VANCOUVER CANUCK ALUMNI SUMMERTIME ACTIVITIES:

The vibrant organization that is the Canuck Alumni played over a dozen

charity hockey games over the winter of 1997-98. But when springtime

came, the hockey gear was stowed and the golf clubs appeared...big time!

It began in May with a combination hockey/golf weekend in Comox, on

Vancouver Island, when the Canucks took on their oldtimer counterparts

from the Calgary Flames. As of the third week of July, the Canuck

representatives have shown up en masse to no fewer than five major

golfing events.

The flagship tournament, of course, was the annual Cyclone Taylor Hockey

Golf event played June 19 at Hazelmere. A full field of 144 former

hockey pros and friends enjoyed a great day of camaraderie, renewing old

acquaintances (and embellishing hockey feats already exaggerated). A

highlight was a posed photo featuring no fewer than eight former Canuck

goalkeepers. (The picture had to be shot with a wide-angle lens,

naturally.) On the course, Alumni team GM Jim Brown took top honours

with a low net score of 66. Ex-Canuck Gregg Boddy was low gross with a

73 while longtime Alumnus Bob McCusker captured "senior" honours with a

76.

On July 12, another host of oldtimers descended on the city of Nanaimo

to participate in the Phil Maloney Celebrity Classic, hosted by the

former Western League and NHL Canuck player and coach. The merry band

of invaders survived a nasty, blustery day to help raise over $8,000 for

the Sheldon Kennedy Foundation.

Five days later, yet another Alumni gathering braved 100-degree

temperatures at the 5th annual Steve Tambellini Tournament in the

Tambellini clan's interior hometown of Trail, B.C. Funds generated by

this event were funneled into a foundation which assists families of

children requiring medical attention with their transportation and

accommodation when travelling between the province's Kootenay region and

Vancouver.

This Thursday (July 23rd), the Clarke Foundation Tournament takes place

at Northview Golf Club. In just a few short years, this event has

evolved into a major fundraiser (this year, it will benefit Big Brothers

along with the Boys' and Girls' Clubs of Greater Vancouver) which

attracts a huge assortment of former NHL stars. This year's tournament

will feature the likes of Bobby and Dennis Hull, Frank and Peter

Mahovlich, Paul Henderson, Johnny Bucyk, Jim Pappin, Pierre Pilote plus

a host of former Canucks led by Pat Quinn, Orland Kurtenbach and Harold

Snepsts.

Later, a number of former Canucks will join current NHL stars and PGA

TOUR professionals on August 24th at the Pro-Am event at the Greater

Vancouver Open at Northview.

Finally, the 15th Annual Jake Milford/Vancouver Canucks Celebrity

Invitational Tournament will be held Sept. 24 at Quilchena Golf and

Country Club in suburban Richmond. For the second straight year, this

will be a full fledged training camp event for the NHL Canucks with all

players, coaches and management joining the festivities. This is the

single, largest annual fundraiser for the Canuck Alumni Association and

provides an enormous financial assist to the Association's

administration of scholarship programs and assistance to ex-Alumni

members.

Off the golf course, a small contingent of Alumni (Chris Oddliefson,

Blair "B.J." MacDonald and announcer John Ashbridge) took part in the

year's most heart-warming of "road trips", travelling north from

Vancouver to spend the day at "Camp Goodtimes". Operated for a

four-week period each summer by the Canadian Cancer Society, the camp

caters to children who are currently undergoing cancer treatment. "Camp

Goodtimes" offers these otherwise-disadvantaged youngsters, who come

from across western Canada, an opportunity to experience the fun and

adventure of spending the summer in the great outdoors. The campers,

more than 50 at a time, spend a minimum of one week at "Camp Goodtimes",

where the volunteer counsellors and medical staff can attend to their

specialized needs on an almost one-to-one ratio. The Canuck Alumni have

been supporting "Camp Goodtimes" since the early 90's and it's hard to

tell who enjoys the all-too-brief day trip to the camp more: the

Alumnus or the campers.

Looking ahead to the coming "season", the Canuck Oldtimers already have

half a dozen charity-based games on the schedule, including a November

season-opener against suburban Surrey, B.C.'s combined firefighters,

R.C.M.P. and civic employees hockey team, in support of the local

United Way. Other tentative dates include road trips to Prince George

and Castlegar, B.C., a couple of Vancouver-area games in support of

minor hockey and - still to be firmed up - a "double-header" fund-raiser

against an enhanced squad of Montreal Canadiens Alumni.

Judging by the already-crowded winter calendar, perhaps it's better if

the Canuck stalwarts get some of this golf and camping out of their

systems while the west coast is still blessed with this summertime

sun shine.