Hockey is as synonymous with Flin Flon as cold winters and mining.
But when Rogers Sportsnet decided to celebrate the game’s prominence in northern Manitoba, it selected Thompson as its pedestal.
“To me it’s surprising they would choose Thompson over Flin Flon because of the Bobby Clarke legend,” said Ron MacLean, the iconic host of Sportsnet’s Hometown Hockey broadcasts. “For whatever reason they obviously recognized a great program in [Thompson’s] midget AAA Northstars, and the work [coach] Doug Korman has done there.”
MacLean and the Hometown Hockey crew were in Thompson on Sunday, March 8 to supplement an NHL game between the Calgary Flames and the Ottawa Senators.
Figuring prominently into the broadcast were pre-taped features on Flin Flon Bomber greats Bobby Clarke and Reggie Leach, teammates who went on to play for the Philadelphia Flyers.
Tim Babcock, a hockey fan, city councillor and part-time Reminder sports reporter, said he too was perplexed as to why the broadcast went to Thompson.
Next year?
But there’s hope for next year – more than hope in fact, given that MacLean was seen on a Facebook video shot in Thompson saying he would be in Flin Flon next year.
“It’s always cool when celebrities recognize Flin Flon,” said Babcock, who saw the video. “Hockey keeps us on the map.”
A big reason why Flin Flon is so well known for hockey is Clarke. On the March 8 broadcast, carried on City-TV, the Hall of Famer was complimentary toward his former stomping grounds.
“Anybody who’s…lived even for a short period of time in Flin Flon always is from Flin Flon,” said Clarke, who now holds a front office job with the Flyers. “There’s a unifying factor about living in that town and when I grew up there, I played junior there, it was always us against the world.
“When you look back I think those hours on the [team] bus with each other, they were unifying as a team. Nobody in those days [had] TVs or cell phones or none of that kind of stuff, so you played cards and talked to your buddies.”
The Thompson broadcast marked Hometown Hockey’s third time in Manitoba this season following stops in Selkirk and Brandon. By the end of the season, the show will have been in 25 Canadian communities.
MacLean, best known as Don Cherry’s sidekick, said prior to his arrival that he was excited to see what Thompson had to offer.
“I don’t know Paint Lake [near Thompson] and I don’t know a lot about Thompson, but I’ve heard great things about the Burntwood River,” said MacLean. “The lifestyle would be very much up my alley. You can really truly enjoy winter.”
Talent
While Flin Flon has produced more upper-echelon hockey talent than Thompson, the latter city can lay claim to retired NHL blueliner Curtis Leschyshyn.
Leschyshyn, 45, left Thompson as an infant but was still thrilled to return for the Hometown Hockey broadcast.
“I was excited when the plane was coming in last night [March 6] and I got to see the Northern Lights from the plane, which was a cool experience,” said Leschyshyn, who played 17 NHL seasons. “The people here have been first class so far, so it’s been a real good experience to come back.”
MacLean hopes Hometown Hockey, part of Rogers Media’s multibillion-dollar NHL coverage, will continue next year.
His goal is to visit 100 different communities over the course of his four-year contract.
“When I was a boy, I liked those kind of shows where you can chart the course and live along with the 25 tour stops, learn a little bit about each community,” MacLean said.
The Reminder contacted Sportsnet to ask why Thompson was chosen over Flin Flon but did not receive a reply.
