I am very into the Ronald McDonald House Cause, so I wanted to repost this from the weekend! My latest blog will be up shortly.
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The "Greatest Hockey Game of the Year To Date" will be played in Chicago this Friday, October 26th for the Ronald McDonald House Charities.
Tickets available at Ticketmaster by clicking HERE FOR TICKETS
Long ago, when the All-Star Game meant something, they took the Stanley Cup Champions of the previous season and faced them off against the NHL All-Stars to open the following season. It has been many decades since we have seen anything close to that…until now.
“Champs for Charity” is the brainchild of NHLer Adam Burish and NHL Player Agent Bill Zito.
Former Hawk Adam Burrish was in San Jose a a few weeks back, and like most NHLers...”I was losing my mind,” Adam told me in an interview this morning. I was working out in San Jose players were coming and going, and I called up my agent Billy Zito and said, 'I've got to do something here. What should we do?'"
Zito, who is based out of Chicago, and Burish talked and quickly decided to call up some of their friends to discuss doing a small pickup game for charity.
"I put out an email at 9 am to 20 of the other guys on the Hawks Cup team to see who might be into it.. I figured they would get back to me in a day or so." By 11 am ten players from the Cup team had responded they were in. And we aren't talking no-name players here. Players like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Brian Campbell were all prepared to head to Chicago and get the band back together for one more game…
Burish continues, "The guys immediately got it. They said tell us when and what else can we do? We'll call some other guys too. Then Billy (Zito) started calling around to his guys and some of the players agents and we found everyone was so accommodating and dying to help out."
Once the process started the assistance snowballed quickly. Within a two-hour timeframe Pat Nagle at the Allstate Arena and Rosemont Mayor Brad Stevens donated the rink and took care of the logistics. Great Clips signed on as the title sponsor. Coldwell Banker stepped up too. Zito’s buddy Andy Ray from ABCO Electric immediately donated the programs, a local sports store Gunzo’s donated the uniforms, and the Lettuce Entertain You restaurant group took care of all the food.
Similarly, the players and agents helped too. “(Agents) Justin Duberman and Pat Brisson have been great. Actually James Wisniewski has been our best recruiter . He has brought in 3-4 guys and he’s not done yet! It’s a testament to character of the hockey community at-large.” Said Zito. “I think the fact that it is the Ronald McDonald House has a lot to do with it too.” Said Zito.
"The response from everyone including the players was very re-affirming, but really to be expected, " added Zito, "In this business I am constantly reminded how generous and giving hockey people can be. The response was wonderful.”
Re-affirming indeed. Sometimes, it is easy during these labour disputes to forget what these players are really about. They want a fair deal, but they also really want to play hockey. It is in their blood to skate and in their blood to help.
But the story gets even better…
Calls were made and in just a few days the line-ups were shaping up into a game that will reunite and group of players who haven't all skated together on the ice since Patrick Kane's overtime goal in Philly. And those Hawks will face-off against a strong collection of All-Star players. On the opposing team, Kimmo Timonen and Ville Leino, who were on the ice for the Flyers when Patrick Kane scored that goal, will get their shot at revenge while being joined by stars like Ryan Suter, James Wisniewski, Bobby Ryan, and Goalie Nik Backstrom.
“We are getting calls from guys every day and we will add more,” said Zito. “There are a number of players who told us they want to help, but they have to make arrangements or try to change previous commitments. So we’ll see. We also haven’t announced the coaches yet and I think that will be fun for the fans.”
Many times charity games lack intensity. However, having watched Burish play hockey all these years it isn't surprising to see he isn't into soft charity games.
"I told everyone we are going to really play. We aren't going to be throwing checks and killing each other, but this game is going to be competitive. We are playing this game for real. I told the guys there won't be a better skate you've had all year than on Friday night."
Normally one might say, "sure, it's a charity game." Not so much here…. Just look at the list of players who are flying in for the game and think of all the pent-up frustration they are holding in. It's almost impossible to imagine this game NOT being epic.
The original idea was to hold the game at a smaller venue, but as the star power kept growing it became obvious the game was shaping up into an actual NHL level game and a bigger venue would be needed.
"Hawks fans are awesome. They are hockey crazy in that city. We needed a bigger barn."
Who's in?
The players who have said they are coming so far include...
Team Chicago
Jonathan Toews
Patrick Kane
Patrick Sharp
Brian Campbell
James Wisniewski
Andrew Ladd
Adam Burish
Troy Brouwer
Jamal Mayers
Craig Anderson
Team World
Bobby Ryan
Kimmo Timonen
Shawn Thornton
Ryan Suter
Ville Leino
Jack Johnson
Antii Miettinen
Alex Goligoski
Joe Corvo
Jared Boll
Tom Gilbert
Mike Brown
So obviously, you won't want to miss this one…and there's a rumor a certain anonymous hockey blogger may make an appearance as well….. you never know…
DETAILS:
Tickets available at Ticketmaster by clicking HERE FOR TICKETS
On the Ronald McDonald House...
The well-known charity houses and feeds families whose children are in hospitals so that the parents can take care of themselves while they advocate for their children. They ask for a $10 donation but never turn away a family for financial reasons.
“By the way,” said Burish, have you ever been to one of these Houses? This place (the new Ronald McDonald House in downtown Chicago) is like a 5-star hotel! I asked if I could stay there, but they they said they don’t take my kind! Seriously, people understand how important their mission is and most of the players have visited the children’s hospitals -- so they get it. They understand the families need to be their children. If we can help make that happen by playing a hockey game, it’s the least we can do.”
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