Canucks Tundra Tour returned to the Alberni Valley on Saturday, March 2 and was a huge hit.
Hundreds of fans of the Vancouver Canucks and in particular alumni goalie Richard Brodeur kept a steady line in the Alberni Toyota show room, hoping for an autograph and a conversation with ‘King Richard.’ Brodeur helped lead the Canucks to the Stanley Cup final against defending champions New York Islanders in 1982 (the Islanders won the Cup). He earned the ‘King Richard’ nickname after backstopping the underdog Canucks to playoff series wins against Calgary Flames, Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks to land in the Stanley Cup finals, ironically against his former team.
Prior to joining the NHL Brodeur played all seven seasons of the World Hockey Association with the Quebec Nordiques (he was inducted into the WHA Hall of Fame in 2010). He retired from the NHL in 1988-89, at the age of 37, after the Canucks traded him to the Hartford Whalers.
Now residing on Vancouver Island, Brodeur has made a name for himself as an artist. He still participates in numerous Canucks’ alumni events.
The Port Alberni event included members from Pacific Toyota Dealers group that travel all over the province for promotions. They had a prize wheel with numerous Canucks-related items that included two sets of two tickets to a Canucks’ National Hockey League game.
The Gyro Club were on site to make hotdogs by donation and there were other food trucks on site as well. The day also featured street hockey games in the parking lot: dozens of kids played hockey while snow was swirling around them.
— With files from Susie Quinn, Alberni Valley News