The Belleville Bulls played against some of the greats of the game, and there were some amazing bench bosses too.
Bert Templeton, Stan Butler, George Burnett, and Brian Kilrea to name a few. Dale Hawerchuk is part of that group.
Not only did he have a storied NHL and international hockey career, he was a very successful builder of great young hockey players, and more importantly, young men.
Dale Hawerchuk coached the Barrie Colts in the final game in Belleville Bulls history.
On April 2nd, 2015, the Colts swept the Belleville Bulls 4-0, with a 4-2 win in game four at the Yardmen.
Most typical nights after a series win, the coach would send his players over the boards to celebrate their win. Not this night. This night was for mourning and celebrating 34 years of hockey in Belleville.
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Dale Hawerchuk behind the bench with the Barrie Colts at the Yardmen Arena (now CAA Arena). (Photo: Aaron Bell)
About 3,200 fans packed into the rink to see the game. Although the Bulls lost, the fans got louder, and louder, and louder. They saluted their team, their rink, their history, and one another.
After a very subdued congratulations for the members of the Colts, the team headed off the ice. Head Coach Dale Hawerchuk got his players to return to the ice. The players fanned out in front of their bench, and applauded along with the thousands at the rink. They applauded the team, and the history, which included some incredible series with the Barrie Colts.
Jason Supryka was on the bench for Belleville as an Assistant Coach that night. Supryka says that evening was a teaching moment for Hawerchuk.
“He was always very professional, it was never about Dale. He was very respectful of everybody else’s situation. He knew there was a time for his team to celebrate their win, but it was more important that they be a part of, just being humble, I think was the lesson he was trying to teach those guys. “
Many of the Belleville fans picked up on the gesture of Hawerchuk and his team, and they applauded the Colts for doing what they did.
A small gesture by a hockey icon, that will always be remembered in Belleville.
