Washington Capitals Brendan Morrison is an expert in survival skills on the ice, but soon he will be face an entirely new and daunting survival challenge.
Capitals center Morrison will be among a group of current and former NHL players who trade hockey sticks and their relatively plush living to face a three-day "torture test" in wilderness surrounding Ontario's Hornepayne. The challenge is the brainchild of Survivorman television star Les Strout. The 33-year old Morrison is a native of Pitt Meadows in British Columbia, Canada.
The Survivorman Challenge will be filmed and is expected to raise money to refurbish the Hornepayne arena, where King learned to skate.
"He just thinks the fact that we're spoiled hockey players, that he's going to have a heck of a lot of fun with us," said Kris King, a Hornepayne native who spent 14 seasons playing in the NHL.
Strout will provide players with a brief survival class in the Hornepayne High School gym, toss them a copy of his book "Survive!" and cut them loose for two nights and much of three days. Among the items that will not be provided to the participants for their Aug. 14-16 endeavor are food or water.
"We're going to have to make our own shelter, make our own fires, find our own food," said King. "When you leave Hornepayne and you move to the Muskokas your bones tend to forget how cold things can really get."
"Hockey players are a tough crew," said free agent and participant Brad May. "I am sure they will do well in the challenges that Les dishes up for them. I've told the other players that this will be the ultimate camping experience, so everyone is excited for it. We hope corporations will get on board and people will join us at the event -- and they may see themselves on the TV special."
Besides Morrison and King, other participants will be free agents Brad May and Andrew Peters, Alex Ponikarovsky of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Steve Montador of the Buffalo Sabres and Avalanche strength coach Chris Butler.
King, who is senior vice-president of hockey operations in Toronto, has for several years been involved in fund-raising efforts to benefit the Hornepayne area. He feels that the event will give the Hornepayne (population 1,200) "that proverbial little shot in the arm that sometimes these little towns need that sort of get lost in the shuffle because they're just so far away and so small."
King hails from Bracebridge, but spent his formative years in Hornepayne.
The 43-year-old King explained that while he was in Hornepayne several years ago with some hockey buddies, he realized the plight of the arena where he learned to skate. "The kids were having to go to White River and Hearst and Mattice to rent ice for the hockey season because their dehumidifier conked out and they couldn't make ice," he explained.
"Being in Toronto and being 14 hours away by car, it was kind of hard to get things going initially," he continued. "But we got a real caring group of locals who got on board and we were able to get a grant from Trillium for some improvements and more money from Hydro One. With those two grants, we were able to purchase a new dehumidifier an have it installed."
The final challenge of the event "should see them emerge into the town of Hornepayne for a celebratory BBQ." No doubt, the hockey players will arrive hungry and ready for some really good eating!
"This is about testing peoples' limits while raising money for a community in need," said Stroud. "We hope to make this an annual event." Sphere: Related Content
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