Downtown Winnipeg has its first bronzed hockey hero.
More than a dozen former Winnipeg Jets helped unveil a statue of former teammate Dale Hawerchuk at True North Square on Saturday.
The event, more than two years in the making, was attended by the late star’s wife, Crystal, his three kids, Eric, Ben and Alexis, his parents and dozens of other friends and family and a few thousand fans at the corner of Hargrave and Graham.
Family members fought back tears as the giant sculpture was revealed for the first time.
“It was very emotional,” Eric Hawerchuk said. “I’ve kind of been preparing, but to see just the sheer size of it, the attention to detail, it’s hard to put into words. But I’m so proud of him. And to see so many people out here today, it still shocks me every time I’m here.”
Eric’s mother, Dale’s wife Crystal, was among those who spoke, telling the crowd how humbled and honoured her late husband had been when he discovered the Jets’ plans for the statue, not long before he died of cancer in August of 2020.
“It was a very emotional day,” she said. “He was special. He made a difference in the lives of many, and this is why we will not forget him. This statue is a testament to the giving life he lived.”
Jets centre Mark Scheifele also spoke, recalling his first meeting with Hawerchuk, who convinced him to play for him in Barrie of the Ontario Junior League instead of going to a U.S. college.
“Within five minutes I knew he was the guy I wanted to play for,” Scheifele said. “He was the best coach I ever had, but he was an even better human. He cared more than anyone could ever know. And I was lucky to be one of those guys he cared about.”
Scheifele’s years under Hawerchuk led to him being the first draft pick of the Jets 2.0, 30 years after Hawerchuk was the first player the Jets selected in 1981.
“I drive down Hargrave every day, so every day I get to stop at the stoplight and look at this statue… and think about him,” Scheifele said. “And I get to go to the rink with that passion that he instilled in me… all I can say is thank-you Dale.”
Current Jets associate coach Scott Arniel related the story of first meeting Hawerchuk in a swimming pool when both were juniors in Cornwall, Ont.
“We became friends there, and it lasted a lifetime,” Arniel said, recalling how the Jets drafted him right after taking his good friend in ’81.
“We got drafted here together. It’s where Dale became the star that he was,” Arniel said. “He grew here as a hockey player, as a husband and as a father. He wanted me to make sure for all you guys to be here today, to be part of this, was very special to him.
“He loved this city, this province. He made it home, and he was special to all of us.”
Hawerchuk, known as “Ducky,” played with the Jets for nine seasons, quickly becoming the captain and leading the team in scoring every season.
He scored 929 points in 713 games as a Jet, earning a spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001.
Twice he played for Canada at the Canada Cup, including the memorable 1987 series that produced one of his indelible career moments, as he helped produce Mario Lemieux’s winning goal in the final.
“You do not appreciate how great a player and teammate he is unless you play with him,” defenceman Paul Coffey, a member of that team, told the crowd at True North Square. “This guy takes a back seat to nobody.”
Ex-Jets in attendance included Serge Savard, Randy Gilhen, Randy Carlyle, Dave Ellett, Ray Neufeld, Paul MacLean, Lucien Deblois, Dave Babych, Laurie Boschman, Jim Kyte, Jimmy Mann, Jordy Douglas, even former owner Barry Shenkarow.
Jets alumni Kris King, representing the NHL, said he was never a teammate of Hawerchuk’s, but could tell how great a leader he was.
“Probably one of the best people I’ve ever met in the game,” King said.
Last to speak on Saturday was True North chairman Mark Chipman.
“Wow,” Chipman said, looking at the crowd. “This turnout is… I guess what we expected.”
Chipman later told reporters he travelled down to Illinois to see the sculpture in progress, and even got a chance to help pour the material that formed the right-hand glove of the statue.
The work of art depicts Hawerchuk reaching for the puck, as if tipping in a goal, or perhaps redirecting it to a teammate.
Chipman described the guiding principles as “dynamic, skillful, graceful and aspirational. Always reaching for more.”
During the process, Chipman asked sculptor Erik Blome how he was going to get the massive piece to Winnipeg.
“He said, ‘I’m going to drive it up on the back of my truck.’ You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Chipman said. “I would have loved to have been at the border when that came across. ‘What have you got in the back?’”
Chipman says he got emotional addressing the crowd and seeing Hawerchuk’s wife, family and ex-teammates there.
“I wish he had been able to be here and see all the love that this community has for him,” he said.
Crystal Hawerchuk may have said it best in her final words to the crowd.
“Now he is home again here in Winnipeg.”
pfriesen@postmedia.com
Twitter: @friesensunmedia
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