I'm now 40, so I have no idols per se. But in the late '70s, my god, I worshipped Guy Lafleur. The way he played the game, the way he looked.........wow. The way he elevated his game in the ugly face of 1970's intimidation from behemoths like Dave Schultz and John Wensink, I haven't seen anything since that can compare. And any hockey fan that was around in the spring of 1980 (or so) can't forget Corey Guernsey (sp?), the Calgary kid who was stabbed while wearing his Lafleur jersey and wouldn't let the hospital staff cut it off just added to Lafleur's mystique (Guy contacted the kid and promised to score a goal for him...........and did, twice). Of course, Lafleur had a few problems on and off the ice in the early eighties, and the Flames came to town, so I gradually grew out of my "idolization" stage. Like I said, I'm older now, the father of three boys, but to this day when I see old footage of Lafleur, I am once again transformed into a teenager and I am riveted to the tv.
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