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
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Canucks claw out 5-4 comeback win over Oilers in Game 1
Dakota Joshua had a goal and two assists and the Vancouver Canucks scored three third-period goals to claw out a 5-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Wednesday.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.