capital since the 1994 Commonwealth Games.
“This is Canadian hockey right here,” said Cherry, resplendent in a red and green plaid suit, while giving a special shout-out to Olympic champion, NHL scoring champion and Central Saanich product Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars. But the biggest cheers were reserved for veteran Peninsula minor hockey volunteer Larry Orr, who dropped the ceremonial opening puck.
Not only were the fans enthusiastic for the game, but for both teams’ pre-game skates Monday morning, which were also packed.
“It’s awesome to hear kids chant your name … it’s a humbling experience. It’s something I did as a kid to the players I looked up to,” said Canucks sophomore forward Bo Horvat.
The fervent reception was a theme that rippled through the day.
“It was awesome to see all those kids lined up [to meet the players],” said centre Brandon Sutter of the Canucks.
The night was most special for Canucks centre Adam Cracknell of Victoria, recently acquired by his home-province NHL club. “It’s definitely exciting, especially since I played right up the hill,” said Cracknell, who took the game-opening face-off.
“I’m feeling a lot of energy,” said the 30-year-old journeyman, before the game.
“I won’t need much coffee today. This reaction among the fans today shows what the Canucks mean here. All my friends grew up dreaming of playing for the Canucks. So, there’s a lot of pride in putting on this jersey. I’m still living the dream … and playing for the Canucks.”
But Cracknell, with his local knowledge, might have found the geographical mashup more than a little incongruous. The signs in the Colwood rink read: “North Saanich is Hockeyville.”
It was, of course, North Saanich that won the nationwide Internet voting for Kraft Hockeyville 2015 last spring, with the $100,000 in improvements to the Panorama Rec Centre and NHL exhibition game that came with it.
It was decided, however, that Panorama lacked pro-standard amenities.
Instead, the game was assigned to The Q Centre, which allowed the event to use a higher-calibre arena while maintaining the small-rink vibe so important to this annual event.
