Quote:
Originally Posted by CsInMyBlood
John Tonelli for me.
I will never forget his play in the '86 playoffs, he was a huge part of that run to the Stanley Cup finals. 16 points in 22 games. Nobody could dig the puck out of the corners and win board battles like John could. He was gritty as they come but also had great hockey IQ and skills.
I met him for the first time when I was 13 years old. I was so excited to meet this newest Flame who had won 4 Stanley Cups. I told him good luck in the playoffs and that I was hoping he could make it 5 this year. He laughed and said he was going to do everything he could to make that happen.
During that '86 run I clipped out every picture I could find of JT from the newspapers and started making a scrapbook. The next season, after a game I went down to get it autographed from John. He said he thought it was awesome and signed a bunch of my pages. He and his wife talked to me for almost 30 minutes after a game. He answered every single question I asked him and cemented himself as my favorite Flame.
I met him again a year after that. I distinctly remember I was geting an autograph from Joel Otto when I heard my name being called out from across the room. It was John freaking Tonelli. He had remembered my name from our meeting the year before. He walked past about 20 people seeking autographs and came right to me. I almost died. There was my hockey hero calling me out by name. I couldn't believe it. Even thinking about it now makes me kind of giddy. He gave me another 20 minutes of his time. Such a class act.
I have no doubts that John brought an aura of winning championships to the Flames dressing room and even though he left the Flames the year we won the Cup I believe he had a part in the Flames winning it.
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I had already voted for him before I read this, but had I been unsure, this would have sealed it for me.