Lemieux draws incredible ovation in 4 Nations opening ceremony
The first few stars the NHL brought out onto the ice for the opening ceremony of the 4 Nations Face-Off received polite applause from the Bell Centre crowd here in Montreal on Wednesday night.
Teemu Selanne drew a nice ovation representing Finland, as did Mike Richter for the United States. Heck, even former Senator Daniel Alfredsson got cheered when he walked out for Sweden.
Saving Canada for last, the public address announcer offered little clues as to who the home crowd's former national team legend would be.
In the 1987 Canada Cup, he broke the tournament record with 11 goals in nine games ... In 2002, he captained Team Canada to their first Olympic gold in 50 years. Welcome back to Montreal ...
The crowd erupted. They knew before the name was even said.
... Mario Lemieux!
I've been to just about every building in the league, including a few games in this very arena. In years of regular-season games, playoff games, and bigger league-wide events like this one, I don't recall ever hearing an ovation from a crowd as loud as the one Lemieux got here tonight:
Chants of "MAR-I-O" broke out more than once, as Lemieux waved to recognize the crowd. The videoboard panned across the crowd, and a few grown men appeared to be wiping away tears. The ovation lasted a full minute before Lemieux attempted to quiet things down himself, waving Sidney Crosby over in his direction in an attempt to move the ceremony along.
Had Crosby not skated over and let the ceremony proceed, that Bell Centre crowd might still be cheering.
"I remember some roars in my life," Jon Cooper said with a look of amazement. "And actually, a couple of them have been in this building. But I don't know if I've heard anything like what I heard when he was marched out at center ice. ... That thing would have gone on forever. To sit there and watch Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby stand at center ice together? It's pretty special."
Lemieux didn't just surprise the Canadian crowd -- he surprised the players, too.
It's funny -- Crosby was asked Wednesday morning if he had a chance yet to speak with Lemieux about the tournament. He said he hadn't, but he figured he'd have the opportunity at some point.
Not even Crosby was expecting Lemieux to be in their locker room before the game, reading off the starting lineup to get the group going. And that boost Lemieux brought paid off, to the tune of a 4-3 overtime win over Sweden to open the tournament.
"They didn't tell us who was coming in, they just said somebody was going to be doing the starting lineup," Crosby told me. "To see him come in there and read the lineup and be a part of the ovation he received? I've seen that a lot in Pittsburgh. To be here, in this moment, on this stage and see him get a reception like that, it was pretty special."
It was Cooper who asked Lemieux to be in the locker room before the game for the starting lineup read, and he thought he seemed a little "gun shy" about taking on the role. But when he stepped into the room, the impact he made was evident.
"Just to see him, he's a presence," Cooper said. "He's walking into our room, being a hero to a generation of players now. The way that game started, he was a big part of it."
THE ASYLUM
Lemieux draws incredible ovation in 4 Nations opening ceremony
The first few stars the NHL brought out onto the ice for the opening ceremony of the 4 Nations Face-Off received polite applause from the Bell Centre crowd here in Montreal on Wednesday night.
Teemu Selanne drew a nice ovation representing Finland, as did Mike Richter for the United States. Heck, even former Senator Daniel Alfredsson got cheered when he walked out for Sweden.
Saving Canada for last, the public address announcer offered little clues as to who the home crowd's former national team legend would be.
In the 1987 Canada Cup, he broke the tournament record with 11 goals in nine games ... In 2002, he captained Team Canada to their first Olympic gold in 50 years. Welcome back to Montreal ...
The crowd erupted. They knew before the name was even said.
... Mario Lemieux!
I've been to just about every building in the league, including a few games in this very arena. In years of regular-season games, playoff games, and bigger league-wide events like this one, I don't recall ever hearing an ovation from a crowd as loud as the one Lemieux got here tonight:
Chants of "MAR-I-O" broke out more than once, as Lemieux waved to recognize the crowd. The videoboard panned across the crowd, and a few grown men appeared to be wiping away tears. The ovation lasted a full minute before Lemieux attempted to quiet things down himself, waving Sidney Crosby over in his direction in an attempt to move the ceremony along.
Had Crosby not skated over and let the ceremony proceed, that Bell Centre crowd might still be cheering.
"I remember some roars in my life," Jon Cooper said with a look of amazement. "And actually, a couple of them have been in this building. But I don't know if I've heard anything like what I heard when he was marched out at center ice. ... That thing would have gone on forever. To sit there and watch Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby stand at center ice together? It's pretty special."
Lemieux didn't just surprise the Canadian crowd -- he surprised the players, too.
It's funny -- Crosby was asked Wednesday morning if he had a chance yet to speak with Lemieux about the tournament. He said he hadn't, but he figured he'd have the opportunity at some point.
Not even Crosby was expecting Lemieux to be in their locker room before the game, reading off the starting lineup to get the group going. And that boost Lemieux brought paid off, to the tune of a 4-3 overtime win over Sweden to open the tournament.
"They didn't tell us who was coming in, they just said somebody was going to be doing the starting lineup," Crosby told me. "To see him come in there and read the lineup and be a part of the ovation he received? I've seen that a lot in Pittsburgh. To be here, in this moment, on this stage and see him get a reception like that, it was pretty special."
It was Cooper who asked Lemieux to be in the locker room before the game for the starting lineup read, and he thought he seemed a little "gun shy" about taking on the role. But when he stepped into the room, the impact he made was evident.
"Just to see him, he's a presence," Cooper said. "He's walking into our room, being a hero to a generation of players now. The way that game started, he was a big part of it."
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