MINNEAPOLIS – Everyone, at one time or another, dreams about spending time with an idol.
Some of the members of the Maine hockey team were asked who they would like to spend a day with. They were allowed to pick anyone alive or dead.
“John Lennon,” said Maine junior center Derek Damon. “The man was a genius. I just want to know what it was like to be a Beatle back in the day.”
“Probably Michael Jordan,” said junior center Jon Jankus. “I grew up in a basketball family. Everybody loved him.”
“Michael Vick,” said sophomore left winger Mike Hamilton. “I think he’s an unreal athlete and I look up to him.”
Sophomore right wing Keith Johnson chose Wayne Gretzky “just because of what he’s done for hockey. I’d just like to have conversations about hockey with him. That would be cool.”
Mat Dechamps chose his late grandfather Oliver White, who died before he was born and “had a big impact on my mother’s [Patricia] life. She said I remind her of him every day.”
Junior goalie Jimmy Howard went with former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali because of the “excellence he brought into boxing. He was unbelievable. I’d just like to meet him one day.”
Sophomore left wing Brent Shepheard was another Gretzky voter because “he was the probably the greatest player to ever play hockey and that’s what I’ve been doing my whole life. It would be kind of interesting to meet him.”
Freshman defenseman Travis Ramsey would like to spend a day with six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.
“I have a bunch of questions I’d like to ask him. He’d be a really interesting person to meet and a role model I’d like to follow. Like to pick a piece of his brain and see what it takes,” said Ramsey.
“My dad [Yves],” answered sophomore center Michel Leveille. “He passed away when I was 3 years old, so I never really got to know him. It definitely would be him.”
Freshman winger Wes Clark is another Michael Jordan vote.
“He’s the ultimate competitor,” said Clark.
Sophomore defenseman Tom Zabkowicz selected Jesus Christ.
“I’m not a very religioius person, but I do take the Bible and everything pretty seriously. He’s probably the most interesting person in my mind.”
Sophomore left wing Josh Soares selected Detroit Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman “just to see how he approaches the game and what he does in his training, his skill level. I’d like to learn a little bit more from him. He’s been a great hockey player throughout his career. Just to learn from him and his experiences would be fun.”
Travis Wight, a junior forward-defenseman, is a fan of former Canadian Prime Ministor Pierre Trudeau.
“He didn’t let our country get pushed around like a lot of the prime ministers. He stood up for himself and I respect that,” said Wight.
Freshman left wing Billy Ryan would like to spend a day with his late grandfather Charlie Ryan, who died seven years ago.
“He was such an influence on my life,” said Ryan.
Senior right wing Ben Murphy went with Abraham Lincoln.
“I’d like to see what he went through,” said Murphy. “People think they have it so hard [now], I can’t imagine how his life would have been in the Civil War.”
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