WINKLER -- When Dustin Penner returned to Winkler with the Stanley Cup last summer as a member of the champion Anaheim Ducks, he made a special stop at Boundary Trails Hospital.
"My father was ill and in the hospital and Dustin brought the Stanley Cup to him," recalled Dustin's mom Linda Penner.
Dustin Penner prepares to drop the game puck for the Morden Redskins - Plum Coulee Express game in Winkler.
Her father David Peters escaped the Russian Revolution, during which 30,000 Mennonites were killed, in 1928 when he was eight years old, fleeing with his family on one of the last trains.
Flash forward 81 years and his grandson placed the Stanley Cup next to him on his hospital bed.
"They sat down and looked at the names on the Cup," said Linda, "and I remember Dustin saying, 'Hey look Grandpa, here's a Peters,' or maybe it was a Friesen. They were kind of looking for another Mennonite name."
His grandfather died a few months later. "My father was a huge fan of Dustin's. It was a very, very special moment," said Linda.
Thursday, Dustin made another special visit to his hometown, this time as part of Hockey Day in Canada festivities. It was unofficially Dustin Penner Day in Winkler.
Dustin Penner, left, with Wendel Clarke, centre, and Kelly Hrudey.
About 500 students in the Emerado School gymnasium exploded with cheers when Dustin stepped onto the dais yesterday afternoon.
Joining Dustin on stage were former NHL stars turned Hockey Night in Canada announcers Kelly Hrudey and Craig Simpson, Team Canada star along with Toronto Maple Leaf alumnus Wendel Clark, and CBC's chief correspondent Peter Mansbridge.
Students of the Grade K-8 school came up onstage to ask their guests questions. Dustin was asked if he had a nickname when he was younger.
"I'm sure it was something like 'Runt' or 'Lippy,'" replied Dustin, who is almost six-foot-five today. Did he have a favourite teacher in Grade 7? "If they are here, it would be you," he said.
There was also a competition for students to draw and colour the best new sports jacket for Don Cherry, who arrives Friday.
In an interview, Dustin couldn't explain why there is sudden surge of hockey players from Winkler knocking on the NHL's door but he follows their progress with great interest. For example, he was aware that highly-touted Winklerite Eric Fehr of the Washington Capitals played this week for the first time in a year. His career has been threatened by a herniated disc.
Student Cassia Yarowy at Emerado Centennial School in Winkler, MB.
"It's exciting to see the guys get as far as they have and hopefully they'll reach their goals. It's especially good to see Eric back."
It used to be the only NHL players you could find with Mennonite backgrounds were Laurie Boschman and Ray Neufeld.
That is changing.
Edwin Penner, Dustin's uncle, coached Dustin from ages 12 through 14. Dustin's teammates included goaltender Brent Krahn, who was drafted ninth overall and is in the Calgary Flames farm system, and Matt Suderman, who was drafted in the seventh round by the Atlanta Thrashers.
Two years behind them, Edwin Penner coached pure scorer Eric Fehr, drafted 18th overall by the Washington Capitals, David Schulz; who was taken in the seventh round by Vancouver; and Josh Froese, who is playing college hockey in Massachusetts right now -- all on the same team.
From Winnipeg, Jonathan Toews, of Mennonite background on his father's side, was starring for the Chicago Blackhawks until he got injured.
Dustin was never drafted by the NHL.
Edwin Penner believes some of the players around Winkler are being recognized now because the NHL's style of hockey has changed.
"When he was being scouted, the league put more emphasis on banging and crashing and not so much on skill," Edwin said. "The game in the 1990s was a lot of hooking and holding, and to Dustin's credit he didn't play that style."
People associated with hockey in Winkler say the community has become more progressive, too. For example, many players weren't allowed to play hockey on Sundays for the longest time. And boys were never pushed in hockey, but it was strictly for fun, with an emphasis on clean hockey.
"When they played Western competition or Ontario, they weren't prepared for the style of play they played. Scouts would see kids playing by the rules and emphasizing skills, and that didn't go over well. Now, with no hooking and holding, scouts are more looking for talent."
He continued: "Don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with being a pacifist (Mennonite). But in the hockey sense, to bring kids up from Sunday school where they've been taught all their lives to turn the other cheek, and then play the boys from Estevan, it takes a special kid."
What all the kids who have been drafted or who made it to the NHL from this area have in common is mental toughness, he said, starting with Eddie Belfour down the road in Carman, whom Edwin played junior hockey with.
"People don't realize the mental toughness it takes. Their lives are as regimental as a marine's. And they have to be focused and tough."
Edwin says believes Manitobans will be taking notice of Eric Fehr soon, if his back holds out. "He has an ability to score like few others. That boy can score from any angle," he said.
bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca
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