One of the Seattle Mariners’ best-loved players will show off another side of his athletic prowess this weekend at ShoWare Center in Kent. Former catcher Dan Wilson will lace up the skates and hit the ice as part of the 12th Annual Hockey Challenge, benefitting the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Washington and Alaska.
Wilson, who played 12 years for the M’s, also played goalie for the hockey team at Barrington High School in suburban Chicago, Illinois. He’ll join a host of celebrities for this year’s Challenge, including actors Michael Rosenbaum (“Smallville”), Jason Thompson (“General Hospital”); 2006 US Olympic hockey bronze medalist Kelly (Stephens) Tysland; media personalities Bill Wixey (Q13 Fox News); Ian Furness (KJR 950AM & play by play announcer for WHL games on FSNW) and former T-Birds Jamie Huscroft, Al Kinisky, Regan Mueller, Blake Knox, Lloyd Shaw, Pat Smith, Danny Lorenz and Ryan Gibbons.A few “surprise” celebrities and former hockey pros may also make an appearance.
KING 5 Sports Anchor Paul Silvi has been recruited to coach one of the All Star teams. Ian Furness will coach the other team.
But the big heroes of the annual Hockey Challenge are the men and women at Microsoft and Amazon.com who recruit players, form teams and raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities.In the 12 years since the Challenge began as an internal charity game between Microsoft’s US and Canadian divisions, the event has raised nearly$4 Million dollars for the RMHC and drawn such celebrities as Kiefer Sutherland (“24”), D.B. Sweeney (“Criminal Minds”, “Cutting Edge”), Chad Lowe, Tom Arnold, Paul Guilfoyle (“CSI”); and NHL greats Pat LaFontaine, Bob Sweeney, Bruce Courtnall and the Great One himself, Wayne Gretzky.
John Barr, who works in Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division, got involved with the Challenge six years ago as a player. Last year, he formed one team for the event. This year, he’s recruited enough players for three teams and raised at least $40,000 in the process. Barr says he became interested in the Hockey Challenge while working for a Microsoft vendor in Reno, Nevada, nearly a decade ago.
“I saw Brian Valentine (former Microsoft Senior Vice President, now with Amazon.com and a longtime Hockey Challenge participant) speak about the Challenge some seven or eight years ago. It inspired me to want to play for that team. When I transferred to Corporate (in Seattle), I found a way to get involved with and participate on the Windows team,” Barr remembered.
Since joining his first Windows team six years ago, Barr has increased his participation and fundraising for the Challenge. He says it wasn’t difficult to put together three teams for this year’s event, as there are hundreds of people at Microsoft who play hockey. This weekend, he’ll play on his “E and D” team against the “Microsoft Mystery Team” (a team he put together with players from various Divisions within the company). Those two will face off at 1:30pm on Saturday. A third team he compiled will play earlier, at 11:35am against a team from Amazon.com. Barr is most excited about this third team, called the “Spartans,” which is made up of people playing in their first Hockey Challenge.
“Six years ago, when I first participated, it was really cool,” Barr said. “My hope is that I create the same kind of excitement for these people. Not everyone will enjoy it as much as I did, but I just hope that people enjoy it and have a good time and want to do it next year.”
Barr is showing his appreciation the biggest fundraisers on his team by offering them the chance to play on one of the Celebrity All Star teams that face off following the Seattle Thunderbirds/Portland Winterhawks game Saturday night.
The Ronald McDonald House Charities thrive on the enthusiasm and philanthropy exhibited by the participants and donors to events like the Hockey Challenge. More than 80% of their operating costs come from communities and corporations. Just last year alone, the RMHC in Seattle housed more than 700 families with seriously ill children undergoing various medical treatments at nearby Seattle Children’s Hospital. Breaking it down, that’s more than 28,000 nights of housing and services to those families. In addition to the home-like atmosphere, families have use of a communal pantry and can utilize services like daily visits from pet therapy dogs and a program where volunteers come in and cook meals for families that may be a bit too focused on their children’s needs to focus on their own needs.
