Meeker drops the puck

Photo: Kate Bouey

Former Toronto Maple Leaf and ex-broadcaster Howie Meeker was back on the ice this weekend, dropping the puck in a short ceremony ahead of the Vernon Vipers game Friday.

Meeker was joined by John Topping, one of the new inductees into the Okanagan sports hall of fame.

The 92-year-old suffers with bad knees these days.

He blames that on being blown up by a grenade while with the army in World War Two and for the toll taken during his hockey-playing days with the Leafs.

He says if a player's knees were sore before a big game, they were frozen.

“My linemate, Vic Lynn, had exactly the same problem as I did and he would get his knees frozen and Ted Kennedy, our centre, he had them,” said Meeker.

“Everybody in our day ended up with sore knees, bad knees,” said Meeker. “We were hungry and looking for a job and no bad pair of knees would keep us from working.”

His years with the Leafs included four Stanley Cup wins. He also won the Calder Cup as rookie of the year in 1947, beating the great Gordie Howe.

As a sports broadcaster, Meeker was watched from coast-to-coast on Hockey Night In Canada for years.

He is still involved in charity work. Meeker and his wife, Leah, turn out for events involving Special Olympics and B.C. Guide Dogs.

“It's payback time,” said Meeker, who was awarded the Order of Canada in 2011 for a lifetime of contributions to sports, charities and to his community.

His charity work in Vernon, has included showing up for Special Olympics' golf tournaments for a number of years, making speeches and signing autographs.

He said he's made a number of friends in the area and makes a point of seeking them.

“Good friends, good people,” said Meeker.

Apart from the puck drop at Kal Tire Place, Meeker was guest speaker at the Okanagan sports hall of fame banquet Saturday.