The legacy of Thordarson lives on Storied photojournalist inducted into Media Roll of Honour By: Taylor Allen Posted: 7:15 PM CDT Tuesday, Sep. 15, 2026 Last Modified: 7:56 PM CDT Tuesday, Sep. 15, 2026 Updates

If you’re a longtime hockey fan from around these parts, chances are you’ve seen the photo.

It’s an iconic snapshot of Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg carrying the Avco Cup together on the ice after helping the Winnipeg Jets win the World Hockey Association’s top prize in 1978.

The person behind the camera was the late, great Jon Thordarson, who was inducted into the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association’s Media Roll of Honour on Tuesday inside the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.

And while they say every picture tells a story, there’s also a darn good story about what happened after Thordarson hit the shutter button.

“That was the picture, and Jon knew it,” said retired Free Press humour columnist Doug Speirs, and also a very close friend of the photojournalist. “And then he basically ripped the cup out of their hands and gave it to somebody else. And he did that so no one else was gonna get that photo of the two best hockey players (who were playing their final game with the Jets) holding the trophy.

“He was a fiercely competitive guy and he always wanted to get the picture — and he did.”

Upon entering the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame’s museum and event space, the first thing visitors see is the Avco Cup encased with a framed copy of that picture behind it.

“Jon captured the essence of those teams,” said Geoff Kirbyson, an author of several Jets books and a former Free Press reporter.

“He talked about how tough all those players were, and a lot of the pictures that I would look at would be of Ulf Nilsson with a black eye, or Veli-Pekka Ketola with a black eye, and he’d be able to tell me the story behind those pictures. Jon saw the craziest era, in the 1970s when everyone beat the crap out of each other. There are a bunch of his photos in my book on The Hot Line because he was the photographer of record.”

Thordarson is just the second photographer to be enshrined into the Media Roll of Honour, with the first being Winnipeg Tribune photojournalist Hugh Allan in 1989.

Thordarson died March 13, 2010, at the age of 59 after an eight-year battle with cancer.

He is survived by his wife Janice and their five children — Erik, Lara, Elin, Karl and Kryn.

“It’s hard to beat that (picture),” said Karl. “But that’s actually not the one that was framed in our basement forever. There’s another one that’s like a split second earlier or later, and you can see his reflection very clearly in the centre of the Cup.”

Thordarson enjoyed a 37-year career in newspapers, working for the Winnipeg Tribune (1973-80), Hamilton Spectator (1980-81) and Winnipeg Sun (1981-89) before leading the photo department at the Free Press (1989-2010).

“I took a whole bunch of his prints and created a huge mural out of them to decorate the living room in my first apartment. They were so interesting to look at,” said Lara.

“And he went from darkrooms to digital like flawlessly. Like when he was a kid, you couldn’t take a shower in their house on a Saturday because he always had the warm water running over his photos in his darkroom.”

In addition to his photography skills, Thordarson was well known for his contagious positivity.

“One of my dad’s trademark sayings was, ‘There’s only good days and great days!’ And that was always so special,” said Lara.

“And when it was raining, if you were complaining, he’d always say, ‘What are you, made of sugar?’”

Early on in his cancer diagnosis, Thordarson was told he’d only have three months to live. He not only proved the doctors wrong, but went on to work and inspire others for another five years. He also continued with another one of his passions: cycling.

In 2013, he was inducted posthumously into the Manitoba Order of the Buffalo Hunt.

“He lost a number of internal organs and was left with only half a lung, but he was still doing these races and a couple days later I’d hear from a friend and they’d go, ‘There was this guy that finished the race on half a lung, it was incredible and we were all there at the finish line,’ and I’d be able to tell them, ‘Yeah, that was my dad,’” said Karl.

Thordarson’s influence is still being felt in newsrooms today as he helped many find their footing in the industry.

“People revered Jon,” said Speirs.

“He was so kind and he was literally a mentor to every news photographer and sports photographer in the western part of the country.”

The MSSA also inducted Russ Hobson, Curt Keilback, Rita Mingo and Kelly Moore on Tuesday. Ernie Nairn, who recently turned 87, was honoured with a Lifetime Membership.

“It’s really special. Every once in a while, we kind of get this wave of people honouring him, recognizing him, or recognizing us because of our last name, and everyone always has such a lovely story about him,” said Lara.

“It’s just so nice to know that his legacy is still continuing on.”

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