Hockey And Baseball Mix At 6th Annual Hartford Whalers Alumni Weekend

HARTFORD, CT — This past weekend, the familiar strains of "Brass Bonanza" were heard numerous times at Dunkin' Park, much as they were for more than two decades just down Main Street at the old Hartford Civic Center. The occasion was the sixth annual gathering of the Hartford Whalers alumni, hosted by the Hartford Yard Goats, Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies.

The mixture of hockey and baseball proved to be a hit once again, as 7,556 fans filled the ballpark, many of them adorned in jerseys, T-shirts and hats bearing the familiar team logo. According to a 2019 report on BNN Bloomberg, Whalers gear is the top seller among defunct franchises, and the National Hockey League, which owns the Whalers trademark, said Hartford is "among the most popular of what it calls vintage teams."

Hundreds of those fans lined up near the main gate to the stadium to meet and get autographs from nearly two dozen former Whalers and hockey notables. Seventeen former players, ranging in age from 80 to 53 and including five skaters from the franchise's days in the World Hockey Association, signed items for more than two hours, until every last customer was satisfied.

They came from all over the place, far and near. Defenseman Dave Babych traveled furthest from his home nearly 3,000 miles away in British Columbia, while his brother Wayne, Pat Boutette and Grant Jennings also came in from Canada. Andre Lacroix, the all-time WHA scoring leader, made his annual trip from Ohio; on the flip side, Marty Howe, Norm Barnes and Yvon Corriveau made the exhausting treks from Glastonbury, Simsbury and New Britain, respectively.

"I remember the city throwing us a big parade in 1986, even though we lost to Montreal in the playoffs," Dave Babych recalled. "The next year, we won the Adams Division. We had a good team,but we just had bad luck in overtime."

He and his brother were accorded the honor of "throwing out" the first pitch prior to Saturday's game; they actually used hockey sticks. Dave snapped a good solid shot to the catcher, but Wayne, who once scored 54 goals in a single season with the St. Louis Blues, was not so fortunate, whiffing completely on his initial attempt.

"He'll hear about it; I'll have to pick and choose when I want to use that one," Dave laughed.

A popular returnee to the Insurance City was Kevin Dineen, a former Olympian and NHL All-Star who played in Hartford from 1984 to 1991, then added a second stint from 1995 to 1997 before the franchise's unpopular move to North Carolina. He was the final team captain of the Whalers, and scored the final goal in Hartford history on April 13, 1997.

Taking honors for oldest alumni player was Doug Roberts, 80, who was one of the first U.S.-born players in the NHL upon breaking in with the Gordie Howe-led Detroit Red Wings in 1966. Now living in Old Lyme, he was joined at the gathering by his brother Gordie, 15 years his junior, who played for the Whalers from 1975 to 1980 and eventually won a pair of Stanley Cup championships with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

"Gordie came in from Minnesota and stayed with me for a few days," Doug Roberts said. "I'm so glad to get the chance to spend some time with him."

Two non-players who made the journey south with the club upon its 1997 relocation were longtime radio broadcaster Chuck Kaiton and equipment manager Skip Cunningham. They were both part of the festivities Saturday.

Cunningham was an original staff member, joining the club in its inaugural season in 1972-73, when it played its home games in Boston. He moved to Vernon when the team changed home arenas in 1975, and stayed with the franchise as it transitioned into the Carolina Hurricanes in the late 1990s. He retired prior to the 2020 campaign after a 47-year career with the organization.

"Two of my daughters still live in Vernon," he said. "It's too bad the people of Hartford never got to experience winning the Stanley Cup, but seeing my name carved on it is a big thrill."

Cunningham and Kaiton were with the Hurricanes during their Stanley Cup run in 2006. In fact, Cunningham is one of the few people whose name is engraved on both the Stanley Cup and the Avco World Trophy, the award for the WHA champions won by the Whalers in 1973.

Another special guest who had made a regular presence at the reunions is Mark Bousquet. A standout player at American International College in Springfield and a recent inductee into that school's Athletics Hall of Fame, he went on to play professional hockey at the minor league level for six seasons, but became well-known for his portrayal of Syracuse Bulldogs thug Andre "Poodle" Lussier in the classic Paul Newman hockey film, Slap Shot.

Throughout the course of the event, countless fans shouted "Not Poodle!" at Bousquet, echoing a famous line from the movie. He said nary a day goes by that someone doesn't utter those words to him.

"They have good staff here that takes good care of us," Bousquet, 72, said in reference to his continued yearly attendance at the gathering. "To see a kid come through the autograph line with his parents and put a big smile on his face, that's really what it's all about."