100 years of Manitoba hockey celebrated in new exhibit

Do you remember where you were when True North Sports and Entertainment announced that the NHL was coming back to Winnipeg?

How about when Teemu Selanne won the rookie of the year award? What about when Jonathan Toews became the youngest player to join the "Triple Crown Club" by winning gold in the World Championships and Olympics as well as a Stanley Cup?

As part of the 100th anniversary of Hockey Manitoba, the organization and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame is celebrating those moments and more with a new exhibit that showcases the success of Manitobans in hockey.

The display features the Avco Cup, game-worn skates and memorabilia from many famous Manitobans.

"We're celebrating a brand-new exhibit that we are very excited about because it celebrates 100 Manitoba moments in hockey history and coincides with Hockey Manitoba's 100th anniversary," said sport heritage manager Rick Brownlee.

Mike Keane's three Stanley Cup rings look almost modest to the rings from a decade later — two of which are Toews's two rings from Chicago.

Underneath Toews's cup rings sits the rings from Ab McDonald, who was on the last Chicago team to win the cup in Chicago before Toews and company broke the four-decade-long drought in Chicago.

"We tend to pick our exhibits based on what we have in the collection. We have a very good collection of things in our own collection, in the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame collection, and some of the treasures that people have loaned us for this exhibit for the next six months," Brownlee said.

Sports fans at the launch Monday were impressed with the wealth of items on display.

"This is a great exhibit. I think it's a massive achievement for everybody in Manitoba that there is so much sports history and to get it all together in one place is fantastic," said Chris Allinotte, who was taking in the exhibit with his son.

The Hall of Fame is hoping that Manitobans will have newspaper clippings or photos of their own hockey moments that can be added to a display wall called "My Manitoba Hockey Moment."

The exhibit is open until June 7, 2015 at the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame, located in the Sport for Life Centre at 145 Pacific Ave. in Winnipeg.

Its launch was especially meaningful on Monday because just hours before Hockey Canada announced the camp roster for the World Junior tournament. Two young Manitobans have been named to the squad and are also hoping to add their names to the history books.