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Old Posted May 10, 2010, 11:08 PM
Mininari Mininari is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Victoria (formerly Port Moody, then Winnipeg)
Posts: 2,441
Quote:
Originally Posted by freeweed View Post
I can't speak for other cities, but in Calgary the players who do this don't do it for media attention at all. Trust me, there's plenty of media focus on the players as it is. The guys who do it seem to genuinely want to "give back" to the community.

It's especially notable because it's generally the same guys who do most of the charity appearances. The Flames even have an award they give out every year for this, and it's often won by the same small group of guys.

Again though, you don't have to listen to some random nobody posting on the Internet. Listen to the players themselves - time and again they'll state quite clearly their desire to play in quieter markets, just to get out of the media spotlight. It's been a huge factor in a lot of big trades (or requesting certain cities, or refusing certain cities) over the years.

Some guys love the spotlight, and some shy away from it.

Pavel Bure used to *HATE* the media attention in Vancouver -- hence his eventual move to Florida and later New York where nobody would recognize him. I recall seeing him driving a very expensive looking sports car, accompanied by Alex Mogilny, Gino Odjick, and one other Canuck, in a drive-thru at the A&W on Pinetree and Lougheed Hwy in Coquitlam. The driver looked strangely familiar, and was doing everything he could to shield his face from me and my friend... the others just stared like "nothing to see here kids, get lost."