McDonald has wonderful time in China with grandson by his side
BEIJING After eight adventurefilled and eye-opening days on the other side of the globe, the consensus among the Calgary Flames was everybody was ready to head home.
Everybody, that is, except for 12-year-old Hayden Townsley.
The youngest member of the Flames’ travelling entourage at the 2018 O.R.G. China Games, Lanny McDonald’s grandson would have been willing to cut class to spend a bit more time in bustling Beijing.
“I had to miss a few days of school, but my teacher was talking about how I was going to get a great education here anyway,” Hayden said with a grin ahead of Wednesday’s return flight. “It’s just been all-around fun. Hanging out with my grandpa, going to the Great Wall, going shopping and getting all that stuff and bargaining (the price) down …
“I woke up and was like, ‘Oh, we’re going home today.’ That’s a bummer, but I’ve had a great time.”
Still an iconic figure and fan favourite in Calgary nearly three decades after he captained the Flames to their only Stanley Cup parade, the 65-year-old McDonald accompanied the team to Shenzhen and Beijing as an ambassador for his city, his sport and the league that counted him among its biggest stars in the 1970s and ’80s.
Hayden, one of his seven grandkids, is along as his plus-one.
“He has had the time of his life,” McDonald said, beaming. “We went shopping the last two days and I let him negotiate on his own. And I’ll tell you, he’s tougher than me. In fact, the sellers were saying, ‘Who’s the boss here?’ I said, ‘He is.’
“He bought a whole bunch of Tshirts, sweatshirts, shoes and he said, ‘I’m going to set up shop for my brother and I’m going to sell him stuff.’ I said, ‘Hey Hayden, I bought you that stuff !’”
In addition to showing off some of those back-to-school shopping bargains, Hayden can tell his Grade 7 classmates about his role in the ceremonial opening faceoff in Shenzhen.
He’ll try to describe the splendour of the historic Great Wall of China. (“Pictures can’t do it justice. To be there, it was crazy.”)
He can show them his snapshots with some of the Flames’ stars, including personal fave Mike Smith.
“It’s been cool getting to take pictures with them and getting to fly with them,” Hayden said. “It’s kind of odd if you think about it … When we were on the plane, I was thinking, a couple of rows in front of me, I’m sitting behind the Calgary Flames — NHL goalies and NHL players.
“They’ve been really nice, they’ve been really fun.”
His grandfather, of course, is an NHL legend.
And who better to assist with the Flames’ grow-the-game initiatives than a man who racked up 500 career goals, is enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame and may have the most famous facial hair in the history of his sport?
Lanny’s list of engagements on this junket has included everything from school visits to fan-fest events to a dinner at the Canadian Embassy.
Because he’s been to China twice before, he can confirm that hockey is trending in the right direction in this country of 1.4 billion.
“We did clinics in Beijing five years ago, in 2013, and to understand the growth from within …” McDonald said. “Their goal is to get one per cent of the population playing the game. Well, by the sheer numbers alone, even if they get a quarter of a per cent or half a per cent, that number is staggering.
“And especially leading up to 2022, their Olympics, obviously they want to put on a good show. Maybe in the past they were all about individual sports, but now that seems to be changing and they’re looking more at team sports.
“For hockey, that could not be a better thing.”
Seeing the Great Wall of China, meeting all the guys, seeing all the sights to be seen…It’sbeen a phenomenal trip.
Hockey has provided a lot of memorable moments for McDonald, who hails from small-town Hanna, Alta.
What made this latest experience so special was the company.
“He doesn’t want to go home,” McDonald said of Hayden, soon starting his own season as a goalie in Springbank’s minor hockey system. “Seeing the Great Wall of China, meeting all the guys, seeing all the sights to be seen … It’s been a phenomenal trip.
“As a grandpa, I couldn’t be prouder of him and have more fun just hanging out with him.”