The Puck Whisperer: A Chance To Finish

It was 1999. The city of Detroit, as the Red Wings are in the process of defending their Stanley Cups. But that’s not what this is about. No, this article is about high school hockey in Motown City, and an interview with a player that was involved in one of the most intense rivalries between two schools that you could find.

To set the tone, Trenton High School and Central Catholic High School were playing one of their usual intense battles when a freak accident caused the game to end in a tie. The accident occured while Central Catholic had control of the puck and was moving into the offensive zone. Trenton’s Andy Greene  (New Jersey Devils defenceman) stepped into a Central Catholic player with a crushing hit, causing the Central Catholic player to lose his balance and fall to the ice. As the player fell, his skate blade came up and caught Trenton Shamrock Kurt LaTarte  in the neck, cutting his throat directly across his jugular. As LaTarte was somehow able to make his way to the bench, the players from both teams began to gather at center ice to pray for the injured player, who had passed out on the bench, and was in very fatal condition.

Fortunately because of LaTarte being able to get himself to the bench as quickly as he did, ala Richard Zednik, and the quick resposne by the medical staff, LaTarte would survive and live to not only tell about it, but be able to be involved in the replay of the game between the two schools.

LaTarte himself actually petitioned the idea to Replay and Gatorade, and from that point it was all put together.  The game was televised on Fox Sports a couple weeks ago, and 11 years later it would be completed with Trenton coming out on top, as Matt Lesko, voted the MVP of the game scored twice, including the game winner, and Brad Zancannaro finished the game with four points on two goals and two assists.

I was contacted by Gatorade representative Arielle Williams wondering if I would like the chance to interview Brad about the experience. Absolutely I said.  Here’s the interview.

Me: Brad, how did it feel when you got the call about being able to replay the game?
Brad: At first I got an email from Kurt about it and wasn’t really sure what to think and why we were doing it. As I learned more about the process and the reasons behind it I became more and more excited and eventually it was a no brainer.

Me: Were you prepared for the training and practicing? What was it like for you as well as the others?
Brad: I had been away from the game for a couple years and not really in game shape, but I was only able to participate in the practices for about a week. I was able to do some training on my own and prepare for the game. It was tough, yet I was surprised by how the other’s were still in pretty good shape, but I don’t think that many of them were prepared for the drills and conditioning that they were going to be put through. Alot of guys lost alot of weight, but it was good to see that everyone was taking it seriously.

Me: How did you feel when you had the chance to watch the game afterwards.
Brad: It was pretty special to see and really made me feel a sense of accomplishment. Gatorade did a great job getting us prepared and giving us the tools that we needed to be ready to play. You could see that as you watched it afterwards. It was a really special time that I’ll never forget.

Me: So how did Gatorade make this special for you and everyone else?
Brad: They did a great job. It was probably one of the coolest things that I’ve ever done in my life and it was just unbelieveable the way that they treated us. Like I said, all the tools, resources that they gave us to prepare was great. We also goit to try out the new products which was pretty cool too.They brought the Stanley Cup in one day which was great because alot of the guys had never seen it up close like that before. Also, having Scotty Bowman and Brendon Shanahan there was something else I won’t forget. Shanny worked with us and I was really impressed at how much he cared and wanted us to win so badly. He gave us some great advice and tips, and I think we were really able to transfer that and use it.

Me: Do you keep in touch with the guys?
Brad: Well it was really good to see everyone, you kinda lose touch with some and the one thing about a hockey dressing room is that it’s a pretty tight place. I would say that it has to be different than any other sport. It was really like we never lost touch, and we just picked up where we left off 11 years ago. I know that by sharing this experience, and with all the ways to stay in touch now, I’m pretty sure that we’ll do more of that. Facebook, email, those kind of things will make it easier. This game probably broke the ice for alot of people.

Me: Going back to the game a bit, what went through your mind when you saw that Kurt was injured?
Brad: At first we didn’t know what happened. We saw so much blood we were all just really scared, and no one knew what was next. He was skating in