FILE PHOTO
Medicine Hat Tigers icon Lanny McDonald poses for a picture in the old Arena during his two year span as a Tiger.
Lanny McDonald’s list of accolades got a little longer this week.
On Wednesday the Medicine Hat Tigers legend added the Order of Hockey in Canada to a resume that includes a Stanley Cup, Hockey Hall of Fame Induction, 500 goals and 1,000 points and more.
The 69-year-old alongside Montreal Canadiens legend Guy Lafleur and three-time gold medalist Kim St-Pierre, received the Order of Hockey in Canada for “outstanding contributions or service to the growth and development of the sport of hockey in Canada.”
The trio will officially be recognized at the Hockey Canada Foundation Gala and Golf Tournament in June in Niagara Falls.
McDonald spoke to the News on Thursday and said the past 24 hours around the announcement were, “absolutely fantastic.” He said he was in Niagara Falls when it was announced but was tipped off 10 days before with a phone call he thought was maybe a prank.
“Thank goodness I recognize Tom Rennie who is head of Hockey Canada’s voice or I probably would have thought it was one of our (Calgary) alumni pranking me, which happens every so often,” McDonald said.
McDonald serves as the chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame and is the person who gets to deliver the news to new hall of famers. When asked if he viewed a potential prank about an honour as he received as offside given his role, McDonald laughed and said they have great alumni in Calgary.
“We have nine guys from the Stanley Cup team still living in the city, we do a tremendous amount of work for the community and love it,” McDonald said. “I’m proud to be a member of it and you can’t trust those guys.”
McDonald won his Stanley Cup win with the Calgary Flames in 1989 after playing with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Colorado Rockies.
The Hanna product represented Team Canada twice in his career, he assisted on Darryl Sittler’s double-overtime winning goal that helped the Canada to victory in the 1976 Canada Cup.
He said representing Canada means everything to him and recalled donning the red and white crest while playing for the Tigers.
“In ‘72-73 when the Medicine Hat Tigers represented Canada, at the World Cup in Colorado Springs and in Minnesota, playing against the Czechs, the Finns, the US and the Russians,” McDonald said. “That was my first taste of playing for your country and you play for it once and you’re hooked. I have certainly been hooked all of these years and I’ve loved it.”
McDonald also served in general manager and director of player personnel roles which included a gold medal win at the 2004 IIHF World Championship in the Czech Republic.
He played a big role for the Tigers when they won their first Western Canadian Hockey League championship in 1973, with 253 points scored over two seasons. He was the first player in franchise history to have his number retired.
McDonald said he loved being a Tiger and they gave him a great start to his hall of fame career.
“When you have people like Jack Shupe…everyone’s all-time favourite Bob Ridley, encouraging us and promoting the great game the way we’re trying to do it today, what great teachers,” McDonald said.
Tigers associate coach Joe Frazer said the organization is such a special place and added they are all fortunate be a part of it.
“Being Tigers right now, it’s our job to make sure we continue that legacy and continue it on,” Frazer said.
When asked what’s next for himself, McDonald said he’s playing in a Flames alumni game Monday before taking part in a sandwich program for schools in Calgary where they’ll make roughly 4,200 sandwiches. When asked what his role in sandwich making his, McDonald humbly as ever said he just bags them.
“It’s interesting, we’ve got guys with way better hands,” McDonald said. “They just told me to shoot the puck, don’t go stick handling, so I let them do do the hard work. I bag the sandwiches, that sort of thing. These hands were made for shooting, not for fine tuning.”
