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This article was published 24/05/2019 (2569 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
To those who knew him, Ab McDonald was much more than a great hockey player.
“Every once in a while you come across a person in your life that has what I call presence. Ab was one of those people,” said Don Kuryk, president of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and a longtime friend of the late NHLer.
Alvin “Ab” McDonald grew up in the Weston neighbourhood and went on to win four Stanley Cups — three with the Montreal Canadiens and one with the Chicago Blackhawks — before returning to his hometown as the first captain of the Winnipeg Jets.
He passed away last September at his home in St. James, where he had lived with his wife and five children since 1967. He was 82.
Kuryk describes McDonald as an “ambassador to the city” who had a passion for charity work, volunteering and giving back to the community.
“This is an individual we should try to recognize for more than just all the Stanley Cups he got, but for the person that he is, the family man he is,” Kuryk said. “He gave of himself freely.”
To recognize those qualities, Kuryk, McDonald’s son David and friend Ted Foreman have started a campaign to rename the hockey rink at the St. James Civic Centre the Ab McDonald Memorial Arena. The proposal was passed unanimously at an Assiniboia community committee on May 7 and will considered by the standing policy committee on protection, community services and parks this fall.
Kuryk met McDonald in the early 1970s when he was starting his career as a referee — in fact, the first game he officiated involved the Portage Terriers coached by McDonald. He also played with the left winger in the Winnipeg Club Old-Timers league and fondly remembers playing in Russia on a team trip.
“He was very unselfish, never there to say anything if you did something wrong,” Kuryk said of McDonald’s style of play. “It was just a pleasure to be around the man.”
If the arena renaming is approved, the signage will make official a connection the McDonald family has had to the St. James Civic Centre for a long time.
“Ab used to go skating at the rink there and he used to take his two grandchildren when they were old enough,” McDonald’s wife of 60 years Patricia said.
During one such skating outing, his four-year-old granddaughter took note of his above average skating abilities.
“When she came home she said to my mom, ‘Grandpa’s a really good skater,’” McDonald’s daughter Cindy East said.
More than a dozen people and organizations, including the Winnipeg Jets and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, have written letters of support for the Ab McDonald Memorial Arena project. For East, the initiative hits close to home.
“We’re very, very honoured because my dad lived in St. James since 1967 and he coached, played, watched lots of hockey at that arena, so it’s very special for our entire family,” she said.
Patricia said she isn’t surprised by the support McDonald has garnered from the community.
“I never heard anybody say a bad word about my husband,” she said. “I would go for a walk with him and I’d be walking 10 feet ahead of him because he would be stopping, talking and shaking hands with somebody — he was very personable.”
When asked what her husband would think of having an arena named after him, Patricia gave some insight into McDonald’s humble nature.
“I think he would be very, very excited about it all,” she said. “He probably wouldn’t believe it at first, he’d probably think someone was playing a joke on him.”
To those who knew him, Ab McDonald was much more than a great hockey player.
Supplied photo
Ab McDonald is pictured in the backyard of the family home in St. James with his wife Patricia and children Steve (back row from left), Cindy East, Kristina Gottfried, Lori Koke and Dave. McDonald passed away last September at the age of 82.
“Every once in a while you come across a person in your life that has what I call presence. Ab was one of those people,” said Don Kuryk, president of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and a longtime friend of the late NHLer.
Alvin “Ab” McDonald grew up in the Weston neighbourhood and went on to win four Stanley Cups — three with the Montreal Canadiens and one with the Chicago Blackhawks — before returning to his hometown as the first captain of the Winnipeg Jets.
He passed away last September at his home in St. James, where he had lived with his wife and five children since 1967. He was 82.
Kuryk describes McDonald as an “ambassador to the city” who had a passion for charity work, volunteering and giving back to the community.
“This is an individual we should try to recognize for more than just all the Stanley Cups he got, but for the person that he is, the family man he is,” Kuryk said. “He gave of himself freely.”
To recognize those qualities, Kuryk, McDonald’s son David and friend Ted Foreman have started a campaign to rename the hockey rink at the St. James Civic Centre the Ab McDonald Memorial Arena. The proposal was passed unanimously at an Assiniboia community committee on May 7 and will considered by the standing policy committee on protection, community services and parks this fall.
Kuryk met McDonald in the early 1970s when he was starting his career as a referee — in fact, the first game he officiated involved the Portage Terriers coached by McDonald. He also played with the left winger in the Winnipeg Club Old-Timers league and fondly remembers playing in Russia on a team trip.
“He was very unselfish, never there to say anything if you did something wrong,” Kuryk said of McDonald’s style of play. “It was just a pleasure to be around the man.”
If the arena renaming is approved, the signage will make official a connection the McDonald family has had to the St. James Civic Centre for a long time.
“Ab used to go skating at the rink there and he used to take his two grandchildren when they were old enough,” McDonald’s wife of 60 years Patricia said.
During one such skating outing, his four-year-old granddaughter took note of his above average skating abilities.
Photo by Eva Wasney
Don Kuryk is president of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and a longtime friend of the Ab McDonald. He is leading the charge to change the name of the arena at the St. James Civic Centre to the Ab McDonald Memorial Arena.
“When she came home she said to my mom, ‘Grandpa’s a really good skater,’” McDonald’s daughter Cindy East said.
More than a dozen people and organizations, including the Winnipeg Jets and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, have written letters of support for the Ab McDonald Memorial Arena project. For East, the initiative hits close to home.
“We’re very, very honoured because my dad lived in St. James since 1967 and he coached, played, watched lots of hockey at that arena, so it’s very special for our entire family,” she said.
Patricia said she isn’t surprised by the support McDonald has garnered from the community.
“I never heard anybody say a bad word about my husband,” she said. “I would go for a walk with him and I’d be walking 10 feet ahead of him because he would be stopping, talking and shaking hands with somebody — he was very personable.”
When asked what her husband would think of having an arena named after him, Patricia gave some insight into McDonald’s humble nature.
“I think he would be very, very excited about it all,” she said. “He probably wouldn’t believe it at first, he’d probably think someone was playing a joke on him.”
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