Hawerchuk just Ducky about joining Jets Hall of Fame
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/06/2017 (2471 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Skating on to the ice at the Winnipeg Arena for the very first time. Hitting the 50-goal mark. Looking up in awe at the first-ever playoff Whiteout.
Dale Hawerchuk says those are three of his favourite memories from his time with the Winnipeg Jets. But now he is looking forward to adding another as he becomes the newest member of the team’s Hall of Fame.
The Jets announced Friday that Hawerchuk will be enshrined at an induction ceremony prior to the Nov. 14 game at Bell MTS Place against the Arizona Coyotes.
“Mark (Chipman) called me and told me I’d be the next one to go in. I was ecstatic,” Hawerchuk said in a conference call Friday evening. “Probably the greatest hockey memories I had in my life came from playing in Manitoba for the Winnipeg Jets.”
Hawerchuk follows last year’s induction of the HOT Line of Anders Hedberg, Bobby Hull and Ulf Nilsson. The first-overall selection in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft played nine seasons with the Jets, leading the team in scoring every season. He was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in 1990 and retired in 1997 with 1,409 points in 1,188 regular-season games, plus another 99 points in 97 playoff games.
“I can’t say how important Winnipeg was to my life. Going there at 18, I did a lot of growing up there,” said Hawerchuk.
He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001 and is also a member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame. He returned to the city last fall to take part in the Heritage Classic festivities, which included captaining the Jets alumni team against Wayne Gretzky’s Oilers.
“That was an incredible week. That memory will last forever. Just to see the way the city was, it was electric,” said Hawerchuk. “You really saw the passion of the Winnipeg Jets fans. It really reminded me of when I went there as an 18-year-old.”
Hawerchuk’s lineage to Winnipeg remains strong to this day. He’s the head coach of the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League, the former home of Jets centre Mark Scheifele. Hawerchuk said he continues to keep close tabs on the Jets and believes the future is bright.
“They’re heading in the right direction. It takes time. The NHL is different from when I played. We’re in a cap era now,” said Hawerchuk. “The game has changed a lot. The Jets, when you look at them now, they’re starting to form a team that’s going to be exciting to watch.”
His only regret from his time in Winnipeg was the lack of playoff success, saying it would have meant everything to bring home a Stanley Cup.
“It would have been so special,” he said.
Hawerchuk also applauded the Jets for honouring the past, saying he’s talked with Chipman and others about establishing an alumni group in Winnipeg to work with current and future players.
“It’s very important. They can help these kids. They’ve been there, they’ve done it,” he said.
Hawerchuk will attend the Winnipeg Jets Hall of Fame luncheon on Nov. 15, one day after he’s feted during the Jets-Coyotes game. Further information on the team’s Hall of Fame can be found at winnipegjetshof.com.
mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @mikeoncrime
Mike McIntyre
Sports reporter
Mike McIntyre grew up wanting to be a professional wrestler. But when that dream fizzled, he put all his brawn into becoming a professional writer.