There were plenty of smiles both on and off the ice Saturday at the Sleeman Centre.

About 2,000 people came to see their Guelph Storm heroes of the past in the first ever Guelph Storm Alumni weekend.

“This was a long time coming. They should have done it earlier, but the fact that they did it is amazing. It’s really cool to see,” said Storm fan Dave Bachusky, sporting a Storm ball cap from their first year in the league.

“There’s so many good guys here. Bam! It’s like a trip through history.”

Naturally, it was budding National Hockey League star Drew Doughty who drew the longest lineup at a pre-game autograph session.

Number 8 also got the loudest cheer at the pre-game introductions, although the team’s all-time leading scorer, Jeff O’Neill, challenged him for that honour.

Thirty-six former players, including 10 who do or did skate in the NHL at one point, took part in the game. Several other alumni watched the game in street clothes.

A couple of players had to bow out of the event at the last minute, including Todd Bertuzzi, Kevin Dallman and Rumun Ndur. But there was still a solid array of players from almost every year, including “oldtimers” like Kent McDonell, Brian Wesenberg and Jamie Wright.

Players from the not-too-distant past included Thomas McCollum, Tyler Doig and Mike McLean.

Former coaches John Lovell, Ron Ivany, Shawn Camp and Dave Barr made appearances on the bench, as did a couple of former trainers in Jim Parcell and Brian Miller.

The two teams played a pair of 20-minute periods, with a skills competition held between the periods. A lengthy shootout didn’t end until Jamie Wright beat Mark McArthur.

Ryan Callahan was named MVP of the game, which featured plenty of hot dogging, some pretty goals and even a couple of lighthearted bodychecks between former teammates, which were quickly followed by laughter.

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