OHL Announces SUBWAY® Super Series Honourary Captains

Press Release

Toronto, ON – The Canadian Hockey League in association with the Ontario Hockey League and the Guelph Storm and Sarnia Sting Hockey Clubs today announced that 1972 Summit Series heroes Paul Henderson and Pat Stapleton, along with 2012 Canadian Olympic Team gymnast Dominique Pegg will serve as Honourary Captains in the 2012 SUBWAY® Super Series.

Henderson will participate in the pregame ceremonies as part of the game in Guelph on Thursday November 8, while Stapleton and Pegg will take part in the ceremonies in Sarnia on Monday November 12.

Paul Henderson of Kincardine, ON, competed for Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series where he would score one of the most famous goals in Canadian hockey history.  His goal in the dying seconds of the eighth and final Summit Series game 40 years ago lifted Canada past the Soviet Union team for the series win.  The former Hamilton Red Wing won a Memorial Cup title in 1962 before playing 13 seasons in the National Hockey League beginning his career with the Detroit Red Wings in 1962.  He played four full seasons with the Red Wings before a trade brought him to the Toronto Maple Leafs where he would play until 1974 before concluding his career in Atlanta in 1980 with 707 career games played collecting 236 goals and 241 assists for 477 points.

Pat "Whitey" Stapleton began his hockey career in Sarnia playing with the Legionnaires Jr B Hockey Club for two seasons (1956 - 1958) prior tojoining the St. Catharines Teepees of the OHA, a club he would help win a Memorial Cup title in 1960.  He would go on to enjoy a successful 18-year career in professional hockey including 10 years in the NHL accumulating 337 points in 635 games between the Boston Bruins from 1961-63, and the Chicago Blackhawks between 1965-73.  Stapleton was a member of Team Canada at the 1972 Summit Series and collected the puck used by Paul Henderson to score the series-winning goal.  His son Mike is currently the Head Coach of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. 

Dominique Pegg is a native of Blenheim but now resides in Sarnia and is a member of the Bluewater Gymnastics Club.  In June Pegg qualified as a member of the Canadian Women's Gymnastics Team earning her spot at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.  Pegg’s performance ranks among the best all-time in Canadian Women’s Gymnastics finishing 17th overall in the All-Around Individual Final.  In Canada’s Olympic history, not including boycotted Olympic Games, only three females have ever finished higher than 17th in gymnastics, with the highest being a 15th place finish in 2000.  Pegg would also help the Canadian Women's team to their first ever Olympic Team Final and a 5th place finish, the best finish ever for the Women's Gymnastics Team.

The 2012 SUBWAY® Super Series will take place November 5 – 15 and marks the tenth straight year that teams of CHL All-Stars have competed against Team Russia in preparation for the World Junior Hockey Championship.  The SUBWAY® Super Series is an integral part of the evaluation process prior to Team Canada’s final selection camp in December.  This season, Canada will be competing for their 15^th straight medal at the 2013 tournament in Russia.  Team OHL enters the tenth anniversary of this event with a perfect 18-0 record against Team Russia following a 10-7 win last season in Ottawa, and a 6-3 victory in Sault Ste. Marie.


 (Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)