A Juno nomination or even a win isn’t half as exciting to some musicians as getting to play in the Juno Cup opposite the very NHL hockey legends they grew up watching.
This year’s game takes place at Jack Byrne Arena, in Torbay, Nfld. on Friday, April 16. Money raised from ticket sales, merchandise and a silent auction supports MusiCounts, a music education charity associated with the organization that presents the Juno Awards, the Canadian Academy of Recordings Arts & Sciences (CARAS). To date, the seven Juno Cups have raised more than $700,000.
Although Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy, team captain for the musicians, says there are “no standards whatsoever,” that promise isn’t enough to entice some musicians. You won’t see Billy Talent’s Ben Kowalewicz or Hedley’s Jacob Hoggard on Team Rockers, for example.
“I don’t know how to skate very well and when I see these guys play, I don’t want to be the one that holds back the team so to speak,” says Billy Talent frontman Kowalewicz. As for Hedley singer Hoggard, he can skate, but he can’t play hockey. “I know, I’m Canadian. It’s weird. I stay clear,” he says.
But there are plenty of musicians who are willing volunteers for the 2010 Juno Cup team.
Native Newfoundlander Séan McCann of Great Big Sea has played in the Juno Cup before and is looking forward to joining the gang again and representing the host province for the Junos. “[Jim’s] always after me to play Juno hockey. I scored a goal last time so he was interested in me playing again,” says McCann.
Country artist George Canyon isn’t even nominated for a 2010 Juno, but he’s on the team too. And rapper Classified, who is nominated for three awards (single of the year, rap recording and video) seems more excited about the chance to play in the game than anything. He played in 2005 when it was held in his hometown of Halifax.
“I’ve played hockey my whole life,” says Classified. “Since I was 17, 18 years [old], that was my life, hockey, so when I had a chance to play against some NHLers, I always wanted to play in the NHL in my life and if that wasn’t going to happen, I think this is the next best thing.
“I remember meeting Jim Cuddy at the Juno hockey game in Halifax and we were on the same line, so we were talking quite a lot,” the MC continues. “So I guess he mentioned ‘Classified was pretty good a couple of years ago’ [and] wanted to get me back.”
There are more than 25 musicians who are now on the team (and there are likely more to come). They far outnumber the ex-NHLers on the opposing team. Along with Classified and McCann, this year’s roster features Billy Talent’s Jon Gallant; George Canyon; Wintersleep’s Paul Murphy and Tim D’eon; Rex Goudie; Stars/Broken Social Scene’s Evan Cranley; Ten Second Epic’s Andrew Usenik and Patrick Birtles; Great Lake Swimmers’ Greg Millson; Dearly Beloved’s Rob Higgins; and NQ Arbuckle’s John Dinsmore and Peter Kesper.
Facing off against them are ex-NHL stars Andrew McKim, Brad Dalgarno, Gary Roberts, Greg Smyth, Harold Druken, Mark Napier, Mike Pelyk and Troy Crowder. More may be added.
As one can imagine, the ex-NHLers always beat the musicians — except for once, last year in Vancouver.
“They made a tactical error,” says Cuddy.
“They wanted to win the game in dramatic fashion in the last minute so they allowed us to tie it up and I was the beneficiary of that. I was skating with the puck and I realized that the defensemen were skating away from me, so I went in and scored and tied the game,” he recaps.
“Then, they were going to send Lanny McDonald through the middle, bang, score a goal, which they did, and they wanted it to end like that 12-11. But there was still quite a bit of time left and with all the fooling around that happened after that, we went down again and tied the game and then we legitimately won in a shoot out.”
The score was 13-12. “It was hilarious,” Cuddy says. “They were not happy about it. They will exact retribution this year.”
The Juno Cup takes place Friday, April 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the Jack Byrne Arena, Torbay, Nfld. For more info, visit junoawards.ca/juno-week/juno-cup
The 2010 Juno Awards airs Sunday, April 18 on CTV.
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