Hockey great Paul Henderson to speak at Kincardine Canada Day ceremony

Hockey legend Paul Henderson is returning to his birthplace, Kincardine, for Canada Day.

The Canada 150 committee made the announcement Wednesday, noting that Henderson was asked to attend the big celebration in Ottawa, as well as five other ceremonies, but turned them down in order to return to his roots and celebrate with the people of Kincardine.

While Henderson grew up and played minor hockey in Lucknow, he was born in Kincardine, and became a Canadian hockey hero, playing in the National Hockey League (NHL), and scoring the winning goal in the final three games of the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union.

Keith Davidson and Brad Kirkconnell of Kincardine's Canada 150 committee, said they are thrilled to have Henderson coming to the event, and have planned to have him unveil a plaque, commemorating his birth, at the bottom of the Kincardine hospital hill.

Jan. 28, 1943, Henderson’s mother went into labour while staying at a farm in Amberley during a snowstorm. She gave birth while crossing the frozen Lake Huron via horse-drawn sleigh, en route to the Kincardine hospital, foreshadowing a career spent mostly on the ice.

Kirkconnell said the plan is to re-enact that event, with Henderson and his family riding in a horse and wagon up to the hospital for the plaque unveiling at about 10 a.m. They will then join the Canada Day parade, beginning at Quinn Plaza and marching down to the bottom of Harbour Street for the flag-raising ceremony.
 

“I am thrilled that Paul Henderson, a favourite hockey celebrity for many of us in the area, is able to join us for our Canada Day celebration,” said Kincardine mayor Anne Eadie. “Many of us remember his game-winning goals in the exciting 1972 Canada -Russia tournament series.”



Keith Davidson (left) and Brad Kirkconnell of the Kincardine Canada 150 committee, hold up the photo of Paul Henderson and his winning goal in the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union