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It was dubbed Hockey Night in Brampton as current and former NHLers hit the ice to help raise money for the William Osler Health System.
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The biggest assist of the evening came from the Carangel Corporation, part of the Greenpark Group, with a cheque worth $12 million to help build a second hospital in Brampton.
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, decked out in blue and white and playing for Team Marner (captained by Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner), came to centre ice as he posed for the cheque along with captain Max Domi of Team Domi before the celebrity game stacked with NHL regulars got underway.
“This amount will shock you,“ said Brown.
With that, the cheque was flipped over, unveiling a dollar amount similar to a top NHL player’s salary. A chorus of cheers and stick taps quickly followed.
Before the charity game, Brown was excited to be asked what team he was skating on — Team Marner or Team Domi — but equally pumped about the bigger picture.
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“I believe we are going to set a Canadian record,” said Brown. “I think we are going to set a Canadian record with the most (money) raised.”
“And we’ve got some heavy lifting to do and this is not cheap to do,” said Brown.
Before knowing about the whopping donation amount, Ken Mayhew, president and CEO of the William Osler Health System Foundation, spoke with Marner and Domi at his sides, saying “people came to see their (hockey) heroes tonight.”
“I have heartfelt thanks for mayor Brown and the captains in coming out,” Mayhew added.
Marner had a few words, saying “being born and bred in Ontario,” the charity game is a “way of helping out and giving back.”
Other players in attendance hitting the ice a month before most pre-season NHL camps open were Shayne Corson, Kris Versteeg, Ryan Getzlaf, Liam Foudy and players-turned media analysts and commentators Anthony Stewart and Nick Kypreos.
In the past two years, the event has raised more than $1.4 million for the William Osler Health System Foundation, with $1 million going towards the new Peel memorial hospital and $400,00 towards its cardiac ward.
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