Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week's list inclu...
Here’s a quick story about Saskatchewanian Kelly McCrimmon that might show his competitive drive:
Long before he became the Vegas Golden Knights’ general manager, McCrimmon was a rugged, bratty, junior-hockey defenceman with the Brandon Wheat Kings.
At the second intermission of an exceptionally heated playoff game that I was working as a linesman in Brandon, referee Ken Wheler ignored my advice to walk behind us so he wouldn’t be strolling into an angry mob of Wheat King fans by our gate.
One step off the ice — Boom! — a big, mad fan sucker-punched Wheler with an uppercut. While the other linesman chased after the perpetrator, Wheler fell backwards and I caught him before he hit the ground.
Needing medical attention, Wheler stayed in the dressing room a few extra minutes while we skated around before the next period. McCrimmon glided by and asked, “How’s Wheels?” For a moment, I thought the feisty little d-man had some compassion.
“Nice of you to ask,” I said. “He’s fine.”
“That’s too bad,” said McCrimmon. And he skated away with a smirk.