Vanessa Kirk Briley, RMHC’s Co-Director of Development says all these services are crucial to families, some of whom left homes far away to be with their children. But perhaps the biggest benefit for these families, is meeting others who are facing similar challenges.
She says, “There’s a support system among the families themselves that, even though the staff is here, is something we can’t participate in because they’re going through a unique situation and bond with each other.”
One big highlight of Hockey Challenge weekend for the children, she says, is a visit by members of the Seattle Thunderbirds hockey team.Players join the kids in their giant playroom and get down to the business of fun, playing everything from foosball to tag, making necklaces or letting kids paint their faces or decorate them with stickers.Some players, like Greg Scott from last year’s T-Birds team, act as “reporters” and file video dispatches. Here's one of those video dispatches (just click on the title): 2008 Foosball;
One of the most visible Hockey Challenge participants recently underwent his own battle with serious illness. Bill Wixey, 10pm News Anchor for Q13 Fox News, has played in the Challenge for 10 of its 12 years.He says he’s had a great time lining up alongside such stars as Kiefer Sutherland (“24”), NHL great Pat LaFontaine and fellow news anchor, KING 5’s Brad Goode. Bill has always supported the work that RMHC does and has visited the House in Seattle many times. His own cancer fight gives him another perspective.
“I am now much more sympathetic and understand exactly what these brave kids are facing,” Bill said. “Since going public with my fight, I have become a bit of a sounding board for folks who are either dealing with cancer personally know someone who is battling it, or folks who fear they may have cancer.”
Bill took his cancer fight very public; sharing sometimes very painful treatment on the air with his viewers. He also started a blog and posted updates on Facebook and Twitter, which drew thousands of followers, including those who were undergoing their own battles or had successfully beaten cancer. Bill welcomed them all. “I consider it an honor that folks approach me and discuss sensitive health issues with me.”
Bill grew up playing hockey in and around Western Washington and still plays in a lunch league on the Eastside. At last year’s Challenge, he scored the winning goal to give his team the shootout victory. But that’s not all he enjoys about playing in the yearly event.
Bill: “The Challenge, to me, is always a thrill. It's a day where I get to feel like a sort of celebrity, even though I'm really not. I get to hang out with bonafide stars and ask them why they never look to the slot when I am wide open. That's pretty cool.”
This year’s Hockey Challenge gets under way at ShoWare Center on Saturday morning at 9:40am, when the Windows women’s team takes on the Exchange women’s team. Here’s the rest of the schedule:
Hockey Challenge 2010 Schedule Game 1 - Windows Women vs. Exchange Women, 9:40 a.m. Game 2 - Microsoft Spartans vs. Amazon.com, 11:35 a.m.
Game 3 - Entertainment & Devices vs. Microsoft Mystery Team, 1:30 p.m.
Game 4 - Windows Live vs. MS IT, 3:25 p.m.
Celebrity Autograph Session - 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on west concourse of ShoWare Center
Game 5 - Seattle Thunderbirds vs. Portland Winterhawks, 6:05 p.m.
Game 6 - Celebrity All-Star, immediately following T-Birds/Winterhawks game
A ticket to the T-Birds/Winterhawks game will gain you entry to all the Hockey Challenge events, including the Celebrity Autograph Session and the All Star game. For more information or to buy tickets, go to the T-Birds website. Just click here.
To learn more about the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Washington and Alaska, including the many ways they help families and how to volunteer your services, time or donate money, just click here.
Greg Scott/Photo Courtesy: Mick White/Kent Valley Sports
Had a great chat with former T-Birds forward Greg Scott not to long ago. He was getting ready to move to Toronto to spend the summer practicing and training with the AHL Marlies and their parent team, the Maple Leafs. We also talked about his four years with Seattle and how his WHL experience has helped him grow as a player... and as a person.
Read on to see what he has to say about the first time he ever laced up a pair of skates, why he has so much love for the Seattle Ronald McDonald House, and how he caught the eye of Toronto's GM without even realizing it.
(Originally posted at king5.com)
We continue our conversations with Seattle Thunderbirds and Everett Silvertips players who have graduated out of the WHL, and are taking their next steps on the path to make their hockey dreams come true. Today, we catch up with T-Birds winger Greg Scott, who is just as well known for his sense of humor and friendliness off the ice, as his ability to not only score goals, but set up scoring chances for his line mates.
Greg wrapped up his fourth year with the T-Birds with a stellar season. He led the in goals (32) and assists (44) for 76 points. His plus/minus rating was a whopping +14. He registered 6 assists in 5 post season games, as Seattle fell to a strong Spokane Chiefs team in the first round. Immediately after the T-Birds’ season ended, Greg headed to Toronto, to join the Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate Marlies. He didn’t play in any games, but practiced and worked out with the team and watched them advance to the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs, where they lost in 6 games to eventual Calder Cup finalists, Manitoba Moose.
When I caught up with Greg a couple of weeks ago, he was home in Victoria, BC, preparing to move to Toronto. You see, the Maple Leafs have invited him and several other players to spend the summer training intensively with the Leafs. However, he jovially took a few minutes to chat about his time with the T-Birds, how he caught the eye of Toronto’s GM without even realizing it, the teammate he says may just be funnier than he is, and the yearly team project he calls a “win-win” situation for players and the children at Seattle’s Ronald McDonald House.
KING: What’s the difference between the Marlies and Thunderbirds?
GS: Well, the WHL is a lot younger. The WHL is 16 to 20 year olds and the AHL is 20 to however old. The guys are a lot stronger. Everyone was real friendly and the guys were a lot stronger and bigger and faster. It’s quite a big step but it was good to get experience there.
It’s a big step. Of course, everyone wants to go to the NHL; that’s their main goal. And the AHL is just one step away. It takes a lot of hard work and determination to get there. In the end, we want to make it to the NHL, obviously but the step from the WHL to the AHL is still a pretty big step.
KING: I was reading up about you and I did not know that you did not get drafted as a Bantam, nor were you drafted by the NHL, but yet here you are. How did you end up on the T-Birds?
GS: I was passed up on the Bantam draft. To be honest with you, I didn’t even know what the Bantam draft was. I wasn’t familiar with it. I was passed up and some person I knew got drafted and I was like, “what’s that? What’s this Bantam draft?” And when I was 16 and playing for the Peninsula Panthers Junior B team, Bryan Bridges played goalie on the Seattle Thunderbirds. His dad was my coach. So he kinda told the Thunderbirds about me and the Thunderbirds came and scouted me and they listed me when they came and saw me so, it was good. I went and tried out for the Thunderbirds and played four years there so it worked out pretty good.
KING: I recently interviewed Bud Holloway and he said the most awesome line he was part of (with the T-Birds) was a line with you and Lindsay Nielsen. I thought you did a great job with Prab Rai and Jim O’Brien last season. I think that rivals it. How do you feel about that?
GS Any line that I play on, I’m just gonna go and work hard, but last year, me, Bud and Nielsen, we had really good chemistry. We got put together and we just took off, I guess. Neely did his job, he was the center on our line and he played really well for us and Bud, he can score anywhere on the ice, it seemed. That was just good chemistry right there, but also with Prab Rai, he’s got unbelievable speed so if I give him the puck and he’s going down the wing, he can make a lot of chances out of nothing.
Me, Jim and Prab only played on a line for about 10 games, roughly. I think it was right after Jim O’Brien got back from World Juniors. But then we were put on a line with me, Prab and Jon Parker, who’s a rookie and he did really well for us. He’s got a great shot, good hands; a pretty quick little guy. Playing with Prab, he’s so fast, so smart and smooth skating, it’s just an honor to play on his line. He’s such a tremendous player.
