Kelowna

Photo: Mark Stone

Big Brothers Big Sisters Charity Dinner

Last night at the Coast Capri Hotel, the Predator Ridge Gentlemen’s Charity Dinner was held in support of the Big Brothers Big Sisters charity. Morning radio hosts Phil Johnson and Gord Vizzutti acted as the MCs and former Vancouver Canuck captain Trevor Linden was the guest of honour as the Keynote Speaker.

To support the Big Brothers Big Sisters charity, both live and silent auctions were held with a wide variety of great prizes for attendees to bid on. The theme for many of the auction’s goodies was hockey, with a wide selection of rare photos and jerseys up for bid. A casino, various sports-themed Wii games, and a golf putt tournament were prominently featured and provided good-natured entertainment for the gentlemen in attendance. Paired with the filet mignon and shrimp dinner was Mission Hill’s spectacular Oculus Bordeaux wine.

As the keynote speaker, Linden did not disappoint. Linden would have been equally at home on stage at the Just For Laughs event also going on last night in Kelowna, as he joked with the crowd and delivered some great comedic quips.

Linden’s personal interpretation on how hockey has changed from the 80s (when he first entered the league) to today was refreshing and informative, and made up the bulk of his impressive keynote speech.

One example the former Canuck star used to highlight how the game has changed since his early days was a tale he shared about a very recent meeting with the Kelowna Rockets team.

Photo: Mark Stone

Trevor Linden autographs a jersey

“I saw them in the airport and saw some of the kids, and my first question was, ‘What are you doing in an airport?’ And they were like, ‘Who the hell are you?’ They said, ‘It’s not what you think, we bused from Regina and we’re flying to Prince George.’ They were telling me about their bus with flat screen TVs and video games. When I played, it was veteran on the floor and rookie on the seat.”

Linden also addressed the Canucks’ heartbreaking Stanley Cup loss to the Boston Bruins. He disagrees that the Canucks weren’t tough enough.

“What happened was: they didn’t score. 8 goals in 7 games. The reason they lost in the final was timing; their game wasn’t as good as it could have been and after the 2-0 start they maybe let their foot off the gas. And when they got back to Boston... you can’t hang that on Roberto. They couldn’t score. I’ve played with Daniel and Henrik and those guys are tough. Last year was their year. They should have won. Tim Thomas stood on his head.”

The 1994 Stanley Cup finalist was happy to point out his appreciation for the local hockey scene. “Up here in Kelowna you have a wonderful hockey tradition with the Rockets, and what Bruce Hamilton has done with the organization is pretty special.”

When asked if he will ever rejoin the Canucks organization, Linden wouldn’t commit but admitted, “If the right opportunity came along I may be up for it. For now I’m very happy with my life.”

Overall, a great evening for a great cause.