Linden Cup Christmas Classic returns
It started with a cardboard trophy and Holiday hockey game between friends, but in the three years since the inaugural Linden Cup, the handmade Stanley Cup replica has grown to stand for so much more.
Keith Gronning and his friends decided to turn the event into a fundraiser in its second year, and the idea has snowballed since. After raising $500 and 100 pounds of food on 48 hours notice two years ago, the Linden Cup Christmas Classic moved from the Kinplex to the Canalta Centre, where it brought in $17,000 and 245 pounds of non-perishable food donations. This year, Gronning says they plan on bumping that number even higher.
“It’s still a little surreal that it’s growing and people care about it as much as they do. It’s the least our group of guys can do because this community has given so much to us,” said Gronning. “We’re just trying to do our best to give back. We do the best we can and we hope everyone else enjoys it as much as we do.”
Activities get underway at 3 p.m. on Friday with a Skate with Santa. After the success of last year’s event, Gronning says they decided to extend the Skate with Santa while adding a new interactive sledge hockey showcase prior to the Linden Cup’s puck drop at 7 p.m.
“The Skate with Santa is from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and we have a sledge hockey demo that takes up one-third of the ice from 3 to 5,” said Gronning. “We wanted to add a little something to it, to give more people opportunity to come out and more exposure for different organizations, so we added sledge hockey this year ... They’ll rent out the gear and teach it to people, it’s for everyone to try.”
Gronning reached out to to a number of local businesses, as well as the Trevor Linden Foundation, seeking support for the event, and Linden — a former Medicine Hat Tiger and Gas City product — signed on immediately.
“The Trevor Linden Foundation was actually one of our first supporters and they donate directly to the local charities here.
“Last year it was the Medicine Hat Food Bank and this year it’s both the food bank and KidSport Medicine Hat. It was quite neat when they decided to join up. Their biggest reason was that it’s very grassroots and Trevor still calls Medicine Hat home, so he felt it very important to help something grassroots and stay local. We hit the numbers we do because his numbers are so grand.”
Gronning’s Canucks will take on the Tigers looking to pick up their third win at the Cup after dropping last year’s contest 7-6. The Tigers will be captained by former Medicine Hat Tiger Tanner Sohn.
“It’s mostly the same people, a few local guys here and there have jumped in who can’t make it,” he said. “It’s myself, ex-Tiger Tanner Sohn and some other guys who have actually played semi-pro overseas and stuff like that.”
Gronning says there will be a bucket draw with various items donated from local businesses, as well as a few prizes donated by the Trevor Linden Foundation, with all of the proceeds going to the Medicine Hat Food Bank and Kid Sport Medicine Hat.
“(Linden) donates a personalized Trevor Linden jersey of your choice,” said Gronning. “And this year his organization is actually donating two tickets to a Calgary Flames versus Vancouver Canucks game in Calgary. That’ll be the winner’s choice for which game.”