There was a hockey game last night at the SOEC, but this time the final score didn't matter.
What did matter was the cause, the good people who came together for that cause, and a pretty cool autograph session that went on beforehand.
It was called Pics and Sticks, and it was a rekindling of sorts of a charitable concept founded by country musician Gord Bamford 12 years ago. Bamford figured back then that if he put together a hockey game where ex-NHL stars and current country music stars competed together on the same ice surface, he could raise a lot of money for charity.
Bamford was right. Along with the numerous other initiatives this big, caring man has put in place through the Gord Bamford Foundation, he's already raised $3.6 million.
Bamford was on hand and in charge at the SOEC last night, along with a list of notables a mile long. Folks like Dallas Smith, Darcy Rota, Kirk McLean, Aaron Pritchett, Marty McSorley, Glenn Anderson, Geoff Courtnall, Greg Adams, Cliff Ronning, and many more were in attendance.
Kevin Primeau was also there. Primeau played a few games in the NHL and the WHA, but is better known for his six-year stint coaching the Edmonton Oilers. He helped resurrect Pics and Sticks with Bamford and added a golf tournament, which is being played today at Spirit Ridge Resort in Osoyoos, followed by an Aaron Pritchett concert.
And it was his own charity - The Kids Matter Youth Foundation - that also reaped the rewards. Primeau said last night that it was a post-game beer break with Bamford that got it all started again.
"I'd attended these charity games many times and done a lot of those as a participant. And many years ago I participated in a Pics and Sticks fundraiser with Gord Bamford. It was his event. Fast forward about nine years and I'd retired from coaching and had started a new career as a realtor in Osoyoos."
"So Gord and I were having a few beers in the dressing room after a charity event the Oilers were putting on against the Canadian military. And I said, 'Hey Gord, would you come out and resurrect Pics and Sticks?' And he said, 'Yep.'"
"And I said, 'You know, these guys love to golf too, so why don't we do a golf tournament too?' And he said, 'Yeah, that's a great idea.' And then he said, 'Why don't we have a concert too?' So it just kept growing. It's a good thing we ran out of beer or we'd be here for a couple weeks."
Primeau still remembers his stint in the WHA, and playing against the legendary Gordie Howe.
"I was skating around the ice in warm up, and down at the other end was Gordie Howe, grey hair flowing in the wind. He was 55, back checking, scoring goals, and still kicking our asses," he said.
Bamford, who says he recently moved from Nashville to Buffalo Lake, Alta., and is clearly psyched that his son Nash was drafted last week by the Kamloops Blazers, validated Primeau's story on the post-game beer session, adding, "I've known Kevin for a few years now. He was passionate about giving back to his community, and he approached us to partner with him on this concept."
It doesn't take long to see Bamford is deeply involved in his Foundation.
"It's been very rewarding to me to see how much we've been able to give back, right across Canada. And that's important to me - to keep it in Canada," he explained.
"Our events have been so successful because of people that have lent their time to be here, from Olympians, to musicians, to alumni hockey players, you name it. For them to put their stamp of approval on what we're passionate about, really makes it an event that no one else can duplicate."
The arguable highlight of the evening didn't even happen on the ice. It happened 90 minutes beforehand on the SOEC concourse level, where all these guys sat down at a row of tables at least 50 metres long to sign autographs and chat with young, local hockey players.
Thirteen-year-old Trae Allen of the Summerland Bantam Jets, sporting a blonde hairdo like many of his teammates, said they got to be part of the autograph session and later played a few minutes in the game because they sold more 50/50 tickets than the other teams.
And he was pretty happy that he got to chat with and carry the bags for Scott Niedermayer.
But what impressed us the most was how genuinely nice and genuinely approachable these music and hockey luminaries were.
Aaron Pritchett confided that he didn't even begin singing until the age of 21. How he really wanted to be an actor, and how he spent much of his youth playing hockey at a pretty respectable level, from Kitimat to North Delta.
"Then I went to a karaoke bar in 1991," he said. "And everything changed. Just from that one night. I then became a karaoke host and everything snowballed from there. I got my first band together when I was 25."
Pritchett, who regularly works with charitable causes, said he was recently accepted into the Canucks alumni. "I bought my way in," he joked. And he laughingly admitted prior to the face-off that he had a "bit of a dislike for those ex-Oilers. They're chippy types."
Marty McSorley, who achieved some notoriety as Wayne Gretzky's muscle but in fact was a darn good player in his own right during his lengthy NHL career, first cracked a joke about Vancouver Canucks players and their missing Stanley Cup rings, then showed his softer side.
"I enjoy these events because we leave such a good footprint. I get a chance to get out and see some really good guys that I played with and played against for years. And then you come back in three or four years and you start to see the results of the event and the impact it's had on people."
He says he's involved in a number of charitable events, including speaking engagements, particularly in smaller towns across Saskatchewan, Alberta, and into Manitoba.
"The people are so down to earth, they're my type of people," he said.
We then asked McSorley to tell all the long-suffering Vancouver hockey fans that he's really a nice guy, to which he replied, "No. Why kill the mystique?"
Dallas Smith, seemingly so humble and wearing an old school Canucks logo on his baseball cap, said, "Gord asked if I wanted to do this. What he does is amazing, so I said yes. We're in a unique position to bring value to something like this and raise some extra money, so that's what we do."
He also clued us into a bit of news, saying, "We're headed back to Nashville to shoot more videos and record more music next week. We'll have new music out to support our tour in the fall."
And then there's Darcy Rota. Rota's a constant on the charity circuit, so this was nothing out of the ordinary.
"I was contacted by Kevin Primeau, an old Canuck from my days. And anything we can do for charity is great. And it's a fun two days. I'm an avid golfer too."
But, he says, "I don't play hockey anymore. Nine months ago I had knee replacement surgery. It's doing great, but my hockey playing career is over. But I can still officiate and referee games. I'll wear my flying V jersey out there tonight."
Later, the Oilers Alumni would defeat the NHL Alumni 6-5. Today they're golfing. Good on ya, boys.
