Dan Hamhuis was the honorary captain.
His parents from Smithers, Marty and Ida, were his honorary guests.
It was a rare treat indeed for the veteran NHL defenceman, who took advantage of a short break in the Vancouver Canucks' schedule to return to his junior roots in Prince George as special guest of Team WHL for the Subway Super Series game against Russia.
"I don't know if a lot of people from Smithers came by but my parents decided to make the drive to be able to share part of the game and I'll get to visit with them," said Hamhuis, who flew in from Pittsburgh, where the Canucks ended a road trip on Wednesday.
"It's nice to take advantage of an opportunity like this. In the past years in Nashville (seeing his parents) only happened about once a year, whether at Christmas or a special event. This year it will be a little bit more often. It's a simple flight from Smithers to Vancouver."
A full house for hockey at CN Centre for Thursday's game was not unusual for Hamhuis in a WHL career with the Prince George Cougars that spanned four seasons (1998-2002). Attendance at Cougar games were often near capacity and that stands out as his best memory of his time with the Cats.
"I really enjoyed playing in front of the fans, they have such great fans and it was fun to come to a building that had one of the best atmospheres in the whole WHL," the 27-year-old Hamhuis said.
"Playing in front of them is something I'll never forget. It's always fun to play in front of a sold-out crowd, whether it's NHL or junior."
The Subway Super Series did not exist when Hamhuis was a WHL all-star and he would have loved the chance to face the Russians, but that came later when he played for Canada in the world junior championship in 2001 and 2002.
"We had a couple different formats and did some interleague things with the Quebec junior league but nothing international and I think it's great they changed the format to make it more competitive," Hamhuis said. "It's a great experience for these guys, especially the ones who will be off to the world juniors. It gives them a taste of what the international game is like, it's a bit different and certainly the Russians are highly-skilled players."
Hamhuis suffered a bruised foot three games into the season that forced him to miss eight games but he's back in the Canucks' lineup and has two goals and an assist in 10 games. He had the lone Canucks goal in Wednesday's 3-1 loss to the Penguins.
"It's an unfortunate time to be injured at the start of the season with a new team but it's part of the game," he said. "I took a puck off a skate and took three weeks off and it's starting to come back. It's still not 100 per cent but it's good enough to play."
After five seasons with the Nashville Predators, Hamhuis signed as an unrestricted free agent with Vancouver, a six-year deal worth $27 million. The Canucks are a Stanley Cup contender and the chance to return to his home province made it an easy choice for Hamhuis, his wife Sarah and their two daughters.
"We wanted to find a team that offered a good chance to win and would be a good fit on and off the ice and they certainly haven't let us down and probably exceeded our expectations so far," he said. "We have a lot of skill on our team and with a high work ethic we could go a long ways."
