The ultimate Canadian

Re: The quiet hockey giant who just walked away, Feb. 13, Steve Simmons What a great yarn on Frank Mahovlich.

When I was covering the Canadiens for the Montreal Gazette in the early '70s, we were in St. Louis for a game when we learned that the Los Angeles Lakers were in the same hotel for a basketball game the following night.

As a group of us waited in the lobby for the bus to the arena, Frank was heading for the elevator, when Lakers legend Jerry West alit with a cheery “Hi Frank!”

The Big M managed to reciprocate with a “Hi Jerry.”

Still wide-eyed when he joined us in the lobby, Frank, with much amazement, said, “I just met Jerry West on my floor — and he knew me!”

Frank Mahovlich: The quintessential Canadian.

Tim Burke, Westmount, Que.