The grey and dampness is the same but the building on Blanshard is different.
鈥淚 remember the rain,鈥� said Grant Fuhr with a chuckle.
鈥淎nd it would have been fun to see the old Memorial Arena again. It certainly had its quirks. But this [Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre which replaced Memorial Arena] is a beautiful building.鈥�
The 53-year-old former Victoria Cougars goaltender is back in town as part of the Western Hockey League鈥檚 50th anniversary celebrations. Each WHL city is returning a past great that made it big in the NHL, along with a player who didn鈥檛 go on to pro hockey but made use of the league鈥檚 scholarship program which awards a paid year at a Canadian post-secondary institution for every season played in the WHL. The Victoria ceremonies take place during tonight鈥檚 game between the Victoria Royals and Seattle Thunderbirds at the Memorial Centre.
The scholarship alumni player featured will be former Royals captain Tyler Stahl, a certified agricultural heavy equipment technician currently studying for a business management degree at Athabasca University.
鈥淚鈥檓 not quite on the same level as Grant Fuhr,鈥� quipped the soft-spoken Stahl.
Few are.
Fuhr said he rotates wearing his five Stanley Cup rings. This weekend it鈥檚 the one from 1988 on his finger.
That pro championship journey began after two standout WHL seasons in Victoria with the Cougars when he was selected eighth overall in the first round of the 1981 NHL draft by the Edmonton Oilers.
鈥淵ou never think you鈥檙e going to win that many titles, or last as long as that,鈥� said the native of Spruce Grove, Alta., who played 18 seasons in the NHL for the Oilers, Maple Leafs, Sabres, Kings, Blues and Flames.
Fuhr became the first black player inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003. He wore the Canadian jersey on three occasions in winning gold in the 1984 and 1987 sa国际传媒 Cups and silver at the 1989 world championship. He was ranked 70th in 1998 on the Hockey News鈥� list of the 100 greatest players and 25th on the sa国际传媒鈥檚 1999 ranking of the 100 greatest Island athletes of the 20th century.
鈥淚t seems like a lifetime ago,鈥� said Fuhr, who now operates a golf course in Palm Springs, California, and has been to the Memorial Centre several times before for ECHL Salmon Kings games when scouting as the Phoenix Coyotes goaltending coach from 2004 to 2009.
Everybody recalls the classic Fuhr versus Mike Vernon crease duel in the 1981 WHL final, won in Game 7 at a packed Memorial Arena as the Cougars overcame a 3-1 games deficit against the Calgary Wranglers. What is forgotten is the 1980 WHL final in which the late great Doug Wickenheiser of the Regina Pats delivered piercing, stiletto-like strikes to defeat the favoured Cougars.
鈥淲e had the better team but didn鈥檛 play well,鈥� said Fuhr.
But he remembers his Victoria years with much fondness: 鈥淚t prepared me for pro hockey because we played a wide-open style in Victoria, just like the Oilers did.鈥�
The majority of WHL players won鈥檛 play pro hockey, though.
鈥淸High-level] hockey ended for me in Victoria,鈥� said former defenceman Stahl, who graduated as captain of the Royals in 2012-13.
Stahl began his WHL career playing two seasons when the franchise was known as the Chilliwack Bruins and was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the sixth round of the 2010 NHL draft. His two seasons in Victoria were hampered by concussions, which still keep him out of contact hockey.
鈥淣ow it鈥檚 married, house . . . normal life,鈥� said the 23-year-old from Drumheller, Alta.
鈥淚 miss hockey a lot. It鈥檚 tough not playing and hard to watch. But it鈥檚 not worth it [risking contact]. I鈥檇 like to live past 35.鈥�
There may be more to learn from Stahl鈥檚 experience than Fuhr鈥檚.
鈥淣ot everyone in those WHL dressing rooms are going to play in the NHL, or even pro,鈥� said Stahl.
Most won鈥檛.
鈥淏ut you still enjoy life. And there are so many options to stay involved with hockey, from oldtimers to rec to coaching or managing,鈥� said Stahl.
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