The Barrie Colts paid tribute to their former captains with a special ceremony Saturday evening at Sadlon Arena before their 7-6 overtime win against the Niagara IceDogs.
The Colts held ‘Captains Night’ to recognize their leaders who wore the ‘C’ as part of their 30th anniversary season.
The franchise’s top two all-time leading scorers Bryan Little and Daniel Tkaczuk headlined the list of honourees attendance, which included Luke Bignell, Stefan Della Rovere, Matt Dzieduszycki, Cordell James, Justin Murray, Jeremy Swanson and Michael Webster.
“It was really cool,” said Little, who went on to play 843 NHL games with the Winnipeg Jets and Atlanta Thrashers. “Some of my best hockey memories come from playing here, so it’s really an honour to be back.”
The 4,000-plus fans at Sadlon Arena applauded each former captain as they made their way to shake hands with team owner and president Howie Campbell at centre ice. The group then posed for a photo with current Colts captain Beau Jelsma.
“Barrie is my hometown now, so [I saw] a lot of familiar faces in the crowd. but it’s neat for me to see the different generations” said Tkaczuk, who was a Colt for the franchise’s first four years of existence before playing 19 NHL games with the Calgary Flames during his pro career. “How much we share on our experiences here playing for the Colts – not just in and around the arena – but around the community as well.”
Matt Dzieduszycki was part of the only Colts team to win the J. Ross Robertson Cup and reach the Memorial Cup finals. He inherited the ‘C’ after current New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe graduated from the Colts following that 1999-2000 season.
“Winning an OHL championship was definitely top of the list,” recalled Dzieduszycki. “Game 7 against the Sudbury Wolves when we scored late in the third period to take the lead, how loud it was in this building, that’s a really special moment for me.”
Keefe was among the former Colts captains who were honoured but could not attend. They sent thank you messages by video that were played on Sadlon Arena’s scoreboard as part of the ceremony.
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