Brian Gruchy had a brief conversation with National Hockey League Hall of Famer Lanny McDonald back in the day at O’Reilly’s in St. John’s but he figures the Stanley Cup champion wouldn’t remember him.
Gruchy is looking forward to refreshing McDonald’s memory when he suits up for the NHL Alumni/Corner Brook Royals Classic tonight 7 p.m. at the Corner Brook Civic Centre.
Gruchy, a Grand Falls-Windsor native, was a steady defenceman for the Corner Brook Royals squad that won the 2002 Herder Memorial Trophy — the last time the storied Corner Brook senior hockey franchise snagged the big piece of hardware.
Gruchy is a member of Team Darcy Tucker for the big game so he will be trying to defend the cage against members of Team Lanny McDonald.
The draft for the game was held Wednesday night at Marble Mountain as the 2018 Hockey Day in Canada festivities got underway in a city that’s been a buzz all week with some of hockey’s great legends of the past on hand to share their wisdom with budding hockey players from the region.
The big red moustache was part of McDonald’s popularity as one of the game’s best leaders and the fact he played with the Leafs during his career was the other reason Gruchy listed McDonald as one of the players he wanted to meet most.
He’s looking forward to seeing some of his old teammates too.
‘It should be a great bit of fun. I’m looking forward to playing,” he said.
Gruchy has played some recreational hockey over the past few years, but he’s like a kid in the candy store getting a chance to share the ice with some of the game’s heroes of the past.
He was on his way to purchase a new helmet for the game when The Star caught up to him Thursday morning in central Newfoundland.
Maybe he heard rumblings that he would have to play the protector role for teammates Chris Neil and Wendel Clark.
NHL Alumni/Corner Brook Royals Classic
Rosters
TEAM DARCY TUCKER
1. Kevin McCarthy
2. Alex Blanchard
3. Rob French
5. Ed Kearsey
6. Ralph (Shack) Dunne
7. Ron MacLean
8. Cal Dunville
9. Cyril Walsh
10. Rocky Bromley
11. John Hayes
12. Angus Head
13. Alan MacDonald
14. Bruce Campbell
15. Mark Roberts
17. Wendel Clark
18. Harold Druken
23. Greg Schell
24. Brian Gruchy
25. Chris Neil
30. Jeff Murphy
16. Darcy Tucker
TEAM LANNY MCDONALD
1. Chris Grant
2. Craig Kennedy
4. Chris Phillips
5. Todd Stark
6. Ashley Coles
8. Ken Reid
10. Byron Rideout
11. Mark Robinson
12. Jamie Brake
13. Dwayne Evoy
14. Dave Toms
16. Blair Kelly
17. Dave Bidini
18. Scott Mosher
19. Colin Carroll
20. Rodney George
25. Darren Colbourne
30. Peter Parsons
31. Mark Napier
9. Lanny McDonald
