Paul Holmgren

Paul Holmgren played 10 NHL seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota North Stars. Drafted 108th overall in the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft by Philadelphia, Holmgren spent 8 seasons with the Flyers and was annually among the team’s leaders in penalty minutes but was also able to contribute offensively posting career highs in goals (30) and points (65) in 1979-80 and added 10 goals and 10 assists during the Flyers playoff run.

Joe Watson

Joe Watson was born in Smithers and played hockey as soon as he could walk and with the winters lasting up to half a year he had plenty of time to play hockey. Joe grew up with five brothers, among them his younger brother Jimmy, who later played in the NHL alongside Joe in Philadelphia.

Dan Hamhuis

Dan Hamhuis was born and raised in Smithers, to parents Marty and Ida. He has two sisters, Erin and Cindy. Beginning to play organized hockey at the age of four, Hamhuis was competing against other players as old as eight years. He went to provincials four seasons in a row and won the title with the Smithers Storm in overtime during his last year of minor hockey.

Todd Talbot

As a kid, Todd Talbot spent countless hours repairing an array of miscellaneous items around the house, earning him the name of "Mr. Fix It" by his grandparents. Other family members celebrated his verbosity by making a shirt for him that read "Motor Mouth." It turns out these two nicknames have been instrumental in shaping his future career.

Steve Darling

Darling is a familiar household name for many in British Columbia, having co-hosted Global BC’s Morning News for nearly two decades. He is also well known as a strong advocate for charitable causes, attending up to 60 events a year supporting BC Children’s Hospital, Variety the Children’s Charity, ALS Society of BC, Ronald McDonald House and has been our Master of Ceremonies since 2013.

Rachel Brown

Rachel Brown was born and raised in Smithers, B.C. She began curling at the age of 11 and instantly fell in love with the game. She moved to Edmonton in 2005 for university and continued to pursue her love of curling. Rachel tried out for the University of Alberta Pandas varsity team and was successful in her pursuit.

Rubén Amaro Jr.

Rubén Amaro Jr. is a former professional baseball outfielder who played for the California Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, and Cleveland Indians of the MLB. In his eight seasons in Major League Baseball between 1991 and 1998, Amaro appeared in 485 games, batting .235 with 16 home runs and 100 RBIs.

Dana Ferguson

Growing up in Stony Plain, Alberta, Ferguson started curling at the age of 8. She played for the University of Alberta for 5 years, playing every single position at Nationals and even earning an All-Star third award along the way. After University, Ferguson joined forces with Team Sweeting where she won 2 provincial titles, 1 Canada Cup, 3 Grand Slams, 1 Continental Cup, and finished runner up at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts twice.

Tommy Greene

Growing up in Lumberton, North Carolina, Greene had a very special coach - his grandmother. “She was the first person to catch me. I didn’t want to hurt her so what it did was made me go around the plate more. She caught me until I was thirteen.” Tommy played baseball for Whiteville High School and after graduation was selected 14th in the first round of the 1985 draft.

Brendan Bottcher

Brendan Bottcher is a Canadian men’s curling champion, skipping team Alberta to victory at the 2021 Tim Hortons Brier. Born in Sherwood Park, Alberta, Bottcher enjoyed a successful junior career winning the 2012 Canadian Junior Curling Championships and the 2012 World Junior Curling Championships. He was also the 2010 Alberta junior men's champion and the 2007 Alberta juvenile provincial finalist.

Kirk McLean

Kirk McLean is a Canadian retired NHL goaltender who played for the New Jersey Devils, Vancouver Canucks, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers and New York Rangers. Born in Willowdale, Ontario, McLean grew up dreaming of playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs and looked up to NHL star Bernie Parent as a role model.

Dave Babych

Dave had a successful 19 year career in the National Hockey League playing for Winnipeg, Hartford, Vancouver, Philadelphia and LA and appeared in two NHL All-Star games. Babych finished his career with 142 goals and 581 assists for 723 points in 1195 NHL games, along with 970 penalty minutes. He added 21 goals and 41 assists for 62 points in 114 playoff games.

