Callander’s No. 15 jersey to hang from the rafters
Pats honour former great to launch 100-day countdown to Memorial Cup
Jock Callander’s latest honour won’t wrap around his finger, but it will hang nicely from the rafters of the Brandt Centre.
The Regina Pats legend will have his No. 15 jersey retired by the club prior to Sunday’s WHL game against the Moose Jaw Warriors (2 p.m., Brandt Centre).
The pre-game ceremony is part of a jam-packed Homecoming Weekend that begins the 100-day countdown to the 100th Memorial Cup in Regina.
The festivities commenced Friday with the Pats Community Foundation Honours Dinner, followed on Saturday by the All- Star Celebrity Classic alumni game (3 p.m., Brandt Centre).
Callander is one of 40 former NHL players slated to participate. It will mark his first official game at the Brandt Centre (formerly the Agridome) since the 1982 WHL final against the Portland Winterhawks.
“I was coming back for the alumni game and was excited about that,” said Callander, 56, a Regina product who now resides in Cleveland. “Then they called me a couple weeks ago (about the jersey retirement). It wasn’t expecting it. It’s a big honour.”
It’s not the first time Callander has been recognized in such a manner. His number was previously retired by the IHL’s Cleveland/Muskegon Lumberjacks, with whom he spent 15 of his 18 pro seasons — many of them alongside former Pats teammate Dave Michayluk.
Callander retired in 2000 as the IHL’s all-time scoring leader with 1,402 points. He also won a pair of Turner Cup titles (1986 and ’89), for which he received two of his six career championships rings. The first was in 1980 when he helped the Pats to a WHL title. He acquired the last two in 2016, from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters and NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, while serving in an administrative role.
“It was a pretty exciting summer,” he said.
Technically, Callander is employed by the Cavaliers, who own the Monsters as well as the Arena Football League’s Cleveland Gladiators and the NBA G League’s Canton Charge. He does some work for other affiliate teams, but spends most of his time with the Monsters, serving as their senior director of hockey and team services.
Callander wears a number of hats. Her does some community relations work and organizes team travel. He’s also a liaison between the Monsters and league, as well as their parent club, the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets.
Callander previously served as an assistant coach in the AHL and IHL, which merged in 2001.
As a player, Callander appeared in 131 NHL games, mostly with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He won the Stanley Cup in 1992 as a late-season call-up, dressing for 12 NHL playoff games en route to the title.
“I might be the only guy with an NBA championship ring and a Stanley Cup championship ring,”
I might be the only guy with an NBA championship ringanda Stanley Cup championship ring.
said a chuckling Callander, who has accumulated quite a collection of awards and accolades over the years.
“I still have my old Western Hockey League ring from when we won the west. The rings were a lot smaller back then. Even to look at my Turner Cup rings (from the ’80s), compared to my Calder Cup ring … they just keep getting bigger and bigger.”
Callander played parts of four seasons with the Pats, scoring 158 goals and 368 points (sixth in franchise history) despite playing in just 201 regular-season games. He wrapped up his junior career in 1981-82 by winning the Bob Clarke Trophy as the league’s top scorer, finishing with 79 goals and 190 points in 71 games.
“Jocko was an amazing player,” said Todd Strueby, who played with Callander in Regina and Muskegon. “He was one of the best puck-protection and puckhandling players I’ve ever seen. He was fantastic offensively and he was always a great teammate.”
Callander has fond memories of his hometown team.
His brother Drew helped the Pats win the 1974 Memorial Cup before working with club as an assistant coach and now as a scout.
“I remember going to Pats games with dad at Exhibition Stadium,” said Callander. “Obviously, I got to watch Drew play on that powerhouse team that won the Memorial Cup. I always wanted to be able to play for the Pats.”