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Friday, January 14, 2011

A Night That Is Long Overdue




I would think that if you are a professional athlete, and you have a long and storied career that at some point you would love to have your name associated with the championship trophy. If not that, you want to be recognized as a Hall of Famer.

Mike Sillinger never had the opportunity to play in a Stanley Cup final, but tonight he will get something which I think is long overdue----he will get his number retired by the Regina Pats in a pre-game ceremony.

I have been going to Pats games for years and there are many players that I enjoyed seeing do their thing night after night while sitting in Section "SS". Sillinger was one of those guys. You knew right from the beginning that Sillinger would be something special. He had what was needed to be an NHL'er. It couldn't have been easy for Sillinger along with Jamie Heward and Frank Kovacs to enter the rough and tough world of the WHL at 16, but they did and they flourished.

I would think it would be a very emotional night for Sillinger and it should be. If you can't be a Hall of Famer or a member of a championship team, having your name immortalized by having it hang from the rafters is special. Perhaps moreso for Mike because he is a Regina boy who grew up playing for the Pats never imagining that a night like this could occur.

I hope Regina hockey fans show up at the Dome tonight to help honor Mike in what will be a very special night. He deserves it. I'll be there. Hope to see ya!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Mitch, who had the better Pats career. Sillinger or Eberle? I say it was Mike, but I have many who disagree.

Kevin