Hockey game hits home run

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/01/2009 (6470 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Tuques, skate guards and mom and dad watching from rinkside, stomping their feet to keep warm.

Sounds like a Saturday morning at the outdoor rink down the street, but for Cam Barker it was Wrigley Field and the NHL on New Year’s Day with a live audience of 40,000-plus and TV cameras transmitting the game across the continent.

Outdoor hockey is how many young Canadians get their start in the game, including a young Winnipegger named Barker, who took those early lessons all the way to the Chicago Blackhawks and the NHL.

Along with Winnipeg-born Blackhawks defenceman Duncan Keith and captain Jonathan Toews, the Hawks were on the wrong end of a 6-4 Detroit Red Wings win Thursday afternoon in the NHL’s Winter Classic. Winnipegborn defenceman Derek Meech was a healthy scratch with Detroit.

Wrigley Field, a baseball shrine and cherished American ballpark, was turned into an outdoor hockey rink for a few days and the people of Chicago turned out in full force to support their reborn Hawks. Apartment-top bleachers, legendary Blackhawks singing Take Me Out to the (Hockey) Game, a pre-game flyover and beer and brats were all part of the festivities.

And mixed in with all those Mike Ditka-loving Southsiders were two parents from Winnipeg watching with tears in their eyes from a mixture of cold and nostalgia as their little boy played a grown-up game in a setting made for kids.

"Kind of mixed emotions. We’d like to have seen the boys win the first time they did this amazing event in Chicago, but it’s been a wonderful experience for us," said Barker’s father, Neil Barker, who attended the game with wife Elaine. "We put on about three extra layers of clothing. Elaine had a classic Blackhawks jersey that she was able to pull over her jacket. And I had one of those lids that looks like a helmet from the world juniors in Vancouver. That baby kept me warm."

Barker, a first-round pick of the Hawks in 2004, enjoyed the outdoor-game atmosphere and being part of a major sports event in Chicago.

"The whole sequence of events was amazing," Barker said. "From the anthem, to the flyover, to just coming out onto the ice and hearing the crowd. There’s a lot of work that goes into a game like this, and for a player, there are a lot of changes to make.

"But it’s all worth it. I don’t want to say it’s tough to get up for some games, but this one was easy to be ready for. Guys were showing up three hours early for practice just to be here and be part of it all. And for me, having my family and friends here for this just made it all the more special."

It was special for Neil as well.

"It was amazing to go to the practice at Wrigley and stand right up against the boards and watch how fast they skate and move the puck," he said. "This whole thing was awesome. The Americans do it up to the nth degree, especially their sports events."

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca

 

Dude where’s my tuque?

Six young Winnipeggers took up Cam Barker on his invitation to take in the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field and spent the three days in Chicago living life inside the ropes with their NHL buddy.

The sixsome, James Prokupchuk, Brent Buydens, Dominic Antonini, Jordan Rachey, Tyler Thorne and brother Garret Thorne kicked off their odyssey with an early morning flight to the Windy City last Tuesday and were scheduled to make their way home today. Here’s a quick sketch of their ultimate hockey trip.

"Cam told me about it when it was announced and we all started talking about it and then we just decided to do it," said Thorne, spokesman for the group as they rode through Wrigleyville in a cab following Thursday’s game, heading to a party for the Blackhawks, friends and family. "Cam said it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity and it was.

"We got in Tuesday and hung around downtown Chicago and then on Wednesday we went to the practices at Wrigley Field and wore Jets jerseys and hats. We got to stand right along the boards and all the guys were coming up and talking to us. We met a couple of ex-Jets, Ed Olczyk and Kris King. Scotty Bowman came and said hi to us. Detroit’s coach Mike Babcock came by. It was surreal. I can’t even describe it. It was the greatest thing ever. After the practice, Cam took us to the United Center and gave us a tour of the dressing room. The Bulls were playing. So he walked us out the tunnel where the Bulls go to the floor and we stood courtside and watched some of the game.

"We went out last night to some club that a friend of ours knows about. Cam stayed in and got his sleep. We didn’t bother him. Then we got up and went to the game and it was awesome. We wore our Jets stuff again. It was so cool."

 

Worth every penny

Flight: $600
Hotel: $200
Beer: "Quite a bit."
Tickets to Winter Classic: Free
Winnipeg Jets jersey: Ask Santa
Having a buddy in the NHL: Priceless

 

— Lawless