Marcel Dionne lets loose on a variety of topics
Marcel Dionne feels kids are playing too much hockey.
The hall-of-famer dropped by for an edition of Ludzy’s Lounge webcast Monday and covered a wide variety of topics while chatting with hosts Michael Cressman and Steve Ludzik.
“When I played, when I grew up, I played one game a week,” Dionne said. “No practice. 12 games a season. Two rounds of playoffs, house league. It was outdoor skating, but no organized hockey.
“I tell everybody, do you ever go fishing? There’s too much. Ride your bike. It’s hand and eye co-ordination. Do other things. We are losing more kids by the age of 15. The brain needs a break. Go fishing with your grandpa. Go talk. There are other things about playing the game. Socially, it’s a different life, too. They’re here, they’re there. I used to walk to the arena.”
Dionne, who made a name for himself as an NHL star with the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers, carved out a memorable career that still has him at No. 4 on the list of all-time goal scorers.
“This is a huge business,” said Dionne, who spent three seasons with the St. Catharines Blackhawks, before graduation to the NHL. “Hockey is great and great sport. There is so much money to be made. Some of these kids are recruited by agents when they are 12 years old. Give me a break!
Dionne. who makes his home in Niagara Falls where he runs a sports memorabilia business and a restaurant, the Blue Line Diner, also can’t get over the exorbitant costs of playing minor hockey.
“The cost of the sticks and the equipment it’s a joke. I think Gary Bettman — I know Gary — should come down and when I talk to those people, these are your customers so why do you have to pay $150 for a stick, up to $300? I take my Sherwoods, it’s a Hall of Fame stick, I scored 731 goals with a wooden stick. It cost $15. You’re going to tell me your stick is better than my stick?”
Ludzik, a former star with the Niagara Falls Flyers who went on to play and coach in the NHL, would also like to see kids participate in different sports other than hockey.
“When were kids we played lacrosse and you learned to how to wheel and deal off it if guys hit you in the back and you used that for hockey,” he said. Ralph Mellanby, the former executive producer of Hockey Night in Canada, is slated to be on next week’s show.
The full show featuring Dionne can be seen at: http:// www.stcatharinesstandard. ca/2015/05/11/ludzys-lounge.
Lacrosse: OLA junior A: Whitby Warriors at St. Catharines Athletics, Jack Gatecliff Arena, 8 p.m. Leg: FC Bayern Munich vs. FC Barcelona, NET. 7 p.m. Baseball: MLB: Toronto Blue Jays at Baltimore Orioles, NET1.
WEDNESDAY
2:30 p.m. Soccer: UEFA Champions League: Semifinal, Second Leg: Real Madrid CF vs. Juventus FC, NET. 3:30 p.m. Hockey: MLB: Boston Red Sox at Oakland Athletics, NET360. 7 p.m. Baseball: MLB: Toronto Blue Jays at Baltimore Orioles, NET1. 7:30 p.m. Hockey: NHL playoffs: Washington Capitals at New York Rangers, CBC.