GINO JOINS HOCKEY GREATS AT QUINN SERVICE
Beliveau: Passing added to grief
SCENE & HEARD: Little did the hockey fraternity know at Pat Quinn’s funeral service Tuesday that another National Hockey League legend would not make it through the night. News of the great Jean Beliveau’s passing created even more grieving during the Quinn reception at Capilano Golf & Country Club when the Montreal Canadiens made the Beliveau announcement via Twitter at 5: 29 p. m. Vancouver time.
From NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on down, several of the visitors wearing heavy hearts honouring Quinn would continue on their journey with Montreal being the next stop for Beliveau’s pregame tribute at the Bell Centre this coming Tuesday and funeral service Wednesday.
Bettman was one of many high- profile hockey personalities paying their final respects to Quinn as they jammed the entrance area before the doors being swung open at Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church in West Vancouver.
Out- of- town mourners included Jim Gregory, Dave Nonis, Cliff Fletcher, Reid Mitchell and Devon Smith from Toronto; David Poile ( Nashville Predators), Glen Sather ( New York Rangers), Dale Tallon ( Florida Panthers), Brian Burke and Brad Pascall ( Calgary Flames), Bob Nicholson ( Edmonton Oilers), Tom Rennie ( Hockey Canada), Lou Nanne ( Minnesota North Stars) former NHL players Lanny McDonald, Tie Domi, Paul Reinhardt, Steve Tambellini, Dixon Ward, Geoff Courtnall, plus a deep list of Canucks alumni as well as Canucks chairman Francesco Aquilini joined by several front office personnel. Rick Ley, a loyal lieutenant in Quinn’s hockey history, had been with his wife Ellen consoling Pat’s wife Sandra and daughters Kalli and Valerie during the days leading up to Tuesday’s service.
Vancouver Giants’ owner Ron Toigo had his entire team of junior players on hand, along with co- owners Sultan Thiara and Lewis Buble and new head coach Claude Noel.
Emily Griffiths and son Arthur represented the Canucks’ former ownership family. One former Canucks player who created a stir with his presence was Gino Odjick who’s been diagnosed with AL amyloidosis, a rare terminal disease that affects the heart. Odjick is being honoured with the Jack Diamond Award at the JCC Sports Dinner on Feb. 4 and the Canadian Inspire Award in Calgary Feb. 27.
Hall of Fame broadcaster Jim Robson, who can always be counted on at times such as the Quinn service, introduced five designated speakers at the reception: John Quinn, brother of Pat, Canucks’ president Trevor Linden and longtime friends Mike Penny, Roger Bourbonnais and Glen Ringdal.
Robson, the eternal researcher and walking hockey encyclopedia, passes along the information that Beliveau last played in Vancouver on Feb. 2, 1971, the Canucks’ first season in the NHL. “He scored two goals, his 14th and 15th of the season and was chosen first star in a Montreal 5- 2 win,” Robson recalls. “Yvon Cournoyer assisted on both Beliveau goals, the first one just 36 seconds into the game witnessed by a sellout crowd of 15,569 at the Pacific Coliseum. Vancouver’s own John Ferguson also scored twice against Canucks’ goalie Dunc Wilson.”
The ever- modest Robson shares his nugget of knowledge with the words: “Sometimes my old books come in handy.”