From April 3rd to 5th, Jasper will be home to 11 former NHL players, including hall-of-famers Bryan Trottier and Dale Hawerchuk as well as Super Bowl MVP Mark Rippen. 

Jasper residents Peter Hayashi, Brett Ireland, Greg Van Tighem, Doug McPhee and Dave Miller are organizing a weekend-long hockey event with proceeds going to charity. 

“I think it’s great for Jasper,” said Hayashi, who made the initial contact with the NHLers. “I think it kick-starts Jasper for the spring and coincides with the end of minor hockey as well,” he said. 

There will be two games played at the Activity Centre, one on Friday night at 7 p.m. between the NHLers and the local all-star senior team, including players from the Jasper Wolves and Hinton Heat. Sunday at 3 p.m. the former NHL players will face off against some local old-timers. 

On Saturday, April 4, there will be an opportunity for fans to step on the ice with hall-of-fame players for a two-hour hockey clinic. Hayashi think that this is “a really cool thing. They’re [NHLers] doing a lot for our community.”

On Saturday evening at the Activity Centre, there will also be a banquet, guest speakers, a live and silent auction, as well as a dance and a ‘Hotstove’ type of event where anybody from the audience can ask questions of the former NHL players. 

Proceeds from the weekend’s festivities will go to multiple sclerosis, juvenile diabetes and spinal cord research. Tickets for the hockey games will run between $20 and $22. To sponsor one of the old-timers for Sunday’s game, the cost is $250 and tickets to Saturday night’s banquet are $50. 

“Hopefully we can make it an annual event,” said Hayashi.

For more information, or to volunteer, contact Peter Hayashi at 780-852-8102 or Brett Ireland at 780-852-7853. Tickets for the events will be on sale by early next week and are available at Around the Corner and Rocky Mountain Monogram.