Wolf Tracks: Jean-Jacques Francois Jacques-Jean in the house
Blueberry Bulldogs take over Sudbury Community Arena on Friday for NEO Kids fundraiser
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Puppers and sticks?
That can only mean it’s Shoresy night at Sudbury Community Arena on Friday and if you show up, the Wolves will be so good to you.
If you’re a Sudburian and enough of a hockey fan that you’re reading this column, and still don’t know any of that lingo, boy have you missed out on a hilarious celebration of Sudbury and the sport we love.
To catch you up, Shoresy is a Letterkenny spinoff series that’s available to stream on Crave in Canada, and if you’ve not seen either show, suffice to say they are comedies that spend a lot of time filming in our community. In fact, Shoresy is literally a Sudbury story and some of the places the characters go in their day to day activities are places that some of us go from time to time.
The brilliant Jared Keeso, a Canadian actor, screenwriter and producer who grew up in Listowel in southwestern Ontario, is behind both shows — playing Wayne in Letterkenny and Shoresy in Shoresy. Keeso, who played junior B hockey for the Strathroy Rockets as a teenager, not only starred in both shows but created them, too. Before all of this, he also played Don Cherry in the Don Cherry Story, parts 1 and 2, in 2010 and 2012.
Shoresy was actually a character in the long-running hit comedy Letterkenny, but you only heard his voice, barking out colourful remarks from the washroom stall inside the dressing room. In the spinoff, that character arrives in Sudbury to join the Bulldogs, a struggling senior AAA hockey team. The series kicks off with a sports media panel discussing the controversial Shoresy at the beginning of Season 1, Episode 1 which includes hometown hero Tessa Bonhomme, an Olympic gold medallist and current TSN personality.
In the show, the Bulldogs eventually become the Sudbury Blueberry Bulldogs, and those are the jerseys the Wolves unveiled on Tuesday morning and will wear on Friday night against the visiting Saginaw Spirit for a 7:05 start.
They look fantastic, and fans will have the opportunity to buy them in auction for a fantastic cause — the NEO Kids Foundation. NEO Kids raises funds to support the health of children and youth in Northeastern Ontario. Money raised goes toward the purchase of medical equipment, capital investments and programs that advance patient care for children, youth and their families.
In their 50 years, the Wolves organization has done a lot of good in the Nickel City, with the Burgess and Edwards families over their years of ownership and people like Blaine Smith and Curtis Hall finding ways to support countless charities and important causes. The tradition carries on under Dario Zulich’s ownership.
Current Wolves marketing manager Miranda Boivin, who hosted Tuesday’s news conference, had to be overjoyed at the concept of a Shoresy night. The opportunity to make an impact in the community and have an absolute blast doing so would be tough to pass up.
If the jerseys aren’t your thing, maybe a Puppers is? The official beer of both shows will be on sale at the game, with part of the proceeds going to NEO Kids. And there will also be some sticks floating around — which, in Shoresy terms means ice cream drumsticks.
Sticks are unbelievable.
Sudbury actor Max Bouffard, also known as Jean-Jacques Francois Jacques-Jean or JJ Frankie JJ, has a pretty important role in Shoresy and will have a key role on Friday, too, handling a ceremonial puck drop alongside a NEO Kids family.
The timing of this special promotional event for the Wolves 50th anniversary season couldn’t be any better. The Wolves are coming off a 13-2 drubbing of the Niagara IceDogs on Sunday and the Shoresy jerseys will be special for them to wear for a multitude of reasons. The charity component is definitely one, but a number of Wolves staff and players are featured in the show and while you probably don’t have to know a ton about hockey to enjoy Shoresy, it’s pretty safe to say that elite, teenage hockey players will love it as much as anyone. They Wolves should be both confident from their lopsided win on Sunday and pumped to wear these one-time, beauty jerseys.
We know NEO Kids will be the big winner on Friday night, and with the Wolves jumping out of a 13-goal performance into Sudbury Blueberry Bulldogs jerseys, it’s possible they may realize Shoresy’s dream and never lose again.
Jeff Giffen’s Wolf Tracks column runs weekly during the OHL hockey season.
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