My Hockey Brother From Another Mother.

It has been said that everyone has a twin somewhere in this world. Whether it is physical appearance or personality, we all have a twin somewhere. What would be the odds of a chance meeting with your twin? I imagine the odds would almost be lottery like especially if your twin lived on the other side of the world. Although I have never won the lottery, I did meet my twin. Although we physically did not look alike, Chris from Nottingham England is my twin. Could it even be possible that someone from across the pond, born in England be a hockey clone of myself?

I first met Chris on Friday, October 27th, 1995. I had been invited to a Friday luncheon at Wayne Gretzky’s downtown Toronto restaurant. The Los Angeles Kings had arrived in Toronto very early after their previous night's game in Ottawa. Wayne was scheduled to appear at the noon luncheon for a meet and greet with a select few invited fans. I was lucky enough to be one of those invited fans and this would be my second time meeting Gretzky. The first time was back when he played for the Oilers in 1983.

The sport of hockey had been gaining immense popularity in the United States after the big trade that saw Gretzky traded to the L.A. Kings back in August of 1988. Gretzky had single handily brought the sport of hockey to the forefront for the American sports fan.

Hockey was now in vogue.

The Kings were finally playing before capacity crowds at the old Los Angeles Forum. As well there were now sold out crowds in cities that had never experienced hockey sellouts. Wayne had been the NHL’s top draw since he entered the league back in the 1979-80 season and he was even more so now. With the glitzy Hollywood movie star crowd now befriending the Great One, the curiosity became overwhelming. Fans eagerly awaited their opportunity to watch hockey’s greatest ambassador play live. Wayne always loved playing in front of the Toronto crowds, but the demand on his off ice time just seemed to never subside with the Toronto media following his every move.

What made this lunch so special for me? 

I was going to meet my hockey hero in a very intimate, close-up environment along with a couple dozen others who were also in possession of the much coveted lunch invitation.

What made this lunch so special for Wayne?

There was no media at all in sight.

It was close to noon when Wayne and head coach Larry Robinson arrived. I was able to get Wayne to sign a poster and have a couple pictures taken with him. He was very cordial and he chatted with every fan who had been invited on that afternoon. At about 2 pm, Gretzky and Robinson left to head up to the Gardens for a late afternoon team practice.

A couple tables over from my table there was a guy sitting by himself and he looked a bit younger than me. What was so strange about this individual was not the fact he was sitting by himself, but he had a large hockey bag sitting on the floor right beside him. Who the hell brings their hockey equipment to a restaurant and then brings the bag right to their table? I wondered.

I had to find out.

I walked over to his table and introduced myself, he told me his name was Chris. I simply asked him why he had brought his hockey equipment to his table and then left the bag just sitting on the floor. I told Chris that I was curious; I had to satisfy my curiosity and that is why I had approached him.

“Oh, that’s not my hockey equipment,” he told me. 

“I just arrived from England to watch Gretzky play tomorrow night and I did not have a suitcase, so I used my hockey bag for my luggage,” he added.

Blimey, I was intrigued.

It turns out that Chris was indeed a British version of myself, he was my hockey clone. So much so that he was able to purchase a last row grey seat ticket for the Kings and Leafs game from his hometown of Nottingham. He had flown in from England just for the weekend, arriving just a few hours before our meeting and would be leaving on Sunday night.

Chris absolutely loved hockey. He played ice hockey and even though ice time was very scarce, he still played a couple times a week. He attended every home game of the Nottingham Panthers which was his hometown team. Chris like me was also a huge Gretzky fan. That is why he was sitting in the restaurant on that afternoon; he like everyone else there loved the Great One. I could not fathom how someone would just hop on a plane and travel halfway around the world just to watch Wayne Gretzky play live. 

Now that's a Gretzky fan, or maybe should I say a Gretzky fanatic. 

What would happen over the next couple hours would make Chris’s trip truly his dream trip. I asked Chris if he would like to go up to the Gardens and watch Gretzky and the Kings practice. 

Then it hit me. 

What the hell was I saying to this complete stranger? I don't even have the ability to get us in to watch a peewee team practice, let alone the Los Angeles Kings and Wayne Gretzky.

“I would love to, can you really get us in?” his face was beaming.

“Sure, let’s go.” I said.

We left Gretzky’s restaurant and on our way out we passed the table where Baywatch boy wonder David Hasselhoff was sitting with some of his female admirers. He was in town filming the TV movie Gridlock and had also stopped by for lunch.

