Three-year-old Travis Langlois needed no introduction when the guest of honour arrived at his house Wednesday to watch the Stanley Cup final.
“That’s Mark,” a shy but smiling Travis told his mom, Nicole, as a beaming Mark Messier stood on their driveway.
When the former St. Albert Saint and six-time Stanley Cup champion asked Travis who is favourite player was, the little guy piped up: “Mark!”
His mom is also a huge Messier fan.
“He is one of the greatest players. I have always followed him and watched him no matter where he went. I was always cheering for him,” said Nicole, who proudly wore a New York Rangers’ jersey with the captain’s C on the front and No. 11 and the Messier name bar on the back at the playoff party.
The Bring Home a Stanley Cup Champion contest finalist was over the moon for the opportunity to spend time with the member of hockey’s hall of fame.
“This is an unbelievable experience. It’s something I couldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams. Having Mark Messier in my home and sharing this with my family is a dream come true,” said Nicole, who has a framed picture of her and Messier from 1987 when the Moose played for the Edmonton Oilers. “This is bigger than Christmas.”
Prior to the drop of the puck between the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks, Nicole was asked to describe her feelings.
“I’m excited. I’m nervous. I don’t know what to think of this at this point. This is unbelievable to me,” she replied. “We get to watch game four of the Stanley Cup final with Mark Messier and I’m sure there will be lots of excitement going on. Any past Stanley Cup NHL moments he has to share with us and any tips or commentary on the game tonight will be wonderful.”
The thrill of a lifetime started when Nicole entered the contest by submitting a paragraph about her favourite Stanley Cup moment.
“Once all those were entered, Pepsi Cola graded them and I found out I was a finalist and then from there I had to enter a two-minute video on why I wanted to bring home Mark and the Stanley Cup and then Canada got to vote online.”
The contest was sponsored by the Pepsi, Lay’s and Gatorade brands and supported by the NHL.
Kevin McNamara of North Gower, Ont. celebrated his grand prize win May 21 with Doug Gilmour. Pamela Bonneau, another finalist, had her big day with Guy Carbonneau in Acton Vale, Que. on Wednesday as well.
The three regional finalists were selected from 800 entries across Canada.
“I think it was my love for the game and how much Mark Messier means to me and hockey. I think just my love for that really came out,” Nicole said of her winning entry. “Never in my wildest dreams did I expect all this would happen. I thought, ‘Oh, I’ll try it and enter. It’s worth a shot.’ But when they phoned to tell me I was a finalist I couldn’t believe it. I almost fell off my chair when I was at work.
“I was just so amazed. I was nervous. I was excited. I was phoning everyone I could think of. My best friend, I went over to her house, and said, ‘We won! We made it to the finals!’ We were both having an excited moment together.”
When the news broke, Nicole was most popular person in St. Albert.
“It was crazy. Facebook. Emails. Phone calls. Everybody was trying to get a hold of me.”
Family, friends and neighbours also rallied around the two-week online vote-for-me campaign in support of Nicole.
“The support has been huge. I think everybody likes to see Mark back home where he belongs.”
As a finalist Nicole was allowed to share Wednesday’s momentous occasion with 19 people.
“With me today are my parents, sister, brother-in-law, a couple of cousins, uncles and a couple of really good friends that helped me do my video and get me this wonderful party,” she said. “My extended family is over 80 people so it was hard for me to pick and choose but they understand.”
Messier’s arrival in St. Albert couldn’t come fast enough, especially for Travis. The media darling showed off his impressive slapshot by firing shots with Messier in net, as photographers and TV cameras recorded the action.
“He is very excited. Every morning he wakes up and asks, ‘Mommy, is Mark coming today?” Nicole said. “He’s a huge hockey fan. This is a great experience I get to share with him.”
Messier was also thrilled to be in St. Albert again.
“I wasn’t sure where I would end up because obviously we’re covering a lot of area in the west in this contest but to have the winner in St. Albert is a little ironic for sure,” said Messier, who led the Oilers to five Stanley Cups in seven years.
“Being here brings up a lot of memories, obviously. It’s the first time back since we opened the Mark Messier rink [on Feb. 27, 2007, as part of the Mark Messier Day festivities in St. Albert]. Driving in today it was amazing to see the development. When I first moved to St. Albert I think there was 14,000 people. When I was here [living in Grandin] it was a one-shop town. There was the Bruin Inn and the [Ducky Dome] arena downtown.
“It sure looks like a beautiful place now.”
Messier described his role in the contest as very satisfying and humbling.
“This has really been a fun event every year. I remember the first year we went to an old log cabin up in Ottawa. It was a four-generation family and huge hockey fans. To see the sheer thrill of the folks when they saw the Stanley Cup, that’s what this contest really does. It really brings the people and the fans together better with the NHL, the players and obviously the Stanley Cup. It’s very gratifying for me to be a part of it,” said Messier, who retired in September of 2005 as the second-leading scorer in NHL history (1,887 points) after 25 seasons with the Oilers, Canucks and Rangers.
See related story on page 72.
