Hockey pros coming to town for fundraising game

Ty Gretzky (right), who operates the Gretzky Hockey School, will be in the Canucks Alumni line up for the Heroes Hockey Challenge.

Peter Mallett, Staff Writer ~

Ty Gretzky is ready to show off his formidable stick-handling skills in the Heroes Hockey Challenge here in Victoria on
March 6.

The son of former NHL legend Wayne Gretzky and manager of the Gretzky Hockey school, Ty Gretzky will be in the lineup at the Q Centre for the Sunday game, which features a Vancouver Canucks Alumni team versus the CAF Warriors. Gretzky, 26, operates the Los-Angeles-based Gretzky Hockey School and has been working with Heroes Hockey Challenge (HHC) co-founder Glenn Cumyn since 2014.

In its fourth year, the HHC raises money for the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) Foundation, a group that assists former service members and their families.

“I’m happy to give back and support the Heroes Hockey Challenge in any way I’m able,” said Gretzky. “I’m looking forward to coming up to Victoria, meeting everyone and playing alongside the Canucks [alumni] for a worthwhile cause.”

To help with the fundraising, Gretzky also donated two spots in the Gretzky Hockey School’s Burnaby camp from Aug. 8 to 12, which raised more than $1,000 for HHC when they were raffled off at a recent B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League Tournament.

Designed and run by the Gretzky family and their friends within the hockey world, the week-long camps are for boys and girls aged seven to 15. In the past, NHL stars such as Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull and Guy Carbonneau have made appearances at the camps.

The Canucks Alumni team in Victoria will feature defenceman Dave Babych and centre Kyle Wellwood. Former Washington Capitals and Detroit Red Wings forward Mark Lofthouse will join them. The team will be coached by Canuck legends Orland Kurtenbach and Darcy Rota.

Gretzky was eager to step up when Cumyn invited him to play for the Canucks’ alumni team in this year’s game.

“The hockey community is so great about coming together, giving back to the community and supporting each other,” he says. “The entire team is really looking forward to this game. It will be incredible to meet these soldiers, sailors and aviators and play against them.”

The CAF Warriors team will be comprised of players participating in the CAF Old Timers Hockey Championship, hosted by CFB Esquimalt from March 6 to 10.

CPO2 Ken Simoneau, a goaltender with the CFB Esquimalt Tritons says he and his teammates are “awestruck” at being able to take part in the game.

“It’s going to be awesome for all of us and certainly the highlight of my hockey career,” said CPO2 Simoneau. “Most of the team had a chance to watch NHL stars on television or from the stands while we were growing up, but to actually be able to play against them on the same sheet of ice will be mind-blowing.”

CPO2 Simoneau added he won’t feel too bad if the NHL alumni team manages to slip a goal or two past him, especially since the game is really all about “the fun factor.”

Single-game HHC general admission tickets cost $10 and can be purchased online at www.selectyourtickets.com or at the Q Centre.