CHARITIES TO BENEFIT FROM 50/50

By: Laurence Heinen

Jim Peplinski and Tim Hunter will have more than just bragging rights on the line next Wednesday when coaching their respective teams at the 2014 BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

As bench boss of Team Cherry, Peplinski has some extra incentive to guide his squad to victory over Team Orr, which will be coached by Tim Hunter.

“I really love the charitable component of this game,” said Peplinski, whose team will play for the Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre, while Hunter’s squad will compete for the Children’s Cottage Society of Calgary. “At the end of the day, there will be significant dollars raised for very, very worthwhile organizations. We’ll be communicating that to the players so that they know that it is about them, but it’s also about others as well.”

Of course, Peplinski has another personal reason why he wants to guide Team Cherry to victory.

“I would just hate in 20 years to hear every time I talk to Tim that he beat me at the BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game,” said Peplinski, who will get help from assistant coaches Mark Hunter and Paul Reinhart.

It will be a mini Calgary Flames reunion next Wednesday as Mike Vernon and Joel Otto will serve as assistant coaches on Team Orr with Tim Hunter.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be in the same sentence with Bobby Orr, the Canadian Hockey League, the National Hockey League and BMO,” said Hunter, who helped the Flames win the Stanley Cup in 1989 along with Peplinski, Mark Hunter, Vernon and Otto. “What a great partnership and it’s going to be a great game.”

Peplinski explained that 100 per cent of the proceeds from the 50-50 draw during the game will be split among the two charities.

“The winner’s team’s charity gets 75 per cent of the contributions, so that’s going to be a sizeable number with BMO coming in and matching all the dollars that are raised,” Peplinski said, while noting the losing team’s charity will get the remaining 25 per cent. “We’ll want to be buying our 50-50 tickets, hope to win and the charities will win as a result as well.”

As the title sponsor of the game, BMO had no problem with getting on board to help boost the charitable donation.

“BMO has a long tradition of supporting initiatives that help to build sustainable and healthy communities where we do business,” said Robert Hayes, Senior Vice President, Alberta and NWT Division, BMO Bank of Montreal. “We are thrilled to team up with Jim Peplinski, Tim Hunter, and the CHL to support the Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre and Children’s Cottage Society of Calgary and all the work they do to benefit the community.

“The donation is another special part of the BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, an event that represents a great way to celebrate with our customers, and all fans in Calgary, throughout Alberta and in all our communities across Canada.” 

Dr. Dean Vause, the Executive Director of the AARC, has had a long-standing friendship with Peplinski and was thrilled when the Vice President of Business Development for the Flames reached out to him.

“Pepper’s just been a fantastic friend,” Dr. Vause said. “He just emailed me and said would you be interested and we said for sure. It’s good for our population and it’s good support for us and it’s good profile.”

Peplinski praised the job that Dr. Vause and the staff and volunteers do with the AARC, which is a long-term treatment facility for adolescents who struggle with substance abuse.

“It deals with the most severe of adolescent addictions,” Peplinski said. “It’s criminal to see what substance abuse does to youth and Dean and his team just do an incredible job in the toughest circumstances.”

Dr. Vause will be among a large cheering section at the Saddledome representing the AARC at the game.

“We will have a Pepper section, believe me,” he said. “We will be cheering hard. We’ve got our volunteers going, but we’re also going to take the entire treatment population next Wednesday. Our kids, they’re all pumped to come to the game and be part of something kind of special.”

Meanwhile, a full section of staff and volunteers from the Children’s College Society will also be out in full force to cheer on Team Orr.

“We couldn’t be happier to be represented by Tim Hunter,” said Executive Director Patty Kilgallon. “We’re really rooting for Tim’s team. We’re going to be filling seats and wearing our Children’s Cottage t-shirts and making sure that we’re cheering for our team.”

Peplinski also commended the CSS for the work it does in the community.

“It’s a crisis nursery that provides support to individuals and families who are in stressful situations,” said Peplinski. “It’s just been a wonderful organization in Calgary.”

Kilgallon said the donation will go a long way to help support the programs that the CSS delivers.

“It’s huge,” she said. “We’re very fortunate in Canada to have that kind of stewardship towards supporting people like children in need. Children’s Cottage is here to keep children safe and in healthy families. We do that by preventing harm and neglect to children and strengthening families through crisis respite and support services.”