Brandon Sun - PRINT EDITION
SOURIS — Souris welcomed home one of its favourite sons on Friday night.
The community held an evening in honour of Andy Murray, celebrating his induction to the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame last month.
“It’s been an overwhelming evening for my family and myself,” Murray, born in Gladstone but raised in Souris, told a packed room at the Souris Glenwood Memorial Hall last night. “Everywhere I coached and everything I did in hockey, everyone in this room was a part of it.”
Murray’s hockey resume is exemplary, from stints as a head coach in the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues to three world championship titles at the helm of Canada’s national men’s team to a CCHA title this year in his first season as coach at Western Michigan University.
As highly regarded as he is around the hockey world — Hockey Canada vice-president of hockey operations Brad Pascall made the trip from Calgary for the occasion — it was Murray’s contributions back home that were truly celebrated on Friday as the 61-year-old was awarded the key to the Town of Souris in addition to receiving a written commendation from Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
“He’s been an outstanding role model,” Hockey Manitoba executive director Peter Woods said. “Certainly for our particular program, he’s been very helpful providing direction and leadership to all our coaches. He’s our honorary master mentor for our program, but he’s not just a figurehead. He’s actively engaged with our programs.”
In addition to honouring Murray, the event — which drew a crowd of 388 and included an auction of autographed NHL and international jerseys — was a fundraiser for Souris Minor Hockey and the North End Community Centre.
“You have a look around the room and there’s all walks of life that are here,” organizer David Kirkup said. “There’s young, there’s old, there’s people he coached with, there’s people from all walks from hockey to schooling to what have you all here and he has touched everybody that he has been associated with.”
» rhenders@brandonsun.com
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition June 9, 2012
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SOURIS — Souris welcomed home one of its favourite sons on Friday night.
The community held an evening in honour of Andy Murray, celebrating his induction to the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame last month.
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SOURIS — Souris welcomed home one of its favourite sons on Friday night.
The community held an evening in honour of Andy Murray, celebrating his induction to the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame last month.
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