Emcee Kelly Taylor shares a laugh with his childhood hero Grant Fuhr on stage at the 2019 Prince Albert Kinsmen/Raiders Sportsperson of the Year Celebrity Fundraiser Awards Banquet Saturday at the Ches Leach Lounge. (Jeff D’Andrea/paNOW Staff)

By Jeff D'Andrea

Sportsperson Dinner

Fuhr treasures friendships he made through hockey even more than his five cups or records

Oct 20, 2019 | 3:00 PM

Grant Fuhr accomplished just about everything there is to in the game of hockey.

He won five Stanley Cups during the Edmonton Oilers dynasty in the 1980s. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003 and still holds five NHL records, including playing 79 out of 82 games in a single season, and 76 consecutive appearances.

But what Fuhr values even more than that are the relationships he’s made through the game.

“The best thing in my career was probably the friendships you make. Over the course of 20 years, you play with so many guys and I count them all as friends,” Fuhr said at the 2019 Prince Albert Kinsmen/Raiders Sportsperson of the Year Celebrity Fundraiser Awards Banquet Saturday at the Ches Leach Lounge. “You pick up the phone and call them, anytime of day. That’s the biggest part of the game that you miss too. You miss seeing the guys all the time, they become your family. That’s probably the biggest thing I miss, but it’s also the best thing to take out of the game.”

One of those friends Fuhr had was Prince Albert Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid.

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They both broke into the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers, after they were both selected in the same draft. The Oilers drafted Fuhr a tad higher, selecting him eighth overall in the first round, while the Oilers then picked Habscheid in the sixth round, 113^th overall.

They were even roommates when Habscheid joined the team in 1981, a year after Fuhr did.

Habscheid and Fuhr both played together with the Oilers from 1981 to 1985 before Habscheid was traded to the Minnesota North Stars.

“He actually lived with me when he came to Edmonton. We had a lot of fun together as roommates. Habby was a great kid,” Fuhr said. “Unfortunately for him, he just came to a great team where Gretz is your first centre and Mess is your second centre, and Marc came in as an offensive centre. It just didn’t fit, but he was a good talent.”

Of course, Fuhr still holds strong connections with the Oilers, especially Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey and Glenn Anderson to name a few.

“I see Gretz once a month, I’ll run into Glennie Anderson probably once a month, see Coff once every month or two. The Edmonton team is still really close,” Fuhr said. “If you get an opportunity, you make a point to drop in and see the guys. If you’re in the same city as they are, you call and see how the guys are and see if they’re around.”

Fuhr’s visit to Prince Albert on Saturday wasn’t actually his first one. He came to Prince Albert in the 1970s for another one of his sports he loves, baseball.

“I was here in the late 1970s, early 80s but not for hockey—for baseball. It’s fun to come back. It’s fun to see the different towns in different provinces.”

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW