I had the good fortune to sit with Larry Robinson at the Bell Celebrity Gala in support of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health last week, where they raised $2M for a great cause.

Beside the fact that the event was extremely entertaining, it was very cool to talk to Larry. 9 Stanley Cups (between coaching and playing), numerous Canada Cups where he represented Canada in those famous cold war duels between the west and the east.

Now, for those of you who know me, you know I don’t watch sports on TV because it bores me to tears. But I did as a kid, simply because that is what you did on a Saturday night in Canada. If I look back on my youth, it was always about hockey. We played once a week in a league, every recess at school in the winter we went on the canal or the pond and played hockey, in the summer we played ball hockey all day long and in the evening we were either in the basement batting a tennis ball around or playing table hockey for hours .. Making up tournament, using our hockey cards to build lines, tracking which player got a goal and an assist. In fact, after a 20 year hiatus, I have started playing hockey again, super early with a bunch of great guys.

So while I would struggle to name a hockey player who played after Gretzky .. The Canadiens of the 70s are ingrained in my brain. Ken Dryden, Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinsons. Heroes from my youth. So it was both shocking and cool to be introduced to him and spend the evening enjoying his company.