Fleury, Klassen head class of 2018
While he was born in Saskatchewan and raised in Manitoba, Theoren Fleury now considers Alberta as his home province.
“So to be inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame is truly an honour,” said Fleury, who was announced as one of a dozen inductees into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum for 2018.
Although he started the 198889 season with the Salt Lake City Flames of the International Hockey League, Fleury ultimately moved to Calgary to start his NHL career with the eventual Stanley Cup champions.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 30 years since we won the Cup,” said Fleury, who joked that the Flames took a chance on him in the 20th round a long time ago and gave him “a chance to fulfil a lifelong dream.”
Fleury, who was actually chosen 166th overall in the eighth round of the 1987 NHL Draft, was born in Oxbow, Sask., and raised in Russell, Man., but he eventually retired from hockey to live in Calgary.
“I would say it is my hometown now,” said Fleury, who started the Breaking Free Foundation that provides survivors of traumatic life events with the treatment and support needed to reclaim their lives. “I always thought I was supposed to be a hockey player, but actually this is what I was meant to do and this is what I was meant to do for the rest of my life.”
After the press conference, Fleury spent time talking to fellow inductee Cindy Klassen, a six-time Winter Olympic medallist (one gold, two silver and three bronze) in speedskating.
“I said to her like how ironic is it that two Manitobans are going into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame,” said Fleury, who also talked to Klassen about the job she took on three years ago as a constable with the Calgary Police Service. “I’m interested in what she’s doing now and how many police officers have trauma because of working on the job.”
Growing up in Winnipeg, Klassen didn’t start speedskating until shewas18.
“I didn’t really pay much attention to it,” she said. “It was all hockey. Growing up, I looked up to Theoren Fleury, just watching him play hockey and being inspired by his ’89 performance with winning the Stanley Cup, so it’s pretty amazing and really neat to be in- ducted at the same time as him.”
Ten years after Fleury moved to Calgary to play for the Flames, Klassen relocated to Calgary to pursue her athletic endeavours.
“Because of the Olympic Oval that was built for the 1988 Games, that’s what caused me to move to Alberta and pursue my dreams in speedskating here,” said Klassen, who’s looking forward to the induction ceremony in Red Deer June 1.
“It’s really special to me just because I spent the majority of my career here in Alberta training at the oval. I just have so many great memories.”
Others 2018 inductees include Doug Barkley (athlete, hockey/ builder), Keely Brown (athlete, ringette), Leighann Doan Reimer (athlete, basketball), Phil Allen (builder, basketball), Dave King ( builder, hockey), Dr. Lorne Sawula (builder, volleyball), Stuart Erskine (Achievement Award, mountaineering), Robert Davies (Pioneer Award, basketball) and Dianne Finstad (Bell Memorial Award).
In addition, the 1989 and 1990 Calgary Colts will be inducted in the team category for football.
After finishing fourth in the Prairie Junior Football Conference in 1989, the Colts went on to upset both the Regina Rams and Saskatoon Hilltops before beating the Burlington Tiger Cats 23-6 at the Canadian Bowl Championship game at McMahon Stadium. The Colts then defended their national title the next year by defeating the host Windsor AKO 50-15.
“You cannot believe the impact that this acceptance into the Hall has made on the players of these football teams,” said Keith Kendal, who was at the helm as coach for both titles. “We weren’t supposed to win. We were just a team that was supposed to show up and get their asses kicked, and we reversed that theory.”
Sean Weimer, who played middle linebacker for the Colts, said that everyone involved with the team is excited to receive the induction.
“We had some really key players that helped pull it all together and a good coaching staff,” he said. “It’s brought back a lot of old memories. It’s going to be quite a reunion.”