A sold out crowd of more than 450 supporters packed the Heritage Inn for the 20th annual K+S Potash Canada Kinsmen Sports Celebrity Banquet on Saturday evening.
Hall of Fame hockey player Ray Bourque and World Series champion Cito Gaston were on hand to speak at the event and TSN/CTV broadcaster Rod Black was the emcee for the evening.
“This is what Canadiana is all about. We are so caught up in big sports towns and big sports teams all the time, it’s nice just to get back to where sport really begins and its in places like Moose Jaw,” Black said.
All three stars arrived in Moose Jaw on Saturday afternoon prior to the charity event and were excited to not only be in a city where sports is a major component, but also help in raising money for the local Kinsmen organizations.
“I know what these communities are all about when they do an event like this,” said Black. “It is important to the community and its great to see Ray and Cito here, as they have infinite wisdom and they can inspire people and communities.”
Gaston spoke to the crowd about his career with the Blue Jays, living his dreams and how thankful he was to have so many fans. He still works for the Jays as an advisor to General Manager Alex Anthopoulous and President Paul Beeston.
“I appreciate being here,” said Gaston. “This is for a good cause. Kids have dreams, I have dreams and the people that support this certainly have these kids fulfill their dreams.”
Gaston certainly believes the Jays are on the right path in competing in the American League East division and he hopes with an extra wild-card team being awarded with be an advantage for the Jays.
“It is certainly a little bit tougher for the Jays to compete in the division that we are in, but I think we are moving forward and I think its just a matter of time before we get a chance to win our division or wildcard and move into the playoffs,” said Gaston. “I think they are getting real close, but it’s getting tougher all around.”
Bourque, the all time goals, assists and points leader for a defenceman arrived in Moose Jaw in the afternoon and was excited to be part of the charity event, as he is still very much involved in the charity organizations in Boston.
“I’m looking forward to the good crowd,” said Bourque. “Its for a great cause and raising a lot of money to help a lot of different things for kids. For me, its fun to be here and come out and help them raise money that goes to great causes.”
Bourque still does quite a bit of volunteer work with the Boston Bruins organization as well as owning an Italian restaurant in the city.
With over 22 years playing in the National Hockey League and being one of the top defenceman to ever play the game, it wasn’t until Bourque retired that he was able to look back and appreciate his illustrious career.
“Whenever I hit a number, I never really appreciated until when I was done playing,” said Bourque. “While you’re playing, it doesn’t really matter. I’m a perfectionist and I just wanted to keep playing and just keep playing at a consistent high-level year in and year out. When I look back on everything I’ve accomplished, it blows me away.”
For more on this story, read a future edition of the Times-Herald.
