IT WAS THE SPRING of 2002 and Craig Mahon had just spent the day installing pools in his hometown of Windsor, Ont. Through his final season of junior hockey as captain of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, Mahon had done a good job of ducking this Gardiner MacDougall character, who wanted him to play at the University of New Brunswick, of all places. As if.
After one exhausting day at work, Mahon relented and took the phone from his sister. MacDougall started his sales pitch before Mahon told him to call back the next night. MacDougall said he’d come in person, and Mahon laughed, thinking there was no way this guy was going to drive more than 1,000 miles through three provinces to meet him in person.
“I told my parents, ‘Hey, I…
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The Hockey News (Digital) - 1 Issue, Champions Issue 2024