BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
Another huge step, another promise
fulfilled.
In November 2004, officials with Hockey
Heritage North (HHN) broke the ground for the new $10.4 million
tourist attraction in Kirkland Lake.
But getting the project off the ground hasn't
been easy.
However, HHN operations manager, Steve Cox,
is confident there will be no more barriers preventing the
construction of the facility that will house a great deal of
special northeastern Ontario hockey memorabilia throughout
2005.
"The ground breaking was a long time coming,"
said Cox. "It's a real positive feeling now that construction
has begun. There are no more delays expected and everything is
rolling along. We are looking at a pre-Christmas 2005
opening."
HHN's capital campaign has also been gaining
momentum. HHN is shooting for an overall target of $10.4
million, and as of now, they have reached just over $8.6
million of that total.
While starting out as a small gold mining
camp back in 1911, Kirkland Lake has produced and helped
develop countless NHL and professional hockey players.
Some of the greatest players in the history
of the NHL were either born or played hockey in the Kirkland
Lake.
Some of these marvelous Kirkland Lake-born
players include:
Ralph Backstrom, who played with the Montreal
Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Black Hawks from
1956-57 to 1972-73, winning six
Stanley Cups (all with Montreal), and
amassing 639 points in 1,032 NHL games. He also played 304 in
the defunct World Hockey Association (WHA), scoring 253
points.
Dick Duff, who played 1,030 NHL games with
Toronto, New York, Montreal, Los Angeles, and Buffalo,
recording 572 points, and also winning six Stanley Cups.
Then there's the three rugged Plager
brothers, Bill, Bob and Barclay, who played a combined total of
1,521 NHL games, registering 415 points together, and totaling
2,211 penalty minutes.
Kirkland Lake has also been the launch pad
for many other successful NHL players, that may have been born
elsewhere, but now call Kirkland Lake their hometown.
Some of these players include: "Terrible
Teddy" Ted Lindsay, born in Renfrew. Lindsay played 1,068 NHL
games, scoring 851 points, and winning one Stanley Cup.
Goalie Bill Durnan, born in Toronto, played
four seasons with the Kirkland Lake Blue Devils of the old NOHA
in the late 30s. Durnan went on to backstop Montreal to six
Stanley Cups, played 383 games, and won the Vezina Trophy, as
the NHL's best goalie, six times.
Kirkland Lake is a great choice for HHN. Its
rich hockey history is the perfect backdrop for the 18,000
square foot interactive shrine that will highlight
northeastern Ontario's never-ending
contributions to the game of hockey.
