Delorme inducted to Sask. hall
Tears flow during his moving induction into Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame
VANCOUVER No story was moved with the picture. Then again, none wasrequired.
Ron Delorme, the longtime Vancouver Canucks scout, is pictured being inducted into the Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame at the Credit Union i-plex in Swift Current. To his left is 84-year-old Fred Sasakamoose, the first Canadian Indigenous person to play in the NHL, and Delorme’s boyhood hero.
Sasakamoose is part of a ceremony organized by Beardy ’s First Nation, Delorme’s First Nations community. As part of that ceremony Delorme has been presented with a star blanket, an honour bestowed on the most respected members of the Aboriginal community.
Delorme, one of the toughest players to ever wear a Canucks uniform, is wrapped in that blanket. And he’s in tears.
“When you wrap him in a star blanket it means he’s in the stars; he’s been lifted up to the ancestors and he’s now honoured with them,” says longtime Delorme friend Peter Leech of the Halaw Group, a company that promotes First Nations business opportunities.
“We spoke to him right after the ceremony. He’s a leader for us and we told him that. He found it overwhelming.”
As did the man’s many friends. Delorme, the 62-year-old Canucks institution by way of North Battleford, has spent 36 years in the organization as a player, scout and administrator. In the team’s history, his service is matched only by Stan Smyl, and he’s a deeply respected figure in the scouting world.
But there’s a larger story involved with Delorme, one that cuts to the heart of the man. Throughout his career with the Canucks, he has been a tireless advocate for First Nations people, organizing hockey camps and leadership programs while mentoring countless young players.
That’s why he was honoured in Swift Current last weekend by the game and his people. And that’s why he was touched to the core of his being.
“He’s opened many doors for First Nations players,” says Leech. “And if he can’t do it at the NHL level, he’ll try at the minor-league level. Anything to help a kid get ahead.”
Delorme, in fact, has held camps all over Western Canada, predominantly in Saskatchewan but also in B.C. and Manitoba.
“He’s like the elder,” says Leech. “We look at him the way he looked at Fred (a junior star in Moose Jaw who played 11 games with the Blackhawks in the 1953-54 season). He has a hard time believing that but he’s been a role model to a lot of people.”
That’s both in and out of the game. Delorme started scouting for the Canucks in 1986 and has been a presence in the organization since.
“I can’t say enough good things about the guy,” says Canucks GM Jim Benning.
Delorme has worked the scouting game with Benning’s father Elmer, a longtime scout for Montreal, and the Canucks’ GM, who made his bones in that world. He has worked with Hall of Famers and journeymen; big-time GMs and small-time bird dogs.
Along the way, he has lost some good friends: Ace Bailey died in a plane that crashed into the World Trade Tower on 9/11, Lorne Davis is gone, Charlie Hodge went a couple of years ago.
But Delorme, who has worked for eight Vancouver GMs, is still standing.
“He’s well-respected,” says Benning. “He’s been doing it for a long time and he has a lot of friends in our game. That’s important. A lot of scouting is building relationships.”
As a player, Delorme was never confused with a goal scorer. He did score 20 with the dearly departed Colorado Rockies one year but his large notoriety was gained as a fighter and his signature scrap came against Chicago’s Grant Mulvey during the Canucks’ Stanley Cup run in 1982.
At the end of the first period, Mulvey came off the bench and took a run at Canucks defenceman Lars Lindgren. Delorme stepped in, bloodied Mulvey and the Canucks went on to eliminate Chicago in the Western Conference final.
“That identified him as a player,” says Benning. “And it’s the same with the scouts. He always sticks up for his teammates.”
And his people.
When you wrap him in a star blanket it means he’s in the stars; he’s been lifted up to the ancestors and he’s now honoured with them . ... He’s a leader for us and we told him that. He found it overwhelming.