Happy 60th birthday wishes go out to Jimmy Watson. Far and away the best homegrown defenseman in Flyers team history, Watson was a
five-time NHL All-Star, a member of Team Canada at the 1976 Canada Cup and is the owner of two Stanley Cup rings.
Selected by Philadelphia with the 39th overall pick of the 1972 Draft, the younger Watson brother played his entire 714-game NHL career (613 regular season games and 101 playoff games) as a member of the Flyers. Unfortunately, back problems, which resulted in spinal fusion surgery, ended his career prematurely. Watson announced his retirement in June of 1982, roughly two months before his 30th birthday.
As with older brother Joe, Jim has made his permanent home in the Delaware Valley after his active career. For many years after his playing career, he has been a hockey instructor and ownership partner at the
Ice Works in Aston, PA. In 1984, he parlayed his side interest of building houses into the James C. Watson Construction Company which he operated successfully until deciding in recent years to concentrate on his hockey school.
Last month, when the Flyers held their Prospect Development camp at the SkateZone in Voorhees, Jim sat inconspicuously in the stands during one of the scrimmages. Of course, some fans recognized the former Flyers great. However, the majority of people present (including the young draftees and invitees at the camp) had no idea they were in the presence of one of the NHL's top defensemen of the 1970s to early 1980s. It's not his style to tell people, either. He's a regular guy who just so happened to be a star hockey player.
Shortly after the Winter Classic Alumni Game, I asked Joe Watson when Jimmy would finally get his long-overdue induction into the Flyers Hall of Fame.
"Very soon," said Joe Watson.
I hope that very soon means it will happen at some point during the 2012-13 Flyers season, whenever the season eventually gets underway. My
idea for the induction: have a dual ceremony for the first time in 20 years (Reggie Leach and Gene Hart in 1992) and simultaneously induct Jimmy Watson along with the posthumous induction of Brad McCrimmon.
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Today marks the 15th anniversary of the passing of Flyers forward Yanick Dupre at the age of 24. Dupre died on Aug. 19, 1997 after a year-long struggle with leukemia.
The day after his passing, I wrote the following tribute to Dupre on the old Flyers fan Web site that Mike Barr ran on Geocities (I was still just a ticket-buying Flyers fan in those days. It would be two more years until I first became a credentialed writer in the pressbox).
Anyone who was at the Flyers Wives Carnival of 1996 will remember the bitter cold temperatures, down near 0 degrees. Waiting outside in the line to get in was pure torture and it was made worse by the obnoxious demeanor of some of the Spectrum security people outside the building. People were literally begging for the doors to be opened just a few minutes early, and were answered snidely with such comments as "Well, who told you to come out so early?"
So a lot of people, including yours truly, were in foul moods when they finally opened the doors. When the circulation of blood in our feet finally got going sufficiently to start moving around, my girlfriend and I started our trek around the Spectrum concourse.
The first player we saw was Dupre, who was seated by himself with no line of fans waiting to meet him. Well, I wanted to meet Dupre. He was one of the better skaters in the organization and as someone who is a poor skater, it's always been a skill I admired.
Dupre utilized his speed to make himself a dangerous penalty killer darting into passing lanes; he was a shorthanded goal threat in the AHL and was also utilized in that role by Terry Murray. Having just seen him score his second NHL goal- and first home goal- in person the previous week, I especially welcomed the chance to meet Dupre.
Dupre's tally was a real nice goal, scored early in the 3rd period of a wacky and controversial 5-5 tie with St. Louis. He started the play by intercepting a Blues headman pass near the blueline and also finished it, converting an Anatoli Semenov feed. The play actually gave me something to talk about to Dupre, because let's face it, these sorts of conversations tend be a little awkward and stilted unless you actually have a specific topic to discuss. Other than "I'm a big fan," what else is there to say?
We approached Dupre. He spoke first. "You guys look SO cold. How long were you outside?" We told him that we'd been waiting for over an hour and he said, "Well, thanks coming out. It's worth it."
