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Dale Hawerchuk was ‘one of us’ and will always be beloved by Winnipeg – Sportsnet.ca

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WINNIPEG — Dale Hawerchuk is gone way too young. That cannot be argued after the 57-year-old succumbed to stomach cancer on Tuesday.

When it comes to the matter of the legacy the Winnipeg Jets legend had forged, that was cemented a long, long time ago.

A Hall of Famer on the ice, Hawerchuk was an even better person — and that’s saying something.

The tributes poured in on Tuesday, with former teammates, players he coached and others whose lives he touched sharing plenty of heartfelt thoughts about their time together.

Within those numerous words was a common thread. A genuine love and appreciation was evident, as Hawerchuk cared an awful lot about those he came into contact with.

Those feelings were mutual and the bonds were lasting ones, right until the very end.

Hawerchuk showed incredible courage in fighting this deadly disease and in recent days he took the time to make a number of phone calls to say goodbye to many of his dearest friends. Those chats wouldn’t have been easy for either party, though the impact they’ll have is another testament to Hawerchuk and his character.

Hawerchuk was chosen first-overall by the Jets in 1981, a young phenom who blossomed into one of the best players of his era during a 16-year career.

No, the playoff success for the Jets during his tenure didn’t rival that of Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux, but Hawerchuk was appreciated by his contemporaries as much as his teammates.

During a Zoom call on Tuesday, Jets governor Mark Chipman revealed the organization was planning to immortalize Hawerchuk’s career with a statue.

“Since we started the Jets Hall of Fame, we had anticipated doing a public display of the inductees, and we had some time ago decided we would anchor that off of one statue,” said Chipman, who shared the news with Hawerchuk last week on a call that also included Jets assistant GM Craig Heisinger.

“And we had it clear in our mind that that honour belonged to Dale. I don’t have a timeline on exactly when that will occur, because everything is so much on hold and up in the air with this world we’re living in right now. But I’m really pleased we were able to share that with Dale and that we’ll be able to memorialize his incredible career and the impact he had on this community in a significant way.”

An emotional Chipman tried to put into words what it was like being a Winnipegger watching Hawerchuk in those early years in the NHL.

“Like many, I was fortunate to see Dale come into the league and we were all very much in awe of the fact the Winnipeg Jets had joined the NHL,” said Chipman. “It was Dale’s arrival that really cemented the future of the franchise and we all have recollections of that first year, that Calder Trophy year — and then everything that would follow.

“He was truly a superstar as a hockey player, but why he was so loved here was not only that, but the fact he made this his home and became one of us. Everybody shared that sense of pride in Dale as a player. Those who got to know him would all say that as great of a player as he was, he was a finer human being. He was as advertised, that humble kid who came in here and did his talking with his game and never lost that humility, notwithstanding a Hall of Fame career.”

Hawerchuk’s Jets Hall of Fame banner was moved to True North Square on Tuesday night and a steady stream of fans took the time to stop by to pay their respects.

Many of those individuals were wearing Hawerchuk jerseys or T-shirts with his trademark No. 10 on the back. Some of them wept openly or shared a stashed-away memory of a day gone by with a friend.

Numerous pictures were taken in front of the banner and a video montage on the screen in the background caused many in attendance to take a nostalgic stroll down memory lane.

There was Hawerchuk signing his first contract with the late John Ferguson at his introductory press conference at Portage and Main.

There were classic photos of Hawerchuk from his time with the Cornwall Royals, All-Star shots of him representing the Campbell Conference, some memorable moments from his time suiting up with Team Canada and other photos from his nine seasons with the Jets.

There were also shots of him participating in the 2016 Heritage Classic, scoring a goal in the alumni-game victory over the Edmonton Oilers in a scene that was not exactly reminiscent of those 1980s dynasty years.

About the only thing missing on this night was an impromptu street hockey game like the one that broke out at Portage and Main on the night news broke of the Jets returning via relocation from Atlanta back in late May of 2011.

Hawerchuk always exuded his pride for the place he called home, even after he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres.

When the NHL returned to Winnipeg, Hawerchuk helped bridge the gap between Jets 1.0 and Jets 2.0. He was a frequent visitor to the downtown arena in Winnipeg and when he was shown on the video board, fans rose to their feet and let out a boisterous roar.

Hawerchuk was quick to embrace being part of the Jets’ alumni, while also serving as a valuable resource for current players.

“It was comforting to know he was in our corner and that he shared our enthusiasm for bringing the game back to Winnipeg,” said Chipman. “He knew how regarded he was and I think he really cherished that and never took it for granted. Right to the end, he was just continuing to do the things that he always did to make people feel good.”

Current Jets captain Blake Wheeler weighed in with his thoughts about Hawerchuk on social media.

“My thoughts are with the Hawerchuk’s,” Wheeler shared on Twitter. “Dale is the greatest Jet to ever play in this city. I will forever cherish the advice he has given me over the years.”

Hawerchuk’s impact on Jets centre Mark Scheifele is well-documented and the former Barrie Colts star reiterated one of the greatest lessons he learned from his head coach during a season-ending Zoom call last week.

“Dale Hawerchuk told me this my first year with him, he said, ‘Watching the NHL is an education. It’s a school class on its own. You can learn from the best players in the world every single day,’” said Scheifele. “I’ve taken that to heart ever since he told me that and now that’s maybe 12 years ago. I’m thankful for that lesson.”

Hawerchuk taught many players valuable lessons about the game he loved and about life in general. That’s another critical part of his legacy.

Hawerchuk also provided numerous not-so-subtle reminders about everything that is good about the place those of us call home here in Manitoba.

He’s one of the greatest athletes to play in this community and it’s hard to imagine there being a bigger ambassador for the province.

Hawerchuk is one of us, and his contributions both on and off the ice won’t ever be forgotten.

“Dale was a humble guy. He was a regular guy. What you saw was what he was,” said Chipman. “Winnipeg is — I think we pride ourselves in the fact that there’s not a lot of pretense in this community. We are who we are and we don’t try to be something we’re not and we’re proud of that. And that was Dale as well.

“He was just who he was. He told me many, many times how proud he was to be a Manitoban — that he considered himself to be a Manitoban. And it’s one thing to say that, it’s another thing to actually have been one. He lived here.

“This was his home for a long stretch and long after he left, he stayed really connected and I think that just resonated with people here. So you had this bonafide superstar whose persona just kind of fit with what we are about here in this city and province.”

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Washington Capitals 3-2 win ends Dallas Stars’ winning streak

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Tom Wilson, Dylan Strome and Taylor Raddysh scored to help the Washington Capitals end the Dallas Stars’ season-opening winning streak at four with a 3-2 victory Thursday night.

Wilson’s goal was his third in three games, Strome his second of the season and Raddysh his first since joining the team in free agency last summer. Charlie Lindgren made 22 saves as the Capitals wrapped up this early homestand with back-to-back wins.

The Stars fell from the ranks of the league’s unbeaten teams despite a short-handed goal by Colin Blackwell and one at even strength from Jason Robertson. Rookie Oskar Bäck set up Blackwell for his first NHL point.

Casey DeSmith was screened on two of the three goals he allowed on 26 shots.

LIGHTNING 4, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 3

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nikita Kucherov scored the winning goal with less than a minute to play just 1:27 after Brandon Hagel had tied it and Tampa Bay rallied to beat Vegas.

Kucherov’s second goal of the game with 55 seconds left was his sixth of the season.

Janis Moser had a goal and two assists for the Lightning, who remain unbeaten. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 22 saves.

Brayden McNabb, Pavel Dorofeyev and Ivan Barbashev had goals for Vegas. Adin Hill turned aside 21 shots.

Jack Eichel, with two assists on Thursday, now has 10 points this season in five games and reached reached double-digit points faster than any other player in Vegas history. He is the 10th U.S.-born player to accomplish the feat.

After Barbashev put Vegas up 3-2 early in the second, Hagel pulled Tampa Bay even at 3 with 2:22 remaining in the third.

BLUE JACKETS 6, SABRES 4

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Kirill Marchenko and Mathieu Olivier each had a goal and an assist and Daniil Tarasov made 21 saves to help Columbus to a win over Buffalo.

Yegor Chinakhov, Adam Fantilli, Zachary Aston-Reese and Damon Severson also scored for Columbus, and Zach Werenski added two assists.

Ryan McLeod, Owen Power and JJ Peterka scored for Buffalo, and Jiri Kulich added his first NHL goal. Devon Lev stopped 19 shots for the Sabres (1-5-1), who have lost two straight road games and five of their first six overall.

CANUCKS 3, FLORIDA 2, OT

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — J.T. Miller scored 2:09 into overtime and Vancouver got their first win of the season, beating Florida.

Teddy Blueger and Quinn Hughes had goals for Vancouver, with Kevin Lankinen stopping 26 shots.

Anton Lundell got his fourth goal in the last three games for Florida and Jesper Boqvist also scored for the Panthers, who got 30 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky.

Florida remained without forwards Aleksander Barkov (lower body) and Matthew Tkachuk (illness).

DEVILS 3, SENATORS 1

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Jacob Markstrom stopped 30 shots and lost his shutout bid in the final minutes as New Jersey beat Ottawa.

Erik Haula, Nathan Bastian and Paul Cotter scored for the Devils, who won for the third time in four games and improved to 5-2-0.

The Senators, who were coming off an 8-7 overtime victory against Los Angeles on Monday, struggled to beat Markstrom.

Brady Tkachuk was the only scorer for the Senators, beating Markstrom, with a power-play goal with 65 seconds remaining in the third period.

Anton Forsberg, making his second straight start and hoping to rebound after getting pulled Monday, made 32 saves in the loss.

Haula opened the scoring early in the second period and Bastian added a short-handed goal, giving New Jersey a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes. Cotter scored midway through the third.

RANGERS 5, RED WING 2

DETROIT (AP) — Artemi Panarin had his eighth career hat trick and New York rolled to a victory over Detroit.

Panarin became the first Rangers player to have multiple points in the first four games of a season. He scored twice on the power play. Vincent Trocheck also had a power- play goal and assisted on all of Panarin’s goals.

Jonathan Quick made 29 saves in his season debut. Victor Mancini also scored.

The Rangers have won the last five meetings, including twice this week. New York had a 4-1 home victory over Detroit on Monday night.

Moritz Seider and J.T. Compher scored for Detroit. Red Wings goalie Cam Talbot was pulled in the second period after allowing five goals.

KINGS 4, CANADIENS 1

MONTREAL (AP) — David Rittich made 26 saves a night after being benched in the second period in Toronto, helping road-weary Los Angeles snap a three-game losing streak with a victory over Montreal.

Los Angeles improved to 2-1-2 on a season-opening, seven-game trip necessitated by arena renovations.

Rittich rebounded after allowing four goals on 14 shots in a 6-2 loss to the Maple Leafs. Alex Laferriere, Mikey Anderson, Andreas Englund and Adrian Kempe scored.

Justin Barron scored for Montreal (2-3-0). Sam Montembeault stopped 28 shots. He made a save on Kevin Fiala on a penalty shot.

BLUES 1, ISLANDERS 0, OT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Joel Hofer made 34 saves and assisted on Jake Neighbours’ goal at 2:04 of overtime in St. Louis victory over New York.

Hofer had his second career shutout in his and the team’s second overtime victory of the season.

Philip Broberg carried the puck into the New York zone and made a centering pass to Neighbours for the winner.

Islanders goalie Ilya Sorkin made 29 saves.

Blues defenseman Nick Leddy sat out because of a lower-body injury, the first game he has missed this season. Leddy played in all 82 games last season.

OILERS 4, PREDATORS 2

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Brett Kulak scored twice and Connor McDavid added his first goal of the season to lead Edmonton to a victory over reeling Nashville.

Jeff Skinner also scored and Calvin Pickard made 25 saves for the defending Western Conference champion Oilers, who have won consecutive games after beginning the season with a three-game skid.

Filip Forsberg and Jonathan Marchessault scored and Juuse Saros made 32 saves for Nashville (0-4).

Forsberg’s goal midway through the first period gave Nashville its first lead of the season. That lasted less than six minutes before Kulak tied it.

Kulak sealed it with an empty-netter in the final minute for the defenseman’s first career two-goal game.

BLACKHAWKS 4, SHARKS 2

CHICAGO (AP) — Tyler Bertuzzi and Nick Foligno each scored a power-play goal, and Chicago beat San Jose.

Taylor Hall and Jason Dickinson also scored for Chicago. Connor Bedard and Teuvo Teravainen each had two assists.

Hall, who missed most of last season because of right knee surgery, put the Blackhawks in front 4:20 into the first period. It was Hall’s first goal since Nov. 5 and No. 267 for his career.

Tyler Toffoli and Fabian Zetterlund scored for San Jose, which trailed 3-0 early in the second. William Eklund and Mikael Granlund had two assists each.

The Sharks dropped to 0-2-2 under Ryan Warsofsky, who was promoted to head coach in June.

Petr Mrazek had 20 saves for Chicago, and Vitek Vanecek made 23 stops for San Jose.

KRAKEN 6, FLYERS 4

SEATTLE (AP) — Eeli Tolvanen, Jordan Eberle, and Shane Wright scored three goals in less than three minutes in the second period and Seattle held off a Philadelphia rally in a victory.

Tolvanen’s goal broke a 2-2 tie at the 14:57 mark. Eberle made it a two-goal game with a goal at 17:44. Eight seconds later, Wright scored to give Seattle a three-goal lead.

Jared McCann tied the game at 2-2 with the first of Seattle’s four second-period goals.

Cam York and Jamie Drysdale scored to pull Philadelphia within 5-4 in the third period, but Oliver Bjorkstrand responded with a goal to push Seattle’s lead to two with just over five minutes left in the game.

Scott Laughton scored twice for the Flyers in the first period, while Brandon Montour scored one in for the Kraken.

Chandler Stephenson had an assist in his 500th NHL game. Seattle’s Philipp Grubauer had 21 saves.

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Canada’s Dabrowski, New Zealand’s Routliffe out of Japan Women’s Open after walkover

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OSAKA, Japan – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe are out of the Japan Women’s Open tennis tournament.

Spain’s Cristina Bucsa and Romania’s Monica Niculescu advanced to the final on Thursday by way of walkover.

The fourth seeds were supposed to play the top-seeded Dabrowski and Routliffe in the semifinals.

Bucsa and Niculescu will next face third-seeded Ena Shibahara of Japan and Laura Siegemund of Germany in the final.

Dabrowski and Routliffe defeated Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Eri Hozumi in the quarterfinals 6-2, 6-4 on Wednesday to advance.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Mountain West commissioner says she’s heartbroken over turmoil surrounding San Jose State volleyball

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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mountain West Conference Commissioner Gloria Nevarez said Thursday the forfeitures that volleyball teams are willing to take to avoid playing San Jose State is “not what we celebrate in college athletics” and that she is heartbroken over what has transpired this season surrounding the Spartans and their opponents.

Four teams have canceled games against San Jose State: Boise State, Southern Utah, Utah State and Wyoming, with none of the schools explicitly saying why they were forfeiting.

A group of Nevada players issued a statement saying they will not take the floor when the Wolf Pack are scheduled to host the Spartans on Oct. 26. They cited their “right to safety and fair competition,” though their school reaffirmed Thursday that the match is still planned and that state law bars forfeiture “for reasons related to gender identity or expression.”

All those schools, except Southern Utah, are in the Mountain West. New Mexico, also in the MWC, went ahead with its home match on Thursday night, which was won by the Spartans, 3-1, the team’s first victory since Sept. 24.

“It breaks my heart because they’re human beings, young people, student-athletes on both sides of this issue that are getting a lot of national negative attention,” Nevarez said in an interview with The Associated Press at Mountain West basketball media days. “It just doesn’t feel right to me.”

Republican governors of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming have made public statements in support of the cancellations, citing a need for fairness in women’s sports. Former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee in this year’s presidential race, this week referenced an unidentified volleyball match when he was asked during a Fox News town hall about transgender athletes in women’s sports.

“I saw the slam, it was a slam. I never saw a ball hit so hard, hit the girl in the head,” Trump replied before he was asked what can be done. “You just ban it. The president bans it. You just don’t let it happen.”

After Trump’s comment, San Diego State issued a statement that said “it has been incorrectly reported that an San Diego State University student-athlete was hit in the face with a volleyball during match play with San Jose State University. The ball bounced off the shoulder of the student-athlete, and the athlete was uninjured and did not miss a play.”

San Jose State has not made any direct comments about the politicians’ “fairness” references, and Nevarez did not go into details.

“I’m learning a lot about the issue,” Nevarez said. “I don’t know a lot of the language yet or the science or the understanding nationally of how this issue plays out. The external influences are so far on either side. We have an election year. It’s political, so, yeah, it feels like a no-win based on all the external pressure.”

The cancellations could mean some teams will not qualify for the conference tournament Nov. 27-30 in Las Vegas, where the top six schools are slated to compete for the league championship.

“The student-athlete (in question) meets the eligibility standard, so if a team does not play them, it’s a forfeit, meaning they take a loss,” Nevarez said.

Ahead of the Oct. 26 match in Reno. Nevada released a statement acknowledging that “a majority of the Wolf Pack women’s volleyball team” had decided to forfeit against San Jose State. The school said only the university can take that step but any player who decides not to play would face no punishment.

___

AP college sports:

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