Michael Buble Donates $100,000 at Kevin Bieksa’s Charity Game
October 18, 2012
Last night, 5,000 fans packed the Doug Mitchell Sports Arena at UBC for Kevin Bieksa’s Charity game between “Bieksa’s Buddies” and the UBC Thunderbirds, a team that includes Vancouver Giants graduate Neil Manning. Now even though Giants co-owner and local crooner Michael Buble is used to performing in front of crowds five times that size, it wasn’t with a hockey stick, but rather a microphone. So before Wednesday’s game, Buble decided he wasn’t going to risk the chance of embarassing himself, and pulled out as a player to play the role of a coach instead.
“I wanted to but I honestly think I whimped out a bit and the nerves got the best of me,” stated Buble. “You sit on the couch and say: ‘I could bury that.’ Then you see the speed and you see the athleticism and you say: ‘I’m glad I’m a singer.'”
However, nobody could possibly be upset with Michael. At the end of the day, it was all about charity, and that’s what mattered most to the singer. Despite making himself a healthy scratch for the game, Buble made a very generous donation of $100,000 to the three charities that benefitted from the event — The Canucks Autism Network, Canucks Family Education Centre and Canuck Place hospice. That number matches the $100,000 raised from the $20 tickets sold for the game.
“I’m lucky to be in the position I’m in to do this and was just thrilled that Kevin would even think to involve me in all of this,” said Buble. “I asked him how much he hoped to raise and he said 100 grand — I said let’s make it 200.”
For the record, Michael was supposed to play on Bieksa’s bunch, a team that included teammates Cory Schneider, Dan Hamhuis, Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Chris Higgins, Maxim Lapierre, Manny Malhotra and Aaron Volpatti — along with NHL players Tanner Glass (former teammate), Rod Pelley and Jim Vandermeer. Shockingly enough, this team was forced to rally from a 7-3 deficit after two periods to ultimately defeat the UBC squad 8-7. Fittingly enough, Daniel Sedin buried the game winner for Bieksa’s side.