Yanick was right. He realized that from his end -- sitting around all day in the Spectrum concourse making small talk with strangers -- it was worthwhile. He was doing his part for a good cause- fund raising for leukemia (the original purpose of the carnival after the death of Barry Ashbee) and other diseases.
From our end, braving the cold outside and the crowds inside, it was worthwhile, too. Not only was it a chance to meet the people in the organization, but all the money spent was for a very worthy cause. We discussed his goal against St Louis and then I shook his hand before he autographed his page of the Flyers yearbook and I moved on.
It was strictly a routine type of meeting, and most everyone associated with the club whom we met later was also very nice. But Dupre was the only person all day who thanked us simply for coming out. He brought home the point that the Flyers Wives Carnival wasn't all about autographs or the chance of getting one of the "lucky" gift boxes with an autographed jersey inside, it was about the cause itself.
Suddenly, standing outside for so long in the arctic temperatures didn't seem like it was such an ordeal. It WAS definitely worth it.
A few months after the 1996 Carnival, Dupre learned HE had leukemia. The first warning signs were when his greatest asset - his skating ability- fell off dramatically. He was struggling up and down the ice. That set in motion the tests that led to the discovery of his condition.
Later, during his remission period, he admitted in interviews that he had never considered the possibility that he would ever have a personal stake in the fight against leukemia. But now it was all too real for him.
Yanick Dupre went through hell. His chemo treatments left him very ill and near death. But he battled through a coma and eventually the leukemia went into remission. Doctors told him they thought the chances of his survival were excellent. Slowly he started to put on weight and eventually took to the ice again. He visited his Flyers teammates periodically, and spoke of a comeback with their AHL club.
Shortly before the 1997 carnival, Dupre, who was still nearly bald from the chemo treatments and much lighter than his playing weight but seemingly much better than he had been, dropped the ceremonial opening faceoff before a Flyer game at CoreStates Center. He was received warmly by the fans and the players on the ice.
The last we heard was that Dupre would return to Quebec and commence much more intense workouts in his effort to eventually start playing again. Even if he only suited up in a single minor league game, it would be a major triumph for the courageous young man.
That dream came to a crashing halt last spring when Dupre learned that the cancer had returned. He needed to undergo the chemo again, followed by a bone marrow transplant. During the 1997 NHL playoffs, he followed the Flyers' journey to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Few of his teammates contacted him by phone during that time, but Dupre told a newspaper reporter that he understood why: they just didn't know what to say.
Dupre continued to battle for his life. Last month, he underwent the transplant procedure. Sadly, it all went for nothing. This past weekend, Yanick Dupre died. He would turned 25 years of age on Nov. 20.
It all seems so unfair that he lost his battle with leukemia, but at least his suffering is over. The Flyers organization will continue the Carnival cause with extra determination in the future now that for a second generation, its need has struck close to home. And I hope my fellow fans continue to support it the way they always have.
You were right, Yanick. It IS worth it. And so is honoring your spirit, because you had the heart of a champion. Rest in Peace.
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Over the course of this week, I plan to try something a little different on my blog. I'm going to look at places outside Philadelphia that every Flyers fan should visit. Each place has a little piece of Flyers-related significance to it.
I've been wanting to try out a blog idea like this for a couple of years. I initially got the idea from reading Adam Kimelman's
100 Things Flyers Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die book.
Each day this week from Monday through Friday, I will pick one place beyond the Philadelphia city limits. I'll talk about how it relates to the Flyers, and why it's worth a visit (even if it's only a momentary stopping poing on a bigger trip).
Monday: In honor of Jimmy Watson's 60th birthday, first up in the series will be Smithers, British Columbia.
Tuesday: Skogskyrkogården in Stockholm, Sweden.
Wednesay: 1443 Rue Cutureau and 1885 Rue de Bruxelles in the Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie section of east Montreal.
Thursday: Rexy's Bar and Restaurant in Mt. Ephraim, New Jersey.
Friday: Flin Flon Bombers game in Flin Flon, Manitoba.
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