KING: Well, you seem like the type of guy who could pretty much adapt to any line and just really make it a lot better. Bud really misses playing on a line with you.
GS: Me, Bud and Neely definitely had great chemistry. I loved playing with Neely. I loved playing with Bud. Bud’s got such great skill. You give him the puck and he’s gonna do good things. I’m just in the right spot at the right time and got put on a line with him. We just connected and it was awesome.
KING: You didn’t get drafted by the NHL but you got signed by Toronto. How did that come about?
GS: I got passed over in the NHL draft and I was pretty upset, but my first two years I really didn’t have good enough numbers to get drafted. That didn’t really get me down. I kept working and I think it was playoffs against Kelowna when I was 19, the Maple Leafs were there to watch Luke Schenn (current defenseman/Toronto Maple Leafs). I think me and Schenn, we were going at it pretty good against each other and GM of the Maple Leafs t the time, Cliff Fletcher, was there scouting Schenn and he asked who I was, and that all started from there, so yeah, it worked out.
I had a rookie tournament at the middle of September. We played that then we went to the Toronto Maple Leafs main camp and I got sent down to the AHL team (Toronto Marlies). They kept me all the way until just before their first regular season game, then said I’d probably develop more if I played in the WHL since I’ll get more playing time. It actually worked out good. I think I gained a lot more experience playing in the WHL one more season.
KING: How old were you when you started playing hockey?
GS: I was 5 years old, I think. My brother started playing first. He’s two years older than me. I guess I looked up to him at the time and I wanted to play hockey too. I don’t remember this too well but my dad says that the first time I tried on skates, I was the worst skater he’s ever seen. He said it was like I was running on ice. But he said, ‘I’ll keep him in hockey as long he’s having fun.’ And eventually I guess I got it, got how to skate and stuff.
KING: It‘s really is important when you first start that it is about fun, isn’t it?
GS: Yeah, it is. I was just going out there in minor (youth) hockey just because my brother did it, I wanted to do it and met a lot of friends through hockey and then I just kept on doing it. I always dreamed of playing in the NHL but I didn’t know if I could do it. As the years go on, you start gaining a lot of confidence. I got scouted by Seattle. That was a big step for me and then I got signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s just one step at a time. It is all about fun at the very start but there’s a point where it is fun but it’s also business, too.
KING: How old are you when you moved into a higher skilled league?
GS: When I was 16, I was playing for a Junior B team just outside of Victoria and that was decently competitive and back when I was 16 I thought that was the NHL almost, and just thought that was the best league there is. I did pretty well there and eventually, Seattle took me and I went to Seattle. I thought Junior B was serious, then I went to Seattle and found out just how serious it was there. From Junior B to the WHL it’s bigger guys, faster, better players, all that, but you learn to adapt pretty quickly. After the first few games, I wasn’t sure. I was almost doubting myself, wondering if I should have just gone to play Junior A and gotten a scholarship or something. I doubted myself a little bit, but then everything worked out.
KING: How long did it take you to get your feet under you here?
GS: I’d almost say two seasons, in a way. That’s when I really started to take off. There were games when I’d have good games and I felt like I belonged but it really took me about two years to mentally think I’m good enough to play in this league. I wish I could have wrapped my mind around it that it’s just hockey, as long as you compete and battle as hard as anyone else competes.
KING: You were also transitioning from living at home and moving to Seattle. It was almost like changing your life.
GS: That’s actually a pretty big factor in a way. I tried not to make it that big but you’re still pretty young. You’re 16, 17, moving out into someone else’s house and playing for a different team, meeting all new guys, because I didn’t know one guy coming into the league except for the goalie, Bryan Bridges, who I’d played with my 17 year old year. But when I was 16, you’d get home from school with the guys you’d been going to school with your whole life and it’s just comfort at home. When you move to Seattle it might be awkward for a little bit but the billets are unbelievable, the billets I’ve had over the years.