Justin Kripps

Justin Kripps is a Canadian bobsledder and Olympic champion in the two-man bob-sleigh event following his gold medal win at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Kripps, teamed with brakeman Alex Kopacz were part of just the second ever tie for an Olympic bobsleigh gold medal, matching the four-run total time of Germans Francesco Friedrich and Thorsten Margis.

Doug Bodger

Doug Bodger enjoyed a 16-year professional playing career in the National Hockey League. Drafted ninth overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, Bodger played in 1,071 games in the NHL with the Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, San Jose Sharks, New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings, and the Vancouver Canucks. During that time Bodger recorded 528 points (106g-422a) along with 1,007 minutes in penalties.

Cliff Ronning

Cliff Ronning had an 18 year NHL career where he played for the St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, Phoenix Coyotes, Nashville Predators, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild and New York Islanders. Drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the seventh round of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, 134th overall, the 5-foot-8 center didn't let his lack of size deter him from becoming one of the NHL's best playmakers and most consistent scorers in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Mark Lofthouse

Mark Lofthouse is a former professional ice hockey player. Born in New Westminster, B.C., Lofthouse was drafted in 1977 in the second round, 21st overall by the Washington Capitals. While the majority of his playing time was spent in the minors, Lofthouse played 181 games in the NHL between 1977 and 1983 with the Capitals and Detroit Red Wings. He scored 42 goals and added 38 assists for 80 points.

Paul Haysom

Paul Haysom is a news anchor for Global News Morning BC and an avid hockey player often joining the Canucks Alumni during charity games.

John Morris

John Morris is an Olympic gold medallist and world-class Canadian curler from Canmore, Alberta. Born in Winnipeg and raised in Ottawa, John began curling at the tender age of five, and at age 20 went on to win two Canadian and World Championships, setting records along the way for most wins by a Canadian Junior Curler in 1998 and 1999.

Chris Higgins

Chris Higgins is the current Skills and Development coach for the Vancouver Canucks. As a player, Higgins was selected 14th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. He became the first ECAC Hockey player to be selected in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft since Normand Lacombe in 1983.

Greg Mueller

Greg Mueller is a 3 time World Champion poker player and a retired professional Hockey player. Born June 2nd 1971 in Schaffhausen, the German/Canadian grew up in White Rock, BC but returned to Europe to play professional hockey in Germany.

Ryan Sommer

Ryan Sommer made his Olympic debut at Beijing 2022. He won a bronze medal in the four-man bobsled event as a crewman for pilot Justin Kripps along with Cam Stones and Ben Coakwell. The Olympic dream was sparked in Ryan later in life while working as a forest fire fighter in Northern Alberta. It was watching the Opening Ceremonies of the 2016 Olympic Summer Games in Rio, where he was dared by a friend to test his skills at a national recruitment camp. He relocated to Calgary the following month and never returned.

Cam Stones

From Oshawa, Ontario, bobsledder Cam Stones won a bronze medal in the four-man event as a crewman for pilot Justin Kripps along with Ryan Sommer and Ben Coakwell. At Beijing 2022, Stones also competed in the two-man event with Kripps, finishing 10th.

Zoe Hickel

Zoe Hickel is a former professional ice hockey player who is currently working in community hockey programming with the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the AHL. Hickel played collegiate ice hockey with the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs program, a member of the NCAA Division I. After her senior year in 2015, she joined Boston Pride of the National Women's Hockey League, helping them earn the Isobel Cup in the inaugural season of the NWHL.

Chris Oddleifson

Chris Oddleifson is a former professional ice hockey centre who played in the NHL from 1972 until 1981. He is best known for his time with the Vancouver Canucks, where he was one of the team's top players for much of the 1970s and served as team captain in 1976–77.

Sophia Jurksztowicz

Sophia Jurksztowicz is a Canadian journalist, TV host, and producer who currently works as the Bruins rinkside journalist for the New England Sports Network (NESN) owned by the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins.

Harold Snepsts

Harold Snepsts is a Canadian retired professional hockey player who spent 17 seasons in the National Hockey League. He is one of the most popular players in the history of the Vancouver Canucks, the club where he spent the majority of his career, and currently serves on the team's scouting staff.

Houston Hair

A self proclaimed jack of all trades but master of none, former professional golfer that specializes in long drive and power golf, Houston Hair has been lucky enough to chase a little white ball around the world for most of his life.

