“It was surreal,” says local beer leaguer Lucas Horsman on playing alongside pro hockey players.
Horsman does not typically speak in cliches as often as professional hockey players are known to, but participating in an Easter Seals Celebrity Hockey Classic must have rubbed off on him.
Horsman is part of an organizing committee bringing the inaugural Celebrity Hockey Classic to North Bay. At a launch for the event, Horsman recalls how the celebrity players at the tournament he took part in out of town were genuinely interested in spending time in the dressing room and at the social with the amateur players. Horsman says sitting down and having a beverage with a player who has seen it all, and has the stories to prove it, is all part of the experience.
Leafs great Wendel Clark headlines the first Easter Seals celebrity tournament to be held in North Bay. Joining Clark will be Ric Nattress, Mike Krushelnyski, and Clark’s former teammate, Gary Leeman. More ex-NHLers will join the lineup soon, promises Easter Seals representative Joanne Bowers.
Tournament play begins December 1 but is preceded by a draft party at the Davedi Club where each team will select a former NHL player to play on their team. The first pick goes to the team that raises the most money for Easter Seals.
For more information, see www.celebrityhockeyclassics.com or www.easterseals.org
