100 years of Manitoba hockey celebrated in new exhibit

Do you remember where you were when True North Sports and Entertainment announced that the NHL was coming back to Winnipeg?

How about when Teemu Selanne won the rookie of the year award?What about whenJonathan Toews became the youngest player to join the "Triple Crown Club" by winning gold in the World Championships andOlympics as well asa Stanley Cup?

As part of the 100th anniversary of Hockey Manitoba,the organization and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame is celebrating those moments and more with a new exhibit that showcases the success of Manitobans in hockey.

The display features the Avco Cup, game-worn skates and memorabilia from many famous Manitobans.

"We're celebrating a brand-new exhibit that we are very excited about because it celebrates100 Manitoba moments in hockey history and coincides with Hockey Manitoba's 100th anniversary," said sport heritage manager Rick Brownlee.

Mike Keane's threeStanley Cup rings look almost modest to therings from a decade later two of which areToews's two rings from Chicago.

Underneath Toews's cup rings sits the rings from Ab McDonald,who was on the last Chicago team to win the cup in Chicago before Toews and company broke the four-decade-long drought in Chicago.

"We tend to pick our exhibits based on what we have in the collection.We have a very good collection of things in our own collection, in the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame collection,and some of the treasures that people have loaned us for this exhibit for the next six months," Brownlee said.

Sports fans at thelaunchMondaywere impressed with the wealth of items on display.

"This is a great exhibit.I think it's a massive achievement for everybody in Manitoba that there is so much sports history and to get it all together in one place is fantastic," said Chris Allinotte, who was taking in the exhibit with his son.

The Hall of Fame is hoping that Manitobans will havenewspaper clippings or photos of their own hockey moments that can be added to a display wall called"My Manitoba Hockey Moment."

The exhibit isopen untilJune 7, 2015at the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame,located in the Sport for Life Centre at 145 Pacific Ave. in Winnipeg.

Its launch was especially meaningful on Monday becausejust hours beforeHockey Canada announced the camp roster for the World Junior tournament. Twoyoung Manitobans have been named to the squad and are also hoping to addtheir names to the history books.