David Tomlinson

David Tomlinson is the radio colour commentator for the Seattle Kraken. A retired professional ice hockey player from Vancouver, Tomlinson attended Boston University on a hockey scholarship from 1987-1991. After graduating, he played 5 seasons AHL and IHL. During this time he was called up several times to the NHL, playing 42 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets and Florida Panthers.

Nathan Lafayette

What if Nathan Lafayette didn’t hit the post in Game 7 against the Rangers in 1994? Drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, Lafayette played for the St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers, and Los Angeles Kings. Over his 6 years in the NHL, he played 187 regular season games but due to injuries, his career was cut short.

Al Secord

Born in Sudbury, Ontario, Al Secord played on the 1976 Memorial Cup winning team, Hamilton Fincups of the OHL prior to being drafted 16th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft. Over a NHL career that spanned 12 years, he played for the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadelphia, scoring 273 goals and 222 assists for 495 points and registering 2093 career penalty minutes in 766 career games.

Sebastian Clovis

Sebastian Clovis is the star of HGTV’s Gut Job. A man of many hats, the pro-football player turned renovator and DIY enthusiast joined HGTV Canada in 2014 to help overwhelmed homeowners achieve their reno goals as host of Tackle My Reno. He then became the co-host of Save My Reno and a member of the all-star cast of Home To Win and Family Home Overhaul. In his new show Gut Job, Sebastian takes on a new challenge as host, creator, and Executive Producer.

Faber Drive

Smithers celebrity Golf is proud to welcome Faber Drive as the tournament’s house band for the weekend festivities. Formed in 2004, the Juno Award-nominated pop punk band from Mission, BC, consists of lead vocalist Dave Faber, lead guitarist Jordan Pritchett, bass guitarist Jeremy Liddle and drummer Seamus O’Neil.

Aaron Pritchett

Acclaimed for bringing “rock energy” to “country audiences”, Aaron Pritchett continues to hold the title of one of the most sought after artists in the business. Growing up in Kitimat, BC, Pritchett got his start as a DJ at Rooster's Country Cabaret bar in Pitt Meadows, BC, and played in a house band performing cover tunes.

Corey Hirsch

Corey Hirsch is a former NHL goaltender, NHL goaltending coach, and Olympic silver Medallist. Born in Medicine Hat, Alberta and raised in Calgary, Hirsch played major junior hockey with the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League. He was drafted in 1991 by the New York Rangers and upon being drafted, he was named the CHL Goaltender of the Year and won the Del Wilson Trophy as the WHL Goaltender of the Year.

Cross Parallel

Danielle Marie, 2015 CCMA Spotlight artist and Ray McAuley Horizon Award winner, and Jordan Aaron, lead guitarist of Juno nominated band, Faber Drive, met in 2015 to write a song and have been inseparable ever since.

Dean Malkoc

Dean Malkoc spent four seasons in the National Hockey League between 1995 and 1999 with the Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, and New York Islanders. A tough, physical defender, Malkoc was selected 95th overall in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils.

John Grisdale

John Grisdale spent 15 years as the BCHL commissioner from 2003-2018. As a player, he played 6 seasons in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks. After graduating from NCAA Michigan Tech, he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs but was traded to Vancouver in 1974 and spent the bulk of his 250-game NHL career with the Canucks.

Brent Hughes

Born in New Westminster, B.C., Brent Hughes began playing for the hometown New Westminster Bruins of the WHL as a 17-year-old forward. He continued to play with the team until the 1986-1987 season when he suited up for only eight-games before being traded to the Victoria Cougars. That season, he played 71 games with the Cougars, posting impressive numbers scoring 38 goals and 61 assists. After going undrafted, the 5’11 195-pound forward signed as a free agent to the Moncton Hawks of the AHL in 1987.

John Craighead

John Craighead played professional hockey for 13 years, playing in 7 leagues over the course of his pro career. Born in Richmond Virginia but raised in Vancouver, B.C, Craighead played junior hockey in the BCJHL. His professional career started in 1992-93 when he played 36 games for the West Palm Beach Blaze of the Sunshine Hockey League.

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