Honouring a Legend: The Unveiling of Dale Hawerchuk's Statue

Correction: the original version of this article published on October 1, incorrectly noted that sculptor Erik Blome had created Michael Jordan's statue in Chicago. Blome created two life-size bronze portraits of James Jordan, Michael Jordan's father, commissioned by the Chicago Bulls for the James Jordan Boys and Girls Club on Chicago's West Side.
It could be said that 18 months of work came down to just a few seconds, as on Saturday, Dale Hawerchuk's family and former teammates pulled the cover off the incredible statue honouring the hockey hall-of-famer, and former Winnipeg Jets captain.
But Mark Scheifele doesn't see it that way.
"I get to drive by this statue every day," said Scheifele, who Hawerchuk coached during the Jets forward's three seasons with the Barrie Colts.
"We all know he's watching over us right now and that's a pretty peaceful thing to think about."
A sentiment like that is fitting. All one had to do was look around the corner of Hargrave and Honourary Dale Hawerchuk Way to feel just a piece of the impact the two-time Canada Cup champion had on the city and community.

Hawerchuk jerseys filled the streets over an hour before the ceremony began. Teammates, family, and friends flew in from far and wide. Fans even packed into the skywalk above the ceremony's location to get a glimpse.
It was standing room only in downtown Winnipeg.
"When you're preparing these things, the thought that just kept coming back is 'I wish he was here.' That's the difficult part of this," said Mark Chipman, the Executive Chairman and Governor of the Jets. "I wish he had been able to be here and see all of the love that this community has for him."
Of course, Hawerchuk knew about the statue. The original hope was that the 1981 first overall pick would be in attendance for this special occasion. But when his health deteriorated, Chipman and Craig Heisinger - the current assistant general manager of the Jets, and the equipment manager for the club when Hawerchuk wore Jets colours - knew what to do.
They called up their friend to let him know.
"Zinger, in his unique way, made some comment about how difficult it would be to find an image of him back-checking or in the defensive zone, which kind of broke the challenge of that conversation," Chipman said. "I remember the emotion from Dale and how thankful he was."

His family members feel that emotion as well.
Dale's wife, Crystal, spoke about how her husband referred to Winnipeg as his home - even if he was born in Ontario.
"I know to you he wasn't just your captain," she said. "He was one of you, he loved playing for the Jets and he loved saying he was from Winnipeg."
And his son Eric was nearly speechless when he saw the final product.
"This was so incredible," he said. "It was very emotional. I kind of prepared for it but just to see the sheer size of it and the attention to details is kind of hard to put it into words, but I'm so proud of him and to see this here and to see all of the people here is just so amazing."

The statue was built by Erik Blome from Woodstock, Illinois. His resume includes statues of Wayne Gretzky and Legends Row in front of Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, and the detail of Blome's work floored Ben Hawerchuk.
"When you look at it, it's so spot on, it's beautiful," he said.
"I took a lap around hit and when you stand on the side of it, the lining on his face, it's so spot on. It's mind blowing actually."
Chipman echoed that sentiment. He had the opportunity to see it in progress back in the summer. The technique used to build the statue requires the making of a clay mould, and while that's still early in the process, the detail could already be seen.

"The amount of detail was really remarkable. We just went down to see it and it was like 'wow.' I had no idea what goes into creating something like this," said Chipman, who ended up arriving in Illinois at the perfect time.
"When we were down there, they were actually starting to pour. It's all assembled and built in individual pieces," said Chipman. "That right-hand glove, they had just done the mould and they heated up the material that day, so I got a chance to actually help pour it in."
Piece by piece, the statue was built and arrived in Winnipeg in late September, thanks to some late-night driving by Blome, his wife, and his assistant - Grant. Josh Dudych, part of the working group that helped conceptualize the statue and True North Sports + Entertainment's Director of Creative, helped guide the vehicle into Winnipeg's downtown at 3:30 am CT on arrival day.
After all the speeches from Scheifele, Paul Coffey (Hawerchuk's teammate during the memorable 1987 Canada Cup), Scott Arniel (Jets associate coach and Hawerchuk's longtime friend and teammate), and Crystal Hawerchuk, came the moment Chipman - and everyone watching - had been waiting for.
With music playing in the background, mixed with goal calls of Hawerchuk's remarkable career, Hawerchuk's family and former teammates peeled the black cover off the large bronze statue.

There were cheers, there were tears, but there was also gratitude.
It was also the only word Chipman could think of to encapsulate such a special moment.
A moment that for him, goes all the way back to when Hawerchuk signed his contract with the Jets on August 13, 1981.
"That pride welled up in me in 1981. I'll never forget it," Chipman said. "I've never lost that sense of pride for our community and what this team means to it. No one epitomized that, or created that sense of pride, in my lifetime more than Dale."