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Hockey Night in CanadaPEI hockey players are proud and inspire each other

By Tim Wharnsby

Posted: Sunday, February 12, 2012 | 10:27 AM

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New York Rangers forward Brad Richards brought the Stanley Cup to his hometown Murray Harbour, P.E.I., when he was a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004. (Christopher Pasatieri/Getty Images) New York Rangers forward Brad Richards brought the Stanley Cup to his hometown Murray Harbour, P.E.I., when he was a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004. (Christopher Pasatieri/Getty Images)

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Gerard Gallant had Errol Thompson. Brad Richards had Gallant. Mark Flood and Adam McQuaid had Richards. Somewhere down the line there will be other hockey players from Prince Edward Island who will be inspired by McQuaid or Flood.
The annual Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada will celebrate Prince Edward Island on Saturday. The land of Anne of Green Gables, potatoes and Stompin' Tom Connors may be the smallest province in Canada, but its hockey tradition is rich and full of characters. From visits by St. Dunstan's University to the national championship to NHL success from pioneers like Forbes Kennedy Billy MacMillan and Errol Thompson to current NHLers Mark Flood, Adam McQuaid and Brad Richards, PEI has a proud hockey past. Richards celebrated the Stanley Cup with the locals in 2004 after his Tampa Bay Lightning won the NHL championship. McQuaid followed suite seven summers later with his victorious Boston Bruins. Over the past seven days cbcsports.ca senior hockey writer Tim Wharnsby has compiled a series of stories about PEI hockey. The final instalment takes a look at the connection between PEI's NHLers, from Errol Thompson to Gerard Gallant to Brad Richards to Adam McQuaid and Mark Flood.

Gerard Gallant had Errol Thompson. Brad Richards had Gallant. Mark Flood and Adam McQuaid had Richards. Somewhere down the line there will be other hockey players from Prince Edward Island who will be inspired by McQuaid or Flood.

"It's kind of neat the way it has worked out," said Gallant, one of 28 current or former NHLers from PEI. "But for me it was Errol Thompson. He was from my hometown of Summerside. So I figured if one player from my hometown can make it to the NHL, why can't I.

"I had a connection to him. He would skate with us in the summer at hockey schools. And, of course, we watched him every Saturday night with the Toronto Maple Leafs."

For Richards, it meant the world to him one summer when he was a young lad to look up one day at his hockey school to see that Gallant had stepped on the ice.

"That was always neat for me," Richards said. "Sometimes, some of Gallants teammates on the Detroit Red Wings would visit him in the summer and train with him. That was special, too."

Small province, big accomplishments

McQuaid was seven years old when Richards won the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Boston Bruins defenceman remembers making the short trip from Cornwall to Murray Harbour the day that Richards brought the prized trophy back to the PEI for all the islanders to share.

"It's not just the success of him winning the Stanley Cup, it all the other successes Brad has had," McQuaid said. "He played for Canada at the world junior. He won a Memorial Cup. He won the Lady Byng and the Conn Smythe [Trophy].

"It showed me that people from a small place like PEI are capable of big things."

Seven summers later, McQuaid brought the Stanley Cup back to PEI.

"It was one of the busiest days of my life," McQuaid recalled. "It was blur. But the one thing I will always remember was how amazing it was to see how excited people get to see the Stanley cup. The weather wasn't great that day. Yet, we had such a big turnout.

"It's such a small place, yet everyone is so supportive of one another. I think the big thing is we all have a strong work ethic and we always remember where we came from.

"The hockey world is a small world. It's pretty neat in the summer at charity events to see some of the past guys who have paved and now some younger kids who are starting to make their way."

McQuaid remarked how easy it is for him to get reinvigorated for the upcoming hockey season each summer. On his way into downtown Charlottetown to Eli Sports for his workout, he passes by the old North River Arena building, which now houses a flea market, where he first learned how to play hockey. A new rink was built beside it.

"It was one of the first stops the day we had the Stanley Cup," McQuaid said. "It wasn't that long ago I was running around that rink as a kid. It brings back great memories every time I drive by in the summer."

The 27-year-old Flood is a year older than McQuaid. The two played against one another for a couple seasons in the OHL, Flood for the Peterborough Petes and McQuaid for the Sudbury Wolves.

It has taken Flood a little longer to earn a full-time roster spot in the NHL, but he accomplished the feat this season with the Winnipeg Jets. Now the pressure is on him to one day bring the Stanley Cup back to PEI.

"If I did, it would be huge," said Flood, who honed his skills at PEI's well-known Allan Andrews Hockey School on the University of Prince Edward Island campus. "More than anything, the people from PEI are proud.

"I remember how proud I was of Brad when he won the Memorial Cup in Rimouski. I started to follow him then and his success along the way helped a lot of us believe in ourselves.

Like McQuaid, Flood enjoys returning to PEI each summer to kick back and prepare for the upcoming season.

"It's just so laid back," Flood said. "I feel so comfortable back there. There is plenty of ice time available and plenty of guys who come back to train with."

"We've had two Stanley Cups in less than 10 years," Richards added. "That's a pretty big accomplishment when you think about it. We're all pretty proud people. We're proud of where we come from, and we love getting recognized for where we come from."

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