The North Island Eagles Committee is pleased to announce former Vancouver Canuck Gino Odjick as the special guest speaker for the Saturday night player’s banquet at the Tier 3 Bantam BC Championships.
The tournament runs from March 17-20 in Port Hardy at the Don Cruickshank Memorial Arena, and North Island Bantam Eagles head coach Ryan Handley is excited to have Odjick be a part of the opening ceremony on Sunday, March 17, at 7 p.m.
“Gino was maybe one of the most popular Canucks ever and was best known for his toughness and willingness to drop the gloves with anyone,” said Handley, “One of my fondest moments was watching him play in the 1996 playoffs versus the Colorado Avalanche.”
Handley noted it was game four of the series and the Canucks were up 3-2 late in the second period, but Colorado “was buzzing — our section started the ever popular ‘Gino, Gino, Gino’ chant, and before long the entire building was chanting his name.”
Odjick stepped out onto the ice, and with 20 seconds left scored to make it 4-2, which would go down as the game winner.
“Vancouver went on to lose the series four games to two, but it’s still one of my most favourite memories of him,” said Handley, who added he’s “looking very forward to meeting him.”
Odjick played twelve seasons in the NHL from 1990–91 to 2001–02 for the Vancouver Canucks, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens.