Joey Payeur
Patrick Brown is working with the thought process that as a Canadian politician looking to improve his profile, having an NHL Hall-of-Famer on his wing isn’t a bad way to score points with the public.
The Conservative MP who represents Barrie was at Boston Pizza here Sunday afternoon for a public appearance as he begins his run to replace Tim Hudak as the next leader of Ontario’s PC party.
Alongside to lend support was arguably the greatest Winnipeg Jet of all time, Dale Hawerchuk, who took time away from his duties as head coach and director of hockey operations with the OHL’s Barrie Colts to make the trip to Northwestern Ontario.
“I’ve known Patrick from the last five years being in Barrie and seen what he’s done there,” said Hawerchuk, who racked up 1,409 points in 1,188 games with Winnipeg, the Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues, and Philadelphia Flyers.
“I’ve seen his work ethic,” added the former No. 1 overall draft pick from 1981’s NHL entry draft.
“There’s no end to the man,” Hawerchuk said. “He keeps going and going, and Barrie has really thrived over the last five years with the fundraising he has done for things like the local hospital.
“I’ve even played hockey with him, as well, and he is as relentless there as he is off the ice.”
Hawerchuk is in the minority of current or former pro athletes in terms of revealing his political leanings, but has no problems voicing his opinions in that area.
He is a staunch supporter of Prime Minister Stephen Harper (“It’s like running a hockey team; you can’t please everybody”) and firmly believes Hudak’s campaign blunders cost the party a golden opportunity to oust the provincial Liberals from power.
“To not be able to defeat someone who made a $1-billion mistake—how does that happen?” wondered Hawerchuk, referring to the eventual $1.1-billion price tag for the Liberals’ plan to scrap proposed gas-powered plants in Oakville and Mississauga.
“The way I was brought up, something is wrong there.”
Hawerchuk took over the Colts in 2010 knowing he was facing a major rebuilding project.
With only 15 wins in 68 games in his first season, the former superstar centre quickly found out it was going to take as much hard work to turn the Colts’ ship around as it did to stay one of the NHL’s elite players for more than a decade.
But Hawerchuk’s determination cultivated during his on-ice career served him well in helping guide Barrie back to respectability.
His second campaign yielded 40 wins and a playoff berth, followed by 43 victories in his third year and a trip to the OHL final.
“You never stop learning,” Hawerchuk said about his approach to the game.
“When you think you know it all, you’re done.”
The Colts dropped to 37 wins last season and subsequently were ousted in the second round of the playoffs. But they were in the spotlight most of the year due to the presence of standout blueliner Aaron Ekblad.
The defenceman chalked up 53 points in 58 games, and wound up following in his coach’s footsteps as the top pick in this past spring’s NHL entry draft by the Florida Panthers.
This was most definitely a case of “takes one to know one”.
“It was up to me not to mess him up,” Hawerchuk chuckled.
“When I saw him [Ekblad] the first time, I knew he was the real deal,” Hawerchuk added. “He stepped right in with us as a 15-year-old.
“Guys like him just get it.”
Hawerchuk also co-owns a breeding and training facility for show-jumping horses with his wife.
“The horses don’t usually talk back to you,” joked Hawerchuk about from where his passion for the equine world stems.
Hawerchuk and his Colts will get multiple first-hand looks this season at the player projected to be hockey’s next big thing—Erie Otters’ forward and likely No. 1 overall draft pick Connor McDavid.
“Connor is so dynamic and has another gear nobody else has,” lauded Hawerchuk.
“He’s going to make some team very happy.”
As for his own Colts, Hawerchuk’s crew leads the OHL’s Central Division so far with a 6-3-1 record.
“We’re going to be good but it’s kind of a progression throughout the year,” he remarked.
“You see where the 17- and 18-year-olds are in September and again where they are in February and say, ‘Wow, what a giant leap.’
“We feel if we just get in the playoffs, we’ve got just as good a shot as anyone,” he added.
Hawerchuk embraced the opportunity to share his vast knowledge of the game with his players.
“I know it’s frustrating being a junior player because I’ve been there,” he said.
“But it’s quite a thrill to see the players as a group starting to figure things out.”
Depending on how the season goes for the Colts, Hawerchuk was open to the idea of a return visit here in the spring to scout out talent at the Dudley Hewitt Cup.
“Flying in today, it looked totally gorgeous around here and I definitely would like to come back if not then, at least in the summer,” he noted.
