Lethbridge Broncos 1982-83 championship team to be honoured by Hurricanes
The Lethbridge Hurricanes will celebrate the championship 1982-83 Lethbridge Broncos club in a special pre-game ceremony at Friday night's game.
It's been 40 years since Rich Sutter won the WHL Championship with the Lethbridge Broncos.
"40 years ago is a long time but it still feels like yesterday," said Sutter.
"It's not like you're reliving it all the time but there's things in your life you don't forgot about."
Sutter, alongside several other members of that winning team, will be in attendance at Friday's game.
The Hurricanes organization is planning to recognize the players and staff before puck drop.
The Hurricanes players will also wear special-edition Broncos jerseys with their own name bar as well as the name of the player who wore that number in 1983.
"It's a huge honour to represent those guys and have them back in the building," said co-captain Joe Arntsen.
"It's so special to win that championship. It's my fourth year in the league and I've come to realize how hard it is to do that."
Hurricanes head coach Brent Kisio won a WHL Championship while coaching the Calgary Hitmen.
"WHL Championships are hard to come by and when you achieve one as an organization, you have to be proud of that," said Kisio.
"It's good to look back in history and see who's done that before us. I think it's a special night for us, to bring those guys in and honour them."
The 1982-83 Broncos, lead by head coach John Chapman, finished the regular season with a 38-31-3-0 record before earning the WHL title with series victories over the Winnipeg Warriors, Saskatoon Blades, Calgary Wranglers and Portland Winter Hawks.
The championship team had eight players who went on to play at least one game in the NHL, including Sutter, his twin brother Ron, Mark Tinordi, Troy Loney, Ken Wregget, Bob Rouse, Gerald Diduck and Darin Sceviour.
Sutter says the team has kept in touch over the years.
"It seems like when you win once, and you go as far as you did, you walk together the rest of your life."
The Broncos played in Lethbridge from 1974 to 1986 before returning to their original home of Swift Current, Sask.
"Winning a championship is hard," said Hurricanes general manager Peter Anholt.
"Anytime you have that in your history as a franchise, although it's a different era of Lethbridge hockey, it still means something to us and we still want to honour it."
Following Friday's matchup, the game-worn jerseys will be auctioned off online.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian gov't proposes new foreign influence registry as part of wide-spanning new bill
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is proposing a suite of new measures and law changes aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada, amid extensive scrutiny over past meddling attempts and an ever-evolving threat landscape.
Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed test flight postponed
The long-awaited first crewed test flight of Boeing's new Starliner space capsule was called off for at least 24 hours over a technical issue that launch teams were unable to resolve in time for the planned Monday night lift-off.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Newfoundland and Labrador latest province to tighten rules on Airbnbs
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.