The Vancouver Sun
January 4, 2003

Interview with Bryan Allen.

Q.You grew up just outside Kingston in a place called Glenburnie. Is it famous for anything?

A. I don't know if it's famous for anything but Wayne Cashman is from there. So I guess he is kind of the famous landmark of Glenburnie. Other than that, it's a small town. One traffic light. One corner store. It was a 20-minute drive to Kingston so you pretty much said you were from Kingston.

Q.Don Cherry is from Kingston and he's pretty famous. Does Kingston have some kind of monument for Grapes?

A. Not really. He's not the only one who is from Kingston. There are other pretty famous hockey players from the city, Doug Gilmour and Kirk Muller just to name a few. There are a lot of NHL players who reside in and around Kingston in the summertime.

Q. Did your dad build you a backyard rink? Or did one of your friends have a rink where you spent a lot of your time?

A. We actually had a pond near our house. It was about a 20-25 minute walk. The pond was kind of embedded in a hole so all the snow used to drift in there. I don't know if I spent more time shovelling snow or playing hockey on it. We had snowbanks for boards and we usually used shoes for nets, although sometimes we'd carry a net down with us. I guess I can say I played real pond hockey.

Q. You are a pretty tall guy at 6'4". When you were in school, did the teachers try to coax you into joining teams that required size?

A. I actually played volleyball in high school but not basketball. I don't think I was coordinated enough. They also wanted me to play football but I didn't have the time. In football, you had to practise every day after school and hockey was my priority back then.

Q.Later on, you became a member of the major junior Oshawa Generals, the team where Bobby Orr got his start. Are there many reminders around the rink that Bobby once played there?

A. Well, everybody knows Oshawa was Bobby Orr's junior team and that's the way it always will be. It was pretty neat when he would come around and he'd say: "This is the stall I used to have." It kind of put things in perspective, that you shared something with Bobby Orr.

Q. Is there some sort of shrine in the rink or dressing room to remind people of Bobby's legacy?

A. There isn't really a shrine but they have a few pictures and plaques of him, things like that. He's definitely not been unrecognized.

Q.We're four days into the New Year. Have you made any New Year's resolutions?

A. I want to learn how to play the guitar. I have an acoustic guitar but I'm not very diligent about playing it. The Tragically Hip are from Kingston so they are my inspiration.

Q. You are a movie buff and have seen both Slapshot and Slapshot 2. Is the colourful language in the movies anything like real life?

A. Oh, no. You rarely hear those kind of words in this dressing room. We're very civilized. Hardy a bad word is said, just maybe the odd time out of frustration.



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