Lindros will be joined by Toronto Blue Jays prospect Reese McGuire and Sportsnet broadcaster Jamie Campbell at the event, which will take place on Saturday, Feb. 1 at the Heritage Inn.
And with Lindros making an appearance, it promises to be evening filled with plenty of interesting stories.
“I spent a couple hours with [former banquet chairmen] Cory [Olafson] and Justin [Wilk] yesterday making some phone calls and that seemed to be kind of the comment, ‘who's coming, who's coming’, ‘Eric Lindros’, ‘oh really!’,” said 2020 chairman Danny Stenko. “So there’s a little more excitement and that’s a good thing for sure.”
Lindros is as famous as they come when talking about players in the 1990s, beginning with his legendary junior career before his time with the Philadelphia Flyers on the Legion of Doom line that saw him win the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player in 1995. He would go on to play for the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Dallas Stars, making seven all-star appearances and, finally, being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016.
Lindros has become a major advocate for concussion awareness in the years since his playing days, including working on Rowan’s Law to prevent youth with concussions from returning to the game too soon.
Lindros played 760 NHL games over 13 seasons, finishing with 372 goals and 865 points.
McGuire, on the other hand, might not be a household name with the Blue Jays right now, but has a pedigree that says that could change soon. A first-round selection of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2013 MLB Draft, McGuire joined the Jays in the Drew Hutchison trade in 2016. He made his Major League debut on Sept. 6, 2018 and played 30 games with the Jays in 2019, hitting .299.
The banquet will also feature the traditional awards presentations, including the Kinsmen Sports Achievement award, CHAB Team of the Year and Moose Jaw Express/Today Sports Builder Award.
It’s expected that the event will once again sell out their allotment of 450-plus tickets, with the community once again coming out in full support of the Kinsmen and their many sports-related projects.
“We have a huge backing for our community and without them we wouldn’t be able to do this every year. Without them we wouldn’t have the confidence to book someone like Eric Lindros and still make some money,” Stenko said.
“Every year we get to budget X amount of dollars to clubs like the wrestling club in town and the Kinsmen Flying Fins and several clubs like that, and without this support, some of those clubs might not be there. It all kinds of funnels down from the small- and medium-sized businesses in town back to the kids. So it’s awesome.”
The banquet will also feature the traditional live and silent auctions, featuring the usual allotment of impressive memorabilia from the world of sports and beyond.
“The auction boys are keeping busy, that’s for sure,” Stenko said. “I know they have a big list of items, a couple coming out of the vault and a couple fresh ones for this time around. So it’s always a lot of fun and we’re looking forward to that part of the evening.”
Tickets are available for $150 or corporate tables for $2,000.
For more information, contact Danny Stenko at 306-631-5003.
