Jets honour Hawerchuk's greatness, memory with special statue
WINNIPEG -- Crystal Hawerchuk told a crowd of hundreds of people how much her late husband, Dale, loved the city and the province before the official unveiling of the statue of the greatest Winnipeg Jet of all time just outside of the Canada Life Centre on Saturday afternoon.
"Now, he is home again," Crystal said.,
Then, 16 former Jets teammates unfurled the cover over the statue to much whooping and applause.
"Dale was notified of this honour shortly before he died and he was humbled by it," said Crystal, who is a Winnipeg native. "He led with a purpose. He inspired us all to be better people, he supported many charities, and he gave our family a beautiful life.
"Thank you to everyone for making this statue a reality."
Hawerchuk, who lost a battle to stomach cancer in 2020 when he was only 57, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001, had his No. 10 retired by the franchise in 2007, and was inducted into the Winnipeg Jets Hall of Fame in 2017.
Hawerchuk, who won the Calder Memorial Trophy as top rookie in 1981-82, posted five straight 100-point seasons over his nine years with the Jets and was the third-youngest player to score 50 goals in a season. He also played for Buffalo, St. Louis and Philadelphia. He scored a total of 518 goals and 1,409 career points in 1,188 career NHL games.
"This was so incredible," said Dale's son, Eric Hawerchuk. "First of all, my mom's speech was pretty unbelievable. She recited it to me a couple times. I know she was pretty nervous. But she got up there, she's a natural, right?
"It was very emotional. I kind of prepared for it, but just to see the sheer size of it and the attention to details is kinda hard to put it into words. But, I'm so proud of him and to see this here and to see all of the people here is just so amazing. It's still shocks me every time I see it."
Jets associate coach Scott Arniel started his NHL career in Winnipeg with Hawerchuk after the two played junior hockey together.
"We were friends for a lifetime," said Arniel, who fought back tears. "I was talking to him near the end. I told them they were going to make a statue of him and he said, `I can't believe it.'
"He grew up here as a hockey player, as a husband and a father. He loved Winnipeg. He meant an awful lot to all of us. This statue will remind everyone of the memories he left."
Jets executive chairman Mark Chipman said the original plan was to have Dale attend the unveiling.
"We didn't fully appreciate how his health had deteriorated," Chipman said. "We had made the decision to do this quite some time before that, and Dale had recovered.
"It was our hope that he'd be here today when we did this. His health declined very rapidly, and we were advised of that. We thought the least we could do is tell him."
Hawerchuk coached current Jets centre Mark Scheifele, who spoke at the ceremony.
"I see the statue over there and all of a sudden you're fighting back tears, you're fighting back the nerves and fighting back just all the feeling that kind of come onto you," said Scheifele.
"But what a tremendous honour to speak at his statue unveiling. He meant so much to me. It's one of those things I'll remember for the rest of my life."
The statue was sculpted by Erik Blome, who has also sculpted a statue of Wayne Gretzky, as well as other greats.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
'A huge difference': These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
OPINION No reunion between Prince Harry and the King signifies a setback for royal unity
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
How Drake and Kendrick Lamar's rap beef escalated within weeks
A long-simmering feud between hip-hop superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a boiling point in recent days as the pair traded increasingly personal insults on a succession of diss tracks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s behind the ongoing beef.
NEW For their protection, immigrants critical of China and India call for speedy passage of Canada's foreign interference legislation
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
Spanish prosecutors recommend 2nd investigation into Shakira's taxes be thrown out
Spanish state prosecutors recommended Wednesday that an investigating judge shelve a probe into another alleged case of tax fraud by pop star Shakira.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.