Musicians and NHLers suit up for the Juno Cup
Big names from the music industry and the sports world set to face off Friday
If there's anything more Canadian than members of Blue Rodeo palling around on skates with former NHLers, we don't want to know what it is.
Music stars from all over the country hit the ice in Hamilton Thursday alongside Olympians and NHL greats to get ready for the now-annual Juno Cup, a fundraiser for music education charity MusiCounts.
Montreal's Sam Roberts is a veteran of both the Junos and the charity hockey game, having played for the last four years. Though the members of his team might not have the conditioning of oh, say, Gary Roberts (who he's playing against), they've gotten much better in recent years, he says.
"We used to just get our asses handed to us by the pros," Roberts said. "But Jim [Cuddy] has done a great job putting together a team every year."
Roberts — who describes himself as a player "with the vision of Gretzky, the physical stature of Mario Lemieux and the competitiveness of Guy Lafleur" with tongue firmly in cheek — says he's a natural fit at left wing. That's mostly because he's too lazy to do the back checking necessary to play centre.
Gary Roberts (no relation) knows a little about back checking, seeing as he played 21 seasons in the NHL and now runs the Gary Roberts High Performance Centre and Fitness Institute in North York. He told CBC Hamilton that the musician's team often surprises him once they're out on the ice. "Some of these guys are better hockey players than you would think," he said. "They're definitely better on the ice than I am a musician."
Olympian Natalie Spooner is another marquee name who will be out on the ice for The Juno Cup, having won a gold medal with the Canadian women's team in Sochi. She spent the whole practice Thursday with a massive smile on her face. "It's just a lot of fun — everyone is super excited to be out here."
The Juno Cup happens on Friday at the Dave Andreychuk Mountain Arena. The game starts at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are still available on Ticketmaster.