When the Vancouver Giants take the ice for Legends Weekend at the Langley Events Centre, they’ll be doing so in style. Twice this weekend, the Vancouver Giants will be sporting limited edition 1946 retro Vancouver White Spots jerseys.
White Spot Legends Weekend kicks off on Friday (Nov. 16) when the Giants play host to the Regina Pats at 7:30 p.m.
After a trip to Everett on Saturday, the Giants will return home Sunday to host their B.C. Division rivals, the Victoria Royals for a 4 p.m. puck drop.
“On behalf of Nat Bailey and White Spot, we are very proud to play a part in the rich hockey history of British Columbia,” said White Spot CEO and president Warren Erhart.
“To see the legacy of the Vancouver White Spots live on through White Spot Legends Weekend and these jerseys is very gratifying and it’s a fitting way that we can celebrate the 90th anniversary of Canada’s oldest restaurant chain.”
Over the course of the weekend, the Giants and the Langley Events Centre will host the following legends: Mike Bossy, Guy Lafleur, Marcel Dionne, Dale Hawerchuk, Mark, Marty and Dr. Murray Howe, Bernie Parent, Dennis Hull and more.
The players are signing autographs over the course of the Western Canada Expo, which features more than 150 vendors selling collectables, memorabilia, retail merchandise and more.
Mike Bossy is looking forward to it.
“I especially like going to places that have some extra meaning to them,” explained the now 61-year-old former New York Islanderfrom back home in Montreal.
Long-time fans of the Canucks franchise are likely aware Bossy and his New York Islanders topped Vancouver in the 1982 Stanley Cup Final. It marked the third of four consecutive Stanley Cups for the franchise.
And Bossy was an integral part of those squads, scoring 573 goals and 1,126 points in just 752 career NHL games, all with the Islanders. He was forced to retire following the 1986-87 season because of a back injury, but even in that final season, he managed 38 goals and 75 points in 63 games.
Not surprisingly, Bossy was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991 while his number 22 jersey was retired by the Islanders in 1992. During the 1980/81 season, he became just the second player in league history to record 50 goals in 50 games, a feat accomplished just eight times.
Despite Bossy’s earlier than anticipated retirement, he has long stayed involved in the game, including working for the Islanders in their corporate sponsorship department. These days he is working as a television analyst for RDS, the French NHL broadcaster back in Quebec.
“I have always been someone who has never shied away from giving my opinion,” Bossy explained, adding that trait combined with his hockey knowledge made for a seamless transition into becoming a hockey analyst. What does Bossy see in today’s game, compared to his era?
“Once they got rid of the clutching and grabbing and the red-line, the game has become a speedier game, no doubt about that,” he said. “And the abilities are nice to watch and there are some very, very talented players playing the game.”
Less clutching and grabbing, and superior stick technology, also make for a different game, which leads to the question: which era would Bossy preferred to play in?
“It is all hypothetical, it is tough to say. I enjoyed the era I played in and obviously I am not going to trade anything I had.”
The BC Sports Hall of Fame will also have their Dream Card Collection on display. This rare collection of hockey cards contains every mass-produced hockey card between 1951 and 1995 and features such gems as rookie cards for Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Guy Lafleur as well as several other rare cards.
Fans with tickets to either Vancouver Giants home games on November 16 (vs. the Regina Pats at 7:30 p.m.) or November 18 (vs. the Victoria Royals at 4:00 p.m.) get into the Western Canada Hockey Expo for free on those specific days. Tickets for the Western Canadian Expo are $5 and kids 12 and under are free. One free autograph will be available from Marcel Dionne (Friday) and Dennis Hull (Sunday). Fans are permitted to bring their own memorabilia, and some will also be available to purchase.
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