Chris and me drove up to the Gardens. I parked my car illegally right in front of the main entrance with the hazard lights flashing. Luckily as soon as we entered the front doors, Leaf GM Cliff Fletcher and Bill Waters were passing by in the lobby. I asked Cliff if he could possibly get my newfound friend into practice.

“We just finished practice,” Cliff responded.

“Mr. Fletcher, Chris has come all the way from England to watch the Kings and Gretzky play tomorrow night. He would love to watch the Kings practice." I said.

Cliff explained that he had no control over who was allowed to watch other team’s practices; usually the practices were closed to the public. He suggested we go around to the player’s entrance and ask to speak to the King's PR director and tell him our story. We quickly ran around to the back of the Gardens, only to be met by a swarm of fans young and old alike. All were waiting for practice to end with the anticipation of the players signing autographs before boarding the Kings' team bus which was idling on Wood Street. Chris and I inched ourselves through the crowd until we were face to face with Gardens security. I explained that we were there to see the PR director for the Kings and that Mr. Fletcher, his boss had sent us.

It worked.

Within ten minutes the gentlemen showed up and I explained once again the story about Chris coming all the way from England to watch Gretzky play. 

“We have a closed practices, no one is admitted to watch practice not even the media,” we were told.

“But wait here and I will see what I can do” he said. He walked back into the Gardens and disappeared down the narrow corridor.

I definitely thought we were not getting in and I now felt like such an idiot that I had even suggested we could. Chris and I waited for about fifteen minutes for the PR guy to come back, not even knowing for sure if he would. While waiting I learned that Chris was quite eager to join me and my NWAA buddies in our weekly Saturday game at midnight.

“What about equipment?" I asked.

“I will go out by taxi and buy the kit tomorrow if I can play with you guys,” he said.

“Are you serious?” I asked

I could not believe it, but Chris was dead serious. He was really going out to buy all new equipment just so he could play with me and my friends for a lousy hour at Keelesdale Arena.

The PR director returned. “Where is the guy from England?” he loudly asked.

We both made our way to the door where I was stopped with a hand to my chest. 

“Sorry, just the guy from England,” as he escorted Chris in to watch Gretzky and left me standing outside.

Wow, I couldn't believe it. I had actually gotten Chris in to watch Gretzky and the Kings practice. I must admit, I had even impressed myself. I had also forgotten all about my car as I sprinted back in the cold drizzle. Luckily my car was still there with no parking ticket on the windshield.

The following evening I met Chris at the game during the first intermission. He told me he had a great time watching the practice and met quite a few players including Gretzky who had skated over to say hello. Chris also told me that he had indeed gone out that afternoon and purchased all new hockey equipment at a cost of just over nine hundred bucks. The game ended in a 2-2 tie and Wayne was in on both LA goals with a goal and an assist. After the game, we drove up to the rink where the looks on the guys' faces after I introduced Chris was priceless. 

“This is Chris, he’s from England and he bought all new equipment this afternoon so he could skate with us tonight,” I told them.

I was very curious to see how this guy from England could play and I was pleasantly surprised. He was a good skater and was not at all a bad player. He held his own for the hour and scored a couple of goals. The one thing that was quite obvious, he didn't have true hockey sense. He could skate, but was out of position most of the game. Chris sure loved his outing playing hockey and drinking beer with us good ole Canadian boys. After our skate we had the rink manager take a group photo for Chris and he mailed me a copy when he got back home.

Chris returned twice to Canada over the next few years. The first time was with a friend on Valentine's Day 1996 just four months after our first meeting. All three of us drove to Buffalo to watch Gretzky and the Kings play the Sabres. We had just gotten seated in the old Aud when they announced Gretzky was scratched from the lineup due to injury. What a bummer and within a couple weeks he was traded to St. Louis.

What made Chris probably a bigger hockey fanatic than me was manifested on his last trip to Canada. Chris had just been married. He along with his new bride decided to spend their honeymoon in Canada driving around Ontario in a rental car. Their mission was to watch as many Major Junior A games as possible during their ten day honeymoon. If I recall they were able to attend six games.

I visited England myself many years later. I had lost Chris’s phone number and I never got his last name. It would have been nice to renew our friendship on that trip. Who knows, maybe someday I will walk into Gretzky's restaurant and there will be a man having lunch with his kids. On the floor beside the table there will be hockey bags.

I will just walk over to their table, hold out my hand and welcome my hockey brother from another mother.

We can catch up then. 

*Update- Wayne Gretzky's restaurant in Toronto closed in October 2020. The eatery was closed to make room for a new 40 story condo.