Perry joins elite class of champions

London Knights graduate and 11-year NHL veteran Corey Perry joined an elite class of champions on Sunday.

The 31-year-old won gold with Canada at the 2016 IIHF World Hockey Championship in Moscow, Russia, joining Scott Niedermayer as the sport’s second player to win a MasterCard Memorial Cup (2005), World Junior Gold (2005), Stanley Cup (2007), Olympic Gold (2010, 2014) and World Championship Gold (2016).

Tack on the OHL Cup title he won with the Peterborough Bantams in 2001 and Perry has pretty-well hoisted a trophy at every level he’s played.

“He’s always been that kind of guy. You always knew he was going to do something great, but you never thought it would be this big,” said London Knights assistant coach and former linemate Dylan Hunter. “(London Knights Equipment Manager) Chris Maton and I were laughing the other day just thinking back on him as a rookie. He was 130Ibs. soaking wet and getting hit all over the ice.”

Perry’s slight frame as a 16-year-old earned him a unique nickname.

“We all called him ‘Gumby’ at the time because he’d be losing his helmet and stick and gloves but he’d always keep coming back,” Hunter added. “He was and is a real gamer. He has that tenacity and to see what he’s been able to accomplish is special. I’m proud of him – he’s worked hard for it.”

Perry, who still returns to London during the offseason, is the Knights’ all-time franchise scoring leader, compiling 14o goals, 240 assists and 380 points over 253 career regular season games.

Hunter is quick to admit that Perry’s intelligence and vision greatly impacted his development, helping him finish his OHL career fifth on London’s all-time scoring list with 369 points (106-263–369) in 315 games.

“We played four years together,” he said. “You’re a young guy at 15 and you don’t know how things are going to work so you kind of latch onto each other and we got along pretty well personality-wise. We still get together during the summer. We’re not very good golf partners,” he laughed, “we were better on the ice, but when you see someone that you’ve been through wars with succeed like he has it’s pretty special.”

Perry continues to climb the Anaheim Ducks’ all-time leaderboards, currently sitting fourth in franchise scoring behind Teemu Selanne, teammate Ryan Getzlaf and Paul Kariya.

Though hoisting the Memorial Cup on home ice together in 2005 seems like yesterday, Perry and Hunter, who both celebrated their 31st birthdays this past month, enjoy re-visiting the memories.

“I talked to him a little bit recently and he was just saying how it’s gotten to the point where he’s five years older than most of the guys on his team, so he’s starting to feel like he’s on the other side. It’s funny, we’re the old guys now,” he said with a laugh.

While the 2005 Knights were a dominant force that produced several NHL regulars, the 2016 London Knights are chasing the franchise’s first MasterCard Memorial Cup title since that unforgettable 4-0 victory over Sidney Crosby’s Rimouski Oceanic.

The 2016 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Red Deer continues through Sunday’s championship final. Catch the action on Sportsnet, TVA Sports 2 and NHL Network. (Schedule)

(Photo courtesy London Knights)