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't think I'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'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'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 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.