Brenden Dillon, a former teammate of local National Hockey League players Jamie and Jordie Benn in Dallas and Matt Irwin in San Jose, was excited to take another twirl on the ice in that trio鈥檚 old stomping grounds on Monday.
The San Jose Sharks defenceman, who hails from Surrey, also spent time of his own on the Island playing in minor hockey tournaments, so it was with great enthusiasm he returned to participate in the Kraft Hockeyville game against the Vancouver Canucks.
鈥淚 shot a couple of texts back and forth and they were a little jealous that I got to be playing here today,鈥� Dillon said of exchanging messages with the Benns and Irwin, who has moved on from San Jose to the Boston Bruins.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a great event that they put on. I鈥檝e watched every year and now being a part of Kraft Hockeyville is pretty cool,鈥� said Dillon, a 24-year-old defenceman who was traded to the Sharks after 20 games with Dallas last year (his third season with the Stars). 鈥淭here鈥檚 a buzz here with our team and with the Canucks as well.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been really exciting and it鈥檚 been a great turnout.鈥�
And the former Seattle Thunderbird (2007-11) was delighted to be playing against the Canucks, a team he grew up cheering for.
鈥淚 was that guy growing up in Surrey, being a Vancouver Canucks fan and watching them walk by. So any time you鈥檙e able to make someone鈥檚 day special and to have a turn out like tonight makes it exciting,鈥� he said of performing in front of the young fans.
鈥淰ancouver Island was always just a short ferry ride away so there were lots of tournaments growing up for me and it鈥檚 definitely a familiar rink,鈥� added Dillon, who in his last year in the Western Hockey League, played against the Chilliwack Bruins 鈥� now the Victoria Royals.
鈥淪o I know that hockey is alive and well out here on Vancouver Island and we鈥檙e seeing today the amount of kids and family, who aren鈥檛 necessarily Sharks or Canucks fans, but hockey fans in general and that鈥檚 great to see.鈥�
The same was true for new Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer, who spent some time on the Island as a member of the Canucks鈥� organization back when he toiled with the Milwaukee Admirals.
鈥淭he last time I was here it was with Jim Benning and Trevor Linden at a Canucks training camp,鈥� said Deoer, referring to camps in Victoria and Parksville in the late 1980s and early 鈥�90s. 鈥淕reat memories. It鈥檚 been a long time since I鈥檝e been back, but it鈥檚 a beautiful place and the people have been very welcoming.
鈥淎s NHL players and coaches we don鈥檛 get many opportunities to go into the small communities very often,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is a great treat for us and one I know our players were real excited about.鈥�
