YORKTON - Hockey is of course a passion for many Canadians.
If you are a fan your best memories tend to break along two distinct lines.
The first may well be from your own playing days, and the second line of memories tends to turn to those generated by the pros we watch.
But Ken Reid in a new book; Hometown Hockey Heroes, points out there is one other stream of fine memories, those of hometown heroes. It is actually a rich source of stories as Reid proves by gathering tales from across the country for his book.
In truth Reid could have stopped in any town with a Junior or Senior team and found heroes.
In Yorkton one need look no farther than the Junior Terriers with two names popping to mind immediately: Darrell Spelay who long ago set the league career goals mark which will never be touched and of course Derek Falloon who scored the game-winning goal 15:01 into overtime to give the Terriers its first and only national championship.
Reid said the book was one he had in mind “for a few years,” adding he has always relied on the concept of “writing about what I know, what I’m passionate about.”
And a youngster Reid was, and remains today, passionate about Dana ‘T-Pot’ Johnston, who he watched growing up in Nova Scotia.
“They called him “T-Pot” -- maybe because he was short and stout. He'd also become known simply “T” and “The Sweet One.” T-Pot and the Mariners became part of my Saturday night double-header ritual. I'd watch the Mariners and then race home around 10:00 pm to watch the rest of Hockey Night in Canada. I'd catch the final two periods of the Oilers or Canadiens on television, but I'd always catch the full three periods of T-Pot in person,” writes Reid in the book.
“To me there was no bigger star in the game than T. He was right there on my Mount Rushmore of hockey with Wayne, Guy, and whomever else you want to throw in as the fourth guy. T was my original hockey hero, and it turns out I was not alone. The entire town loved the Sweet One. They still do. T-Pot was the original hometown legend and, in my mind, the legendary Hector Arena became “The House That T Built.””
“He’s still a local hero to a lot of people,” Reid told Yorkton This Week.
And, then Reid had something of an epiphany.
“One day I sort of figured there’s got to be guys like that (like Johnston), in every town,” he said.
So Reid put out word he was interested in local hockey heroes, not guys that made it pro, but those who stayed home and created memories on local teams.
It being the Internet age the names and stories poured in and Reid sifted through and ultimately found a book to write.
Interestingly, researching the players proved the ‘Net doesn’t have everything. Since the players he was looking to write about did not make the pros, sites such as HockeyDB didn’t always have information on the names he searched, and even Google might only yield a newspaper story, or two.
In the end Reid had his book, which includes at least one ‘story’ from every province.
The lone Saskatchewan chapter is on Tyson Wuttunee.
“When Tyson Wuttunee finally stopped playing in the Saskatchewan West Hockey League, he was forty-two years old. He spent the better part of two decades playing in the league and by the time he put a cap on his Senior hockey league odyssey, he had amassed 294 points in 197 games,” he wrote.
Reid picked up on the story in the interview.
“That was such a cool story,” he said.
Recognizing senior hockey remains a significant part of the sport in Saskatchewan, Reid said finding Wuttunee was one of the chapters “I sort of hunted down . . . myself. The guy totally fit the bill.”
Reid said often players in the book stayed home to become local stars, but Wuttunee actually moved to Kerrobert and found a home as he became a local hero.
“Tyson had his family on the ice with him,” he wrote of his retirement. “The kid who came to Kerrobert, alone, just to play, was now a family man, standing on the ice with his wife and three daughters, watching his number 71 being retired in this small Saskatchewan town. “It warms my heart. I look at these kids now, when you walk in the rink, and they say, 'Holy shit, it's Tyson Wuttunee.' It's awesome. I know I could've gone somewhere. I could've played somewhere else. I could've done this or that, but honestly, I wouldn't change it. Not leaving Saskatchewan and playing here and making this league better and being a pioneer, now looking at these kids that are coming up and the respect that they give me when I walk into the rink – it's the best feeling in the world.””
Reid said he likes the stories that look to the past.
“I’m a nostalgia guy,” he said.
And, there are no doubt more stories to tell.
“The stories in this book are endless. Every team has a guy. Every generation has its heroes,” said Reid.
So is a second book planned?
“Not yet it depends how book one does,” said Reid, then added there is certainly material for another edition. “There’s so many great stories for a second book. I’d love to do it.
