CHARLOTTETOWN – Former National Hockey League goaltender and current television commentator Jamie McLennan will be a key contributor to the 2018 Special Olympics Festival.
Special Olympics P.E.I. has announced that McLennan will be co-hosting this year’s event alongside Special Olympics athlete and longtime Festival co-host Paul Phillips of Summerside.
The Special Olympics Festival, which will take place on Tuesday, June 26, is Special Olympics P.E.I.’s largest annual fundraiser. It is a two-part event that includes the Summerside Luncheon at Credit Union Place, and the Enriching Lives Gala at the Delta Prince Edward by Marriott Hotel in Charlottetown.
Funds raised enrich the lives of Islanders with an intellectual disability through sport. Special Olympics P.E.I. relies on these funds to offer grass-roots programing, quality competitions, trained coaches and much more for athletes of all ages and ability levels.
From two-year-olds to mature adults, over 350 athletes with an intellectual disability are registered in Special Olympics P.E.I.’s year-round programs across the province. Tickets for the Luncheon are $40, or a corporate table of eight can be purchased for $300. Tickets for the Gala are $110 each, or $880 for a corporate table of eight. Tickets are available by contacting Charity Sheehan at (902)-368-8919.
TSN analyst
McLennan is an analyst on The Sports Network (TSN), often seen on the desk with Gino Reda. He also serves a colour commentator for TSN’s broadcasts of Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators’ games.
McLennan spent 11 seasons as a National Hockey League goaltender with the New York Islanders, St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames, where he played with a young defenceman named Dion Phaneuf. McLennan won the NHL’s Bill Masterson Memorial Trophy in the 1997-97 season. The award is presented to a play who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
McLennan joins an impressive list of celebrity guests confirmed for the 2018 Gala, including Phaneuf, who now plays for the Los Angeles Kings; actress and model Elisha Cuthbert; retired NHL player John Chabot; Ottawa Senator Chris Wideman; professional hockey player and Summerside native Darryl Boyce, and professional hockey coach Dave Cameron, who grew up in Kinkora and has a home in Kildare Capes. Cameron was recently named head coach of the Vienna Capitals of the Austrian Hockey League.
Further celebrity announcements are expected in the coming days.