Eric Brewer can bury a slapshot past an NHL goalie from 40 feet away but can he drive a golf ball 300 yards?
Dan Hamhuis is a master of the hip check and can launch big league behemoths right into the first row of seats but how good is he at executing sand trap escapes for a buried ball?
Does a missed putt ever bring out the savage Happy Gilmore temper in Prince George Cougars trainer Ramandeep (Chico) Singh Dhanjal and will he take out his aggressions on a defenceless golf green?
Those questions could be answered on Saturday at the Prince George Cougars Alumni charity golf tournament at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club.
Cougar players past and present will converge at the PGGCC for two days of activities today and Saturday to help raise money for the Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation and its purchase of a SPECT CT scanner for patients at UHNBC.
It all begins today at 4 p.m. with a one-hour meet-and-greet autograph session open to the public at the golf course clubhouse. Alumni players will then be auctioned off to complete foursomes in Saturday's tournament.
In addition to Brewer and Hamhuis, who in April became part owners of the Cougars franchise, the list of Cougars alumni players involved in the tournament includes Blair Betts (who played for the team from 1996-2000), Brett Connolly (2008-2011), Dana Tyrell (2004-2008), Chris Mason (1994-1997), Ronald Petrovicky (1994-1997), Nick Drazenovic (2002-2007), Quinn Hancock (1995-1998) and Eric Hunter (2002-2007).
The third annual event has attracted 70 local sponsors. Last year's tournament raised $43,130 toward purchase of a $1.4 million diagnostic SPECT CT camera, which will be used at University Hospital of Northern B.C. to detect cancer, vascular diseases, orthopedic injuries and dementia. In two years, the event has raised $68,286 for Spirit of the North.