KING: Did you have one billet family for your four years there?
GS: No, I actually had four billets in all four of my years. Every year I had a different billet. I think I might have made a record. I got to meet four families and live in their houses but it was a good experience. My first year, I had a roommate. His name was Clayton Barthel and he’s playing hockey in Germany right now. He was two years older than me so he knew the ropes of the league. It was good to have him because he’s been around the league and knew what to expect. He would kind of take me under his wing and I really appreciated it. The next two years I went solo and lived on my own, which was nice, but in my fourth year I roomed with Steve Chaffin. He’s a really great guy. He’s young but he was already on the team; he wasn’t a rookie and we got along great. He’s a pretty funny guy. I enjoy the odd joke here and there.
KING: I interviewed several players and they all say you are the guy who keeps things loose on the bench or is good for a joke or a prank. How does it feel to know you have the reputation for making your buddies laugh when things are tense?
GS: I’ve had that reputation almost my whole life. I was the class clown. But I could say almost the exact thing about Bud Holloway because Bud Holloway is one of the funniest guys I’ve ever met. He always has a smile on his face. Everyone got along great so it was easy to make the odd joke here and there.
KING: I heard there’s one joker coming up the ranks this year: Calvin Pickard.
GS: Oh yeah, Calvin’s gonna be there, if he isn’t already there. He’s a funny guy. He’s a great guy too.
KING: How did playing all four years of your WHL career with the T-Bird help you develop as a player?
GS: It helped me develop a lot. I owe pretty much all I know to the coaches there: Rob Sumner, Turner Stevenson, all those guys. They coached me for the past four seasons on a pretty high level. There were guys who bounced around here and there were about four or five of us who stuck around since we were rookies: me, David Richard, Thomas Hickey, Lindsay Nielsen and Jeremy Schappert. I think that’s everyone. We played all our years together so we got pretty close. At first, we were the younger guys getting helped out, then after a couple of years, you’ve gotta kinda take that role because you’re the older guys. It all happened so quickly. I think we handled it pretty well. Oh, I can’t forget Bud Holloway! I only played three seasons with him but he was there too.
KING: How is it going to the same school with your teammates?
GS: When I went to Lake Washington High School, I went in not knowing anybody except the guys that I’d just met, like Thomas Hickey, Bud Holloway, David Richard, all those guys. I’d just met them and now I’m going to school with a bunch of random kids that I’ve never seen before and in another country. Even though Canada and the US are almost the same, it’s definitely different.
KING: You’re dealing with so many different things at the same time: a new level of hockey, living with a strange family, going to school with people you don’t know.
GS: It’s a great life experience. How many kids from my hometown can say they went to high school in the US? It’s definitely a great experience and I met a lot of great people along the way.
KING: We’ve kind of touched upon it a little, but how would you say this whole experience has helped you grow as a person?
GS: Well, when you move away at such a young age, it almost makes you grow up a bit faster than everyone else, because not too many kids move out of their parents’ house when they’re 16 or 17 years old. So, it definitely helps you mature as a person. Along with experiences, you have to deal with a lot of pressure that most people don’t deal with at that age. But it definitely helped me along the way. I probably wouldn’t be the person that I am today without Seattle, without the experience that I gained from there.
KING: The Thunderbirds team up with the Seattle Ronald McDonald House every year for a celebrity hockey classic fundraiser. But players also take time to visit with the kids living at the Ronald McDonald House. This year, you were the focal point of the promotion campaign. (The team spoofed the popular “CSI” series, with Greg Scott and Devon LeBlanc in the lead)
GS: I did “GSI: Greg Scott Investigates” with Devon LeBlanc. Ian Henry asked us to do it and we said sure. We went to the Ronald McDonald House to shoot. It was fun to interview little kids but it was tough because they only gave one-word answers, but you expect that from little kids. But it was awesome. The team loves going there. They’re (the children) going through a lot. Their families are going through a lot and anything we can do to put a smile on their face, it brightens our day- it brightens their day. It’s a win-win situation. The kids wear us out a lot of the time, playing tag and stuff. It’s just fun, seeing the smiles on their faces because you know how hard it is for them right now. Anything we can do to help them forget about it is a bonus.
KING: Will go back to Leafs training camp this year?
GS: I’m actually moving there June first. I’m gonna live there and train there this year. They want me to do that. I think that will help me get used to the city and the workouts that they’re doing. That’s exactly what they want me to do.
KING: How different is Toronto from Seattle?
GS: They’re both huge cities. I hear Toronto gets cold in the winter. I’ve never been there in the winter but I hear it gets pretty cold. I love Toronto, though, it’s big. It’s the “New York” of Canada; I guess you could call it.
KING: It seems that they’re pretty serious about you if they want you to go there and immerse yourself in their culture.
GS: Yeah. I hope so, anyway. They’ve got six or seven of us that are gonna move there from Boston, Newfoundland, Sweden, all those places. They’re having us move there and train there with their staff there.
KING: You spent some time with (former Everett Silvertip d-man) Taylor Ellington when the Marlies and Moose met up in the Calder Cup playoffs.
GS: We played Manitoba in the first round. Taylor Ellington and I grew up playing hockey against each other because he’s from Victoria, too. We actually hung out together when we (Toronto & Manitoba) were playing each other, because we both weren’t playing at the time. (Neither was on his team’s playoff roster).
KING: Now for some fun questions:
Favorite movie: I love comedy and right now it would have to be “Pineapple Express” or “Superbad.”
Favorite player growing up: Joe Sakic. I just loved the Colorado Avalanche growing up. And also Trevor Linden, because I’m a pretty big Canucks fan as well.
Who do you like to watch now? I like to watch the Maple Leafs, of course, and the Canucks. I wish they went further. I like watching Pavel Datsyuk on Detroit. He’s got the best hands I’ve ever seen, or Kovalev on Montreal.
What do you like to do when you’re not playing hockey? I play a lot of video games, but when it’s nice out I like to go to the beach or tubing down this river that’s an hour outside of Victoria. Just hang out and go to the gym.
Music or bands get you pumped up for a game: Well, me and Steve Chaffin, when we lived together, we’d drive together to the game and we’d always play songs that get us pumped up. We always had a random mix. We’d play Eminem, lots of rock, Nickelback’s pretty big. I like listening to Nickelback before a game. It always gets me pumped up.
KING: So, do you like the music Mitch (Brotherton) plays during the game?
GS: Yeah, I do. Mitch plays pretty good music during the game. I wish he would change my goal song, though, but, it’s over now. I don’t even know what it’s called. I asked him to change it but he wouldn’t. I think I requested a couple of songs but he never put them on.
A lot of the guys on the team like country. We have a lot of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta guys. They all love the country. The guys from the west coast like rap and all that.
KING: Did you guys ever argue in the locker room about music?
GS: Yes. Some guys don’t like country music. Others did. There would be a few fights, I guess. Not fights but arguments.
You should ask Bud about his dancing, by the way. He’s an unbelievable dancer. He’s the best dancer I’ve ever seen.
So, by now, Greg is firmly ensconced in Toronto, learning the team’s system and working out with the trainers. Seattle fans have no doubt that he will see his NHL dream come true, hopefully sooner rather than later. The fact that the Maple Leafs invited him to spend the summer working out with the team, is pretty good sign. We’ll check in with him after training camp to see how things are going.
But if there’s one thing I’ve learned about Greg Scott in our short conversation, it’s that he will always do his best, on the ice and off. And he’ll do it with a smile… and the odd joke.
