Saturday, December 28, 2013

Hall of Famer to Headline CKLQ Wheat Kings Dinner

Press Release

Brandon, MB. – A six time winner of the Stanley Cup will headline the list of speakers for the 2014 Wheat Kings CKLQ Sportsman’s Dinner, scheduled for Thursday, February 6th in the Keystone Centre’s UCT Pavillion.

A modern day player with old-fashioned attributes, Bryan Trottier was the New York Islanders second choice, 22nd overall, in the 1974 National Hockey League Entry Draft. A former member of the Swift Current Broncos, Trottier set an NHL rookie record with 95 points and won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie in 1976. The Val Marie, Saskatchewan product also collected some other pieces of hardware during his 18-year NHL career, earning the Art Ross and Hart Trophies in 1979, the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1980 and the King Clancy Trophy in 1989.

Trottier scored at least 103 points in a season six times and scored a career high fifty goals during the 1981-82 campaign as an Islander.

It was with the Islanders that he captured four Stanley Cup titles. His final two came as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Following the Penguins ’92 Cup win, Trottier took a front office position with the Islanders but returned for the ’93-94 season to play one final season with Mario Lemieux in Pittsburgh.

During his illustrious career, Trottier scored 524 goals and 1,425 points in 1,279 career games.

In addition to his outstanding NHL career, he played for Team Canada in the 1981 Canada Cup and for the United States in ’84.

A former assistant coach in both Pittsburgh and Colorado, he was inducted into Hockey’s Hall of Fame in 1997

Joining Trottier at this the 2014 event, which is held annually to raise money for the Wheat Kings’ Scholarship Foundation, will be comedian Andrew Grose and former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Gord Stellick.

Currently the radio host of Hockey Night in Canada, Stellick became the youngest general managers in NHL history when he was named to the post in 1988 – at the age of thirty. He later traded his management duties for a microphone, joining Rogers Sportsnet and the Fan 590 as the host of their Maple Leafs’ pre-game show.

By providing hockey fans with some of the most insightful, well-researched and accurate commentary available, he was able to parlay his experience and knowledge of the game with a career in front of the microphone. In addition to his broadcasting, Stellick co-wrote ’67: The Maple Leafs, Their Sensational Victory and the End of an Empire, about the last season that Toronto won the Stanley Cup.

“The Brandon Wheat Kings annual Sportsman’s Dinner has an amazing history of bringing together sports personalities, and fans for a great evening of fun and entertainment,” says CKLQ general manager Cam Clark. “Once again CKLQ, in its 22nd year as Voice of the Brandon Wheat Kings, is proud to be a part of this amazing fundraising events for talented young players.”

Tickets to this year’s event are $100 each and can be ordered by calling the Wheat Kings at (204) 726-3535. For more information on the event, its history as well as the WHL Scholarship Foundation, be sure to check out the club’s official website located at www.wheatkings.com

Rounding out this year’s lineup is Grose, a Canadian comedy veteran with some of the most impressive credentials in the industry. In addition to over twenty years of live performances in comedy clubs, theatres and festivals, he has made his mark on national television in Canada. His credits include a one hour Comedy Now Uncensored Special on the Comedy Network, a half hour Comics comedy special, three Club 54 specials and countless television appearances from the Winnipeg Comedy Festival to Montreal’s famous Just for Laughs.

Originally from Charlottetown, PEI, Andrew now makes his home in Edmonton, where he recently organized the Laughing for Cancer Benefit which raised over $1,000,000 for cancer research and treatment in Alberta.

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

No comments: