In February 2023, Craigmyle native and beloved Calgary Flames icon, Lanny McDonald, celebrated his 70th birthday with a unique gift. Lanny, known for his charismatic personality and iconic bushy red mustache, has had an illustrious career in hockey, including leading the Flames to their only Stanley Cup Championship in 1989. His jersey hangs in the Hanna Arena.
To honor Lanny’s milestone, the Town of Hanna donated one of its surplus entrance signs to the Calgary Flames Alumni. This gesture, initiated by Al Coates, former General Manager of the Calgary Flames and the Calgary Flames Alumni, culminated in a celebratory presentation in February 2023. The event was a heartwarming acknowledgment of Lanny’s contributions both on and off the ice.
Shortly after, Town staff received the following correspondence from Al Coates.
” Here is a picture of Lanny and his wife Ardell with the sign. Thank you, Laurie and Kim for helping with this. As you can see, he was thrilled. Some of the guys from our ’89 Cup team were present and we had some good fun. Maybe the most fun was seeing him speechless, it doesn’t happen very often. He walked around posing for pictures with that sign for an hour.
We will stay in touch but in the meantime thank you both, Town Council, and Hanna residents ever so much!”
A New Chapter for the Hanna Sign
Recently, Al Coates provided an exciting update on the sign’s journey. Perry Berezan’s son, Jack, transformed the sign into a bench. The bench now proudly resides outside Lanny’s family brew house in Kalispell, Montana.
This creative transformation ensures that a piece of Hanna continues to be a part of Lanny’s life, symbolizing his connection to the community that helped shape him.
The Town of Hanna was pleased to work with the Flames Alumni, specifically Mr. Al Coates and Mr. Colin Patterson and are honoured that this piece of history went to such a great ambassador. Congratulations on this wonderful new addition to your brew house!
