Marco Richard's tribute to his famous great-grandfather Maurice likely would inspire a finger-waving lecture.
"I told him about five years before he passed away," said the 37-year-old. "I told him that I wanted to have a tattoo of his face on my shoulder. He was not very happy about that."
After the former Montreal Canadiens' player know as 'The Rocket' died in 2000, Marco convinced an artistic friend to help him honour his grandfather.
"He took seven years before he did it to me," said Marco about the tattoo of his great-grandfather's face that covers his right arm from shoulder to wrist . "He needed to practise a little before."
The tattoo attracts interest everywhere Marco goes from people of all ages, especially when he travels across the country as part of his job as coach for the Turcotte Stick-handling Hockey School, which wraps up three weeks of sessions in the city next week at the Elksentre.
"They ask me about my tattoo," said Marco. "Some of the kids are impressed by that; some, they don't believe me."
Kids and parents from the Prince George area have the opportunity to view Marco's tattoo from until next Friday as he helps coach at the Turcotte school.
"I was raised on hockey," said Marco about coaching. "My family's about hockey and since I'm 20 I've been coaching a hockey team.
"Just being with the kids and showing them what to do, dribbling the puck, and just seeing them improve on the skills we're showing them -- it's very fun."
It's the fifth year the Turcotte hockey school, which was started by Real Turcotte in 1971, has included Prince George on its North American radar. After four years of having two week-long sessions, the school expanded to three weeks this summer, but all 180 slots filled quickly.
"The numbers on the waiting list this year shows that we can, and probably will, move to a fourth week next year," said Turcotte head coach Bobby Didonanto.
What makes the Turcotte school standout from the numerous other summer hockey programs is its focus on stick-handling for novice, atom, peewee and bantam players.
"It's the one skill that will take a player to the next level and surpass other guys who are great skaters," said Didonanto. "If they're not great stick-handlers they're not going to have the same ability as another player might have."
Next week, the Elk Centre will host the elite peewee, bantam and midget players from the area in a three-hour session from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Many of Turcotte's coaches, including Didonanto, are former students of the school, as are many past and present National Hockey League players like Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis and Vancouver's Ryan Kesler and Mason Raymond.
Keith Redden, 13, signed up to improve his stick-handling skills during the first week because of the improvement in his game after he went through the program two years earlier.
"I improved a lot," said the single-A bantam Quesnel Thunder player. "My dad was really impressed, so I decided to go again."
Didonanto and Marco Richard arrived in Prince George after instructing students in Edmonton and Calgary. The school began in Florida 40 years ago and has expanded across North America, to include schools in most Canadian provinces and many U.S. states.
Six weeks after meeting Marco Richard, Didonanto learned it's easy to coach with the man with the famous great-grandfather.
"He's a very humble guy," said Didonanto. "He doesn't talk too, too much about his family.
"As we move through the week, it does float around -- most of the time it's me talking to parents about it."
Marco may not broadcast his family connections, but his eyes sparkle with pride when he talks about the man many Canadians admire -- his great-grandfather.
"I'm proud of my grandfather; he's my idol and I'm going to have more tattoos of him in the future," said Marco.
