NHL great Marcel Dionne will be the guest speaker at the annual Valley East Sports Hall of Fame dinner.
The event is coming up Saturday, June 10 at the Centennial Arena in Hanmer.
Dionne, named one of the 100 greatest NHL players in history, is an NHL Hall of Famer who spent 18 seasons in the NHL. He played for the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, and New York Rangers.
He was an eight-time All-Star and outdueled Wayne Gretzky to win the NHL points title in 1979-80. In 1978-89 and 1979-80, Dionne won the Lester B. Pearson trophy as the league’s most outstanding player.
Two times he won the NHL’s sportsmanship award, the Lady Byng Trophy. His 731 goals rank fourth in league history. Dionne was best known for his 11 and a half seasons with the Kings. Today he is a Royal Ambassador for the franchise.
As a rookie with the Red Wings, Dionne set a then record for rookie points. After playing junior hockey in Quebec and Ontario, he was a first-round pick in 1971.
Dionne will highlight stories from his sensational hockey career and share some rare behind-the-scenes hockey moments with the crowd.
Besides the remarks from Dionne, the dinner will also feature the induction of 11 more local sports leaders into the Valley East Sports Hall of Fame.
Those sports leaders are Marc D’Amour, Bruce Vaillancourt, Grant Kilganon, Jean-Yves Maillet, Lina Lacroix, Gord Ewin, Rick Kilganon, Bob Bellerose, Craig Maki, Jordan Kilganon and Chase Kilganon.
Tickets for the event are $50 per person, with dinner and a cash bar and a sports memorabilia silent auction.
Auction prizes include Toronto Maple Leafs children’s bicycles, Marcel Dionne autographed limited edition photo book on legendary goalies, bobbleheads and jerseys.
The event starts at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6:45 p.m.
For tickets, contact organizer Ron Dupuis at 705-897-4700 or [email protected].
