The Cape Breton Eagles hockey team paid tribute to one of its former players Saturday night.
Chris Culligan stepped back on the ice at Centre 200 in Sydney, N.S., 14 years after suiting up for his hometown.
“It's such a celebration for all of the people that have helped me during my time here and through my career and just having a couple of nights to celebrate that,” said Culligan.
His number 7 jersey was raised to the rafters as part of a pre-game ceremony much to the delight of the hometown crowd.
Culligan is only the second player ever in team history to have the honour. In 2008, the team retired Marc-André Fleury's number, who has gone on to a successful professional hockey career.
“The cool part for me is how much he has helped our community and how much of a good ambassador he's been for our community,” said Culligan.
Culligan, a native of Howie Centre, N.S., soared as an Eagle. He leads the organization in several categories including most career points with 284.
Long-time public address announcer Dave Leblanc said it was a special night for not only Culligan, but the fans as well.
“When you're here for every game, whether it's announcing or for the fans of the game, I think they take a certain amount of pride being able to watch his number 7 go up to the rafters,” said Leblanc.
For Culligan, it's not only about what he was able to achieve on the ice, but relationships gained off of it as well.
“Fortunately for me, a lot of those are still going, so those memories, the small ones that just happen on the bus, in the dressing room, on the ice, mostly connected to the people on the ice that I played with,” said Culligan.
Culligan's goal now is to give back and is currently coaching minor hockey in the area.
