Sports heroes honoured

Speaking in a nervous tone, Mark Versfeld took the stage first.
Nick DeHoog then loosened the atmosphere with his many humorous sporting memories before Chris Phillips took the podium with his son Ben.
Finally, Fran Gow let everyone know his 2000 national junior A championship team will likely never be matched in ability.
In all, the inaugural Wood Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame inductee ceremony at the Sawridge Inn and Conference centre Tuesday had a bit of everything needed for a night of honour.
But what stood out best was the sense of community pride which likely won’t be matched, at least for another year.
“This is a moment I will remember,” said DeHoog, the longtime local sporting guru and president of the Fort McMurray Oil Barons, who was ushered into the Hall in the Builder’s Category. “I will cherish it forever.”
That sentiment was repeated by each of the inductees last night in front of a packed house at the $100-a-plate ceremony.
Phillips, the youngest player to ever don an Oil Barons jersey and the first overall pick in the 1996 NHL draft, looked genuinely grateful for the honour, which perhaps served as small consolation for losing the Stanley Cup final with his Ottawa Senators just a few weeks ago.
His take on the whole to-do had the most down-home feeling to it. Remembering his baseball days in Fort McMurray as well as he did his record-setting hockey days, he, like all the other inductees, left the stage to a standing ovation.
“I’m just so honoured to be recognized by my hometown,” he said. “Year after year I get asked about my hockey roots and where I’m from. I’m so glad to say Fort McMurray.”
Versfeld came the longest distance to attend -- the former Fort McMurray Mantas Swim Club member and later Olympic athlete now lives in Australia.
However, it was the borrowed CBC video clips of the 31 year old in gold medal action at the 1998 Commonwealth Games that drew the biggest applause and recreated a real sense of local pride.
With the CBC’s Steve Armitage making the call, it was like the whole scene was being played out live as Versfeld raced back from sixth place to earn a thrilling gold medal for Canada in the 100-metre backstroke.
“Those moments I had make me think back (to where it all started),” he said. “It’s a real honour.”
Finally, nine members of the 2000 national junior A champion Oil Barons team, along with Gow and even members of the training staff, took the stage.
In another great Fort McMurray moment, big screens to the left and right of the main stage showed video highlights of the day the MOB took hold of the national crown.
Goals from Nathan Rosychuk -- who was in attendance -- and Tyler Brough, who didn’t make it to the ceremony, in a 2-1 win over the Ontario’s Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats brought back memories of this city’s biggest ever sporting accomplishment on home soil.
“That was one hell of a team,” said Gow. “I’m not sure if you are going to see another hockey team like that again at the Canadian junior A hockey level. We are all proud of the accomplishments of 2000.”
The ceremony ended with a keynote address from Edmonton Oilers president Patrick Laforge. The whole scenario will be repeated again next summer when the next crop of inductees get to tell their stories.