NHL

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Son pleads for NHL, players to end lockout for dying dad

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 10/23/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

YouTube / the canadian press In this screengrab from YouTube, John Dick sits by his father Bruce in a Leduc, Alta., hospital room. (CP)

LEDUC, Alta. -- As John Dick was flying from Australia to Alberta to be with his dying father, he decided that they would spend the next few awful, idle weeks in hospital watching hockey on TV.

They would make wagers on games and rekindle fond memories of a young boy and his dad cuddled together on the couch together as they hooted and hollered at the Edmonton Oilers.

"I was gonna rely on hockey for keeping his mind off of this horrible thing that's happening inside of his body," Dick recalled Monday.

The plan changed shortly after Dick got home to Leduc, a city just south of Edmonton. The NHL locked out its players and recently cancelled all games through Nov. 1.

Dick explained that his dad, who is suffering from terminal throat cancer, is on morphine and other medications that often make him forget about the lockout. Most nights, while sitting in a small hospital room, Dick has to remind his father why they can't turn on the game. "He's stuck watching the Kardashians 'cause there's no NHL."

Fed up, the 31-year-old budding filmmaker decided to make a video pleading with the National Hockey League and its players to get the season started for his dad and other disheartened fans.

The video, NHL Lockout Kills Dreams, has been viewed about 50,000 times since it was posted on YouTube last Thursday. In the video, Dick's father, 58-year-old Bruce, is shown lying in bed in his hospital gown and hooked up to whirring machines.

His son talks about how watching hockey used to give them both inspiration and comfort.

"How do I feel about the situation in the NHL?" Dick asks in the video. "I hope that the doctors and nurses that keep my dad alive get a raise and that you guys get your asses back on the ice before it's too late. Remember what we play this game for."

Dick said he and his father are surprised by the video's popularity and the touching comments some viewers have posted. "He gets pretty teary-eyed. I don't think he expected people would care."

Dick said that's his wish as well -- watching one last game with his dad before he dies.

Dick's girlfriend in Australia also came to visit last month. Dick said he got down on one knee in the hospital room and proposed because his dad isn't likely to live to see the two of them get married.

"I wanted my dad to be part of something."

-- The Canadian Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 23, 2012 D5

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