NO QUESTION, TREBEK HAS A SPOT IN SENATORS LORE
Late Jeopardy! host, hockey nut will also have connection with top pick Stuetzle
Who is Tim Stuetzle?
With those four words spoken by legendary Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek on national television during the first round of the
NHL Draft on Oct. 6, the Ottawa Senators ushered in a new era for the franchise.
It meant a lot to the organization then, and in the wake of Sunday's sad news that 80-yearold Trebek had lost his battle with pancreatic cancer, it will be etched in our memories forever.
Trying to do something different and exciting to mark their draft moment, the Senators asked Trebek to help them unveil the selection of the 18-year-old Stuetzle, a rising talent from Germany, with the No. 3 overall selection in the event held virtually this year.
“To make the third selection in the NHL Draft, the Senators have enlisted the help of a special guest who also just happens to be a graduate of the University of Ottawa,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told viewers before the video of Trebek making the pick was rolled out.
“Our category is the NHL and here is the clue for you,” Trebek said from the Jeopardy! set. “With the third pick in the NHL Draft, the Ottawa Senators choose this player?”
After a brief pause, Trebek said: “The correct response: Who is Tim Stuetzle?”
It was the perfect way to start one of the biggest nights in franchise history and it's a moment that went viral on social media for all the right reasons.
In the hours after Trebek's passing Sunday, the Senators were preparing to lower the flags at Canadian Tire Centre to half-mast Monday to honour his memory. Owner Eugene Melnyk put out a heartfelt statement about Trebek, a Canadian legend and hockey fan.
“Alex was a true and much beloved Canadian icon, and a very special member of the Ottawa Senators family,” said Melnyk. “We will always be grateful to
Alex for the special role he played in announcing the Senators' first draft choice this year. For his legions of fans, Alex's class and professionalism will endure as will his love for our game.
“Thank you, Alex, for your legacy. The Senators family and the entire capital region will miss you.”
Getting Trebek to make the first selection was an idea hatched by Melnyk and his girlfriend Shari Anderson, who is from Ottawa. They came up with the plan months earlier and presented it to general manager Pierre Dorion during their meetings in the summer months when they met at Melnyk's cottage near Barrie.
Dorion couldn't have been more pleased to step aside for Trebek. He did three separate videos in case the Senators took either Alexis Lafreniere of the Rimouski Oceanic, who went No. 1 overall to the Los Angeles Kings or Quinton Byfield of the Sudbury Wolves, who was selected No. 2 by the Los Angeles Kings.
“Alex had recorded the first three names that were probably going to go in the draft,” DoriNoon said on draft night. “And we all think it's fantastic to have someone like Alex Trebek announce a franchise-defining pick. It was something special.”
And Stuetzle was enthusiastic about the opportunity to meet Trebek when he gets to Ottawa to begin his NHL career during the 2020-21 campaign.
“I am deeply sorry to hear about the death of Alex Trebek,” Stuetzle wrote on his Instagram account Sunday with the video his selection accompanying the post. “I was looking forward to meeting the person who drafted me.
“He shared this unforgettable moment and I am very thankful for that. With my deepest condolences, rest in peace Mr. Trebek.”
A classy gesture by Stuetzle to help remember the man who made the moment he was selected so special.
While Trebek left Ottawa many years ago, he never forgot his roots and the city was never far from his heart. He graduated from the University of Ottawa in 1961 with a philosophy degree. He's made regular trip backs here and had been in attendance at CT more than once, including a stop
here in 2017 where he appeared on TSN's broadcast between periods.
A big sports fan, Trebek, who made no secret of the fact he cheered for the Montreal Canadiens growing up, was a presenter at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas in June 2019 and was given a standing ovation less than a month after telling the world he was battling cancer.
H, was also on hand at the 2019 Panda Game between his Ottawa Gee-Gees and the crosstown rival Carleton Ravens in October 2019 to flip the coin before the opening kickoff.
“They didn't give me a difficult job today, I know how to flip a
We will always be grateful to Alex for the special role he played in announcing the Senators' first draft choice this year.
coin,” Trebek told Rogers TV with a laugh while wearing a Gee-Gees' sweater emblazoned with the No. 61 on the back to mark the year of his graduation.
Not only will Trebek be missed by the millions who tuned into Jeopardy! on a nightly basis, he'll be missed here in the community where he left a lasting legacy.
While it's true that Trebek was born in Sudbury, there would be many who will tell you they thought he was from Ottawa.
Rest In Peace, Mr. Trebek, and thanks for the memories.