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
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Doctors concerned about potential spread of bird flu in Canada
H5N1 or avian flu has been detected at dozens of US dairy farms and Canadian experts are urging surveillance on our side of the border too.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
Man involved in Dartmouth, N.S., emergency alert earlier this week turns himself in
A 49-year-old man has been charged in connection with an alleged assault that happened earlier this week in Dartmouth, N.S.
Concerns about Plexiglas prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglas barriers.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Imagine living in a 4-foot body that doesn't develop chronic diseases
Nathaly Paola Castro Torres has a rare disorder called Laron syndrome that is caused by a genetic mutation. It stunts her growth but also provides a hidden silver lining: Her body is protected from chronic diseases such as cancer that often take life away long before old age.
'Oh, there you go': Tyler Black, son of veteran broadcaster Rod Black, has memorable Major League Baseball debut
Canadian baseball player Tyler Black made a major splash in his first-ever big league game for the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night.
Groundbreaking American guitarist Duane Eddy dies age 86
Guitarist Duane Eddy, best known for twangy riffs on hits such as 'Rebel Rouser' and 'Cannonball,' has died at the age of 86.