Lord Stanely 39 Report post Posted August 20, 2010 (edited) Second time I've been able to meet and speak with him at his store in Niagara Falls. Story: My wife pointed out to my 10 year old goalie son a pic and replica mask of Sawchuck. To which my son said "Mom he's the greatest goalie of all time". She said no he isn't and I thought he might go to fisticuffs with her right there and then. So my wife said to him, why don't you go ask Mr. Dionne who the greatest goalie of all time is and see what he says! My 10 year old son: "Mr. Dionne, who is the greatest goalie of all time?" Marcel Dione: Most people would say a very old time goalie named Terry Sawchuck, but he stopped playing the year before I played so I never faced him. But for my money hands down he was the greatest even though Brodiuer beat his record." Me: Who was the toughest goalie for you to play against? MD: I scored 731 goals, there weren't any tough ones for me- I beat them all! Edited August 20, 2010 by Lord Stanely Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
egroen 384 Report post Posted August 20, 2010 That's pretty sweet... Would have loved to watch Dionne and Redmond on a line together for the Wings. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cusimano_brothers 1,655 Report post Posted August 20, 2010 Good story. His name was used as the "leader" of the player's revolt that lead to the firing of "Ted" Garvin as head coach. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord Stanely 39 Report post Posted August 24, 2010 cusimano- I notice you are in Niagara- Have you ever been over to his store? Every time I have been up there visiting family and we stop in he has been there at the shop holding down fort. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cusimano_brothers 1,655 Report post Posted August 25, 2010 I've never been in his store, but people I know who have been have told me that if you go and he isn't there it is a very rare occurrence (along with his wife). Last year he was signing a great book being sold at his store about the history of junior "A" hockey in St. Catharines, as he played for the St. Catharines Black Hawks. By the way: next time you go, be sure to observe the speed limit on that road; his parking lot is famous for having a speed trap set up in it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord Stanely 39 Report post Posted August 25, 2010 I've never been in his store, but people I know who have been have told me that if you go and he isn't there it is a very rare occurrence (along with his wife). Last year he was signing a great book being sold at his store about the history of junior "A" hockey in St. Catharines, as he played for the St. Catharines Black Hawks. By the way: next time you go, be sure to observe the speed limit on that road; his parking lot is famous for having a speed trap set up in it. His daughter was working when I was there- very nice lady. Great store- lots of neat memorabilia-(Signed pick of him and Yzerman wearing Wings Jersey -NOT FOR SALE- with a great story where he traded jerseys with Yzerman). In addition to the St. Catherines book he also now has a biography available. Last time I was there he talked about the St. Catherine days in detail to us. Good to know about the speed trap- my in laws live right off of Montros and brother in law lives on Thorald Stone so we drive up and down in several times a day when there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cusimano_brothers 1,655 Report post Posted August 25, 2010 I was looking for a picture of him when he played in St. Catharines. The next best was found at Classic Auctions dot net. Kind of sad that he sold off a lot of his memorabilia. When I hear Mr. Dionne's name, I'm reminded of this story: In the early-1970's, a bunch of us were up at Oakes Park for a game of touch football. In the far north-west corner was a ball diamond (no longer there). On that Sunday, there was a practice of a slo pitch team that went by the name "Team Canada". Marcel, Rick Ley, Don Lever and a lot of other great athletes were on the team. They would go into tournaments and clean up. On this day, we saw a Rolls Royce (gold in colour, I think) parked near the one bench, not behind the backstop as you might expect. Somebody says "Turk's here". The car belonged to Derek Sanderson, another member of the team. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WingedHorse 7 Report post Posted August 25, 2010 How cool!!! I got to meet him a couple of times when I was a young Kings fan (back when I was 12) - I still have a photo of him and Rogie Vachon. Both men were so very nice to us kids when we would go down to the ice during warm up. My late father's friend was a goal judge at that time and introduced our family to so many of the greats in between periods (Gordie Howe was one of them). I wonder if they know how much of an impact that they made on young fans back then who are STILL hockey fans now because of how nice they were to us? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
