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The sad news that the Quebec pee-wee tournament is cancelled this year reminds me of this story Brendan Gallagher told me about that tournament when I visited with him last summer. I don& #39;t think I& #39;ve ever shared it, so here it is. (mini thread)
When Gallagher first moved to the Vancouver area from Edmonton, he was in his first year pee-wee and played at the Burnaby Winter Club. They had, you could say, a pretty good team.
"Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was our third line centre. He was a year younger than everyone, but still, he was our third line centre," Gallagher said. "We were good. We were 52-0 in B.C. that year. Our only loss was in the Quebec Pee-Wee tournament. I blew the game.”
Close to 20 years later, blowing that game still eats at Gallagher. He& #39;s still friends with his linemate from that team, and he still gets ribbed about it. He was in pee-wee and is now in the NHL, and it still bothers him.
Here& #39;s how he described how he "blew the game":
“We were down 6-5 at the time and I was having my best game of the tournament, I think I had a couple of goals or something like that."
“We were down 6-5 at the time and I was having my best game of the tournament, I think I had a couple of goals or something like that."
"We were playing the L.A. hockey team who had some pretty good players on it; (Emerson) Etem was on that team, (Matt) Nieto. I don’t remember what happened, but somehow I got a breakaway with 30 seconds left to tie the game...
"... and probably our least skilled forward got a breakaway just before me and he scored. So I’m thinking, ‘God, this goalie must suck.’...
"...So I made a move and I probably had this much net to shoot at (holds hands out wide) and I hit the post. Not going to lie, pretty devastating feeling. I was obviously crying in the locker room afterwards. For some reason that always stuck with me."
“In Pee Wee, if you’re on a breakaway, you should score.”
Again, Gallagher is an established NHL star, and this sticks with him. Says a lot about him, honestly. But also about the Quebec pee-wee tournament.
So many memories, good and bad, that last a lifetime.
Again, Gallagher is an established NHL star, and this sticks with him. Says a lot about him, honestly. But also about the Quebec pee-wee tournament.
So many memories, good and bad, that last a lifetime.
