Red Deer native Glen Wesley signs autographs and meets with fans during Hometown Hockey festivities in downtown Red Deer on Saturday. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

fond memories

Wesley and Anderson talk shop and hockey roots at Hometown Hockey

Dec 1, 2019 | 3:53 PM

For Glen Wesley and Glenn Anderson, being a part of the Hometown Hockey festivities this weekend in Red Deer was an opportunity to get back to some of their hockey roots.

Wesley, Red Deer born and bred, is coming off a second Stanley Cup, this time as a development coach with the St. Louis Blues. He also won as a player in 2006 with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Coming back home brought back a lot of memories, he said.

“My dad always put in a miniature rink for us in the backyard. It was a treat and my dad took a lot of time to do that. Then after school growing up, we’d always spend more time on the outdoor rinks,” he recalls.

“I (also) remember jumping up from bantam and skipping midget to go to the AJHL. I was 15 at the time and playing against 19 and 20-year-olds, which was a good learning experience to play against older men, and I was able to hold my own.”

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In Jr. A in 1984, Wesley and the Red Deer Rustlers lost in the league final; but among the many coaches he credits for his development early on, Wesley gives thanks to Rustlers coach Wynne Dempster.

Wesley also made his WHL debut that year playing three games with the Portland Winterhawks. He joined that team full-time the following season and stuck for three years before going third overall in the NHL Entry Draft to Boston.

Wesley eventually recorded 537 NHL points and was part of the Hartford Whalers organization when it relocated to Raleigh.

With the theme of Hometown Hockey in mind and what makes the game good, Wesley spoke to recent turbulence felt by everyone involved in hockey, and how it can move forward with support from players, coaches, and fans alike.

“You’re hoping that it’s an isolated incident and that no more stories will come out, but I’m sure there will be something,” says Wesley. “Hopefully it makes the game a better game. It’s unfortunate, but I think in order to grow the game to a better level for not only pro, but at all levels, these incidents will teach not only players, but coaches that we have to be treated equally; that we’re all one and we should be treated respectfully.”

Meantime, Hockey Hall of Famer and six-time Stanley Cup champion Glenn Anderson says for parents and kids involved in the game, the team concept is first and foremost.

“The key phrase is ‘hockey is for everyone’; diversification and also the fact that it is available and affordable for everyone. That’s our goal and our motto,” the Oilers legend says. “We want for the families to be out there having fun and enjoying themselves.”

A Vancouver native, Anderson never played for his hometown Canucks, though he did sign there as a free agent late in his career. Coincidentally, he was also part of the 1994 Rangers squad which defeated Vancouver in seven games for the Cup (his sixth and final).

“You always want to play good in your hometown or play for your hometown team, and you’d get pumped up for the games a little more. Plus there’s the fact that my mom would make salmon sandwiches every time we came to Vancouver,” Anderson remembers fondly.

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“She had a great record with 21 wins and three losses when she made us those sandwiches. Going in to Vancouver was always a hot spot for us because she would even make dinner for the whole team. We’d pull up in the bus, the team would unload like locusts, go in the kitchen and out the back door, back onto the bus and then to the hotel.”

Growing up, Anderson said he skated bow-legged and hated the game at first, but eventually came around on it. He played minor hockey with Burnaby Winter Club, where the likes of Mathew Barzal and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins once honed their skills.

Among many other things, Anderson spends time at his Florida home, as well as in New York where he’s involved in the Learn to Play program with the Rangers.