It isn’t the message that some teachers at the English Montreal School Board wanted Gord Donnelly to pass on to students but the retired NHL enforcer says he still supports fighting in hockey.
Donnelly was asked to speak at Willingdon Elementary school in Montreal’s N.D.G district as part of a long running program by the school board that invites famous and successful graduates go back to the schools to speak.
While Donnelly didn’t seek out a platform to promote fighting, during his Q & A with the students he honestly answered about his career as an enforcer in the NHL. And after his talk he explained to me how he felt about discussing the issue of fighting in game today.
”At the elementary school level of course I don’t want to say too much and encourage them to do things to hurt other classmates in the school yard or anything like that but if I do speak to junior hockey players and the ones that are trying to make a living at this game then for sure I’ll encourage them. I mean I’m not going to tell them not to because it is part of the game still and hopefully it stays.” – Gord Donnelly
Listen to the report which aired on CBC Daybreak Montreal on January 18, 2012
Here is a youtube video of Donnelly in action during his NHL career.
