Stanley Cup hero Toews had a lake named after him in his home province of Manitoba. Neat, right? Well, it's an honor usually reserved for casualties of war, and families still waiting for their honor are none too pleased.
Manitoba has like a billion lakes, must of them unnamed, so it's not out-of-the-ordinary to name it after a person. A living person, though? That's a different matter. "Virtually all" of their lakes are named for KIA military members, the exceptions apparently being six for the Queen of England's grandchildren.
And Jonathan Toews. Yes, he's a big star, and yes, he's done Manitoba proud. But taking just a few weeks to push a name change through has rubbed the mother of one casualty the wrong way:
Our son Cpl. Michael James Alexander Seggie was killed in action in 2008 . . . thus far there has been no lake named after him despite a program that is in place to name lakes after military personnel killed in action."
Seggie will receive his geographic honor in November, despite a mandatory three-year waiting period for these kinds of things. But the official in charge of everything says Toews Lake isn't subject to the same rules, and is done through a separate process.
If only Manitoba ran its hockey franchises as efficiently as they do their player tributes, then maybe the Coyotes wouldn't exist.
Mom of dead soldier upset with honour bestowed on hockey hero [Vancouver Sun]
Controversy over Blackhawks' Jonathan Toews getting his own lake [Puck Daddy]