CHARLOTTETOWN – Dion Phaneuf and Elisha Cuthbert will be supporting P.E.I.’s Special Olympics athletes again this year.
The two longtime supporters, along with three other hockey pros, were recently announced as participants in the Special Olympics Festival on Tuesday, June 26.
The festival, a two-part event that includes the Summerside Luncheon and the Enriching Lives Gala Dinner and Auction at the Delta Prince Edward in Charlottetown, is Special Olympics P.E.I.’s largest annual fundraiser. Money raised helps offer more than 89 annual programs year-round to more than 400 Special Olympics athletes on P.E.I.
Tickets for the luncheon are $40 each, or $300 for a corporate table of eight. More information can be found at Specialolympics.ca/pei.
Phaneuf, drafted ninth overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, currently plays for the Los Angeles Kings, and has previously played with the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames.
A three-time NHL all-star, Phaneuf has also found success internationally, winning silver and gold at the 2004 and 2005 world junior hockey championships, respectively, as well as gold at the 2007 world championship.
Cuthbert, a longtime supporter of the Enriching Lives Gala, is the recipient of several awards, including a Gemini, four Teen Choice Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Her credits include The Girl Next Door, Old School, Love Actually and Good: Last of the Enforcers. She has also appeared on “24” and “The Ranch.”
Also attending
Other celebrity appearances include Summerside’s John Chabot and Darryl Boyce, as well as Chris Wideman.
Chabot was a 1980 Montreal Canadiens’ draft pick at 40th overall. He played in 508 NHL games with the Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings.
He has also coached in the QMJHL and in the NHL as assistant coach with the New York Islanders.
Boyce has most recently played with EG Duesseldorf and ERC Ingolstadt in Germany. He has also played with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets, as well as with the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Toronto Marlies.
Wideman, originally from St. Louis, Miss., was drafted 100th overall in 2009 by the Ottawa Senators.
While playing with Ottawa’s top affiliate in 2014, Wideman tallied 61 points – the most by a defenceman – for the Binghamton Senators, and was named to the Eastern Conference team for the AHL All-Star game. He also won the Eddie Shore Trophy for top defenceman.
Wideman made his NHL debut on Oct. 17, 2015, in a game against the Nashville Predators.
