DORIAN GEIGER
Sports Editor

If TSN’s Off the Record and CTV’s political broadcast Powerplay were ever to be combined into one show and Stephen Harper named the host, it would be eerily similar to the 50th Annual Kinsmen Sports Celebrity Dinner that took place in Saskatoon on Feb. 5.

During his voyage to the prairies, Stephen Harper upheld notions of democracy not as a politician but as a journalist, as the prime minister interviewed two legends of hockey: none other than Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe.

“He’s like this all the time. He’s like a kid in a candy shop — he loves hockey,” said a media representative of the Prime Minister’s Office, who went on to jokingly agree that it was no wonder Parliament Hill came to a grinding halt a few weeks ago after a prorogue was declared.

Canadian politics are kind of drab when matched up with the likes of Wayne Gretzky. The Globe and Mail even recently reported that the Great One is one of the top three celebrities Canadians would like to have dinner with.

For Harper, the evening was likely the highest moment of his career in Saskatoon, as he was able to get an exclusive, on-stage interview with Wayne Gretzky in front of a sold-out crowd of 1,200 people.

It was an odd mix of politically geared hockey banter that saw Prime Minister Harper switch his role from leader of the country to sports analyst as he directed unexpectedly serious sports questions at arguably the two best players to pick up hockey sticks in the history of professional hockey.

Howe was not originally included in the program and Harper introduced Howe’s surprise appearance to a standing ovation minutes into the Q&A.

Gretzky himself had in fact met Howe for the first time when he was 10 years old at a Kinsmen dinner in Brantford. Now, at 81 years old, it’s apparent that Saskatchewan’s Mr. Hockey hasn’t lost his spunk and ruggedness.

Howe humbly responded to Harper that the best moment throughout his NHL career was meeting his late wife Colleen, who passed away in March 2009.

Though casual about it, the evening was defined by Harper’s sheer infatuation with No. 99 as the prime minister was left hanging on every word that escaped from Gretzky’s lips. Gretzky could have asked Harper to prank call North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il and fart into the mouthpiece and the prime minister likely would have agreed to the request.

The resurfacing criticism that Harper has faced since becoming prime minister is always the same: “He has no charisma,” or “He’s so boring.” But for one night, Harper’s mundane demeanour waned as Gretzky truly brought out the charisma in Harper.

Harper instilled laughter in the crowd at TCU more than a few times and joked that he was “almost important enough to share the stage with Wayne Gretzky.” And the prime minister couldn’t have been more correct. In a land fostered by an obsession with hockey, the Great One is one of the few athletes in the world who is held to be a more esteemed figure than even the most powerful politicians of his own country.

Prior to Harper’s Q&A session with Gretzky and Howe, the media was notified by Gretzky’s press agent there was a possibility they would be able to speak with the past Oiler-great following his stage appearance but there were no promises.

If any of the media were to be granted the sacred opportunity to exchange words with Gretzky, it was emphasized that there would be no questions about the Olympics — period.

No later than five minutes after that did Harper march on stage with Gretzky and the prime minister asked his first question — about the Olympics.

Though Gretzky admitted Team Canada’s chances were were good, he was noticeably thrown off guard by the question as Harper got down to journalism at its finest and grilled the Great One about the Games. However, after getting the first question out of the way and later bringing Howe on stage, any noticeable tension was eased and the three went on to discuss the hey-days of hockey, playing with wooden sticks and the possibility of more NHL franchises in Canada.

Harper sent the entire crowd in hysterics after a comment he made in the midst of dicussing Howe’s career that was in large part characterized by longevity.

What’s the secret of longevity?” Harper inquired to Howe. “Maybe I’m asking (that question) personally,” Harper noted. “How do you stick around for a while?”

Unfortunately, Gretzky’s press agent ultimately decided to decline any interviews or autograph sessions following the sports dinner. But thanks to Harper’s cunning knowledge of hockey and the prime minister’s inquisitiveness, not many important questions remained unanswered.

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photo: Robby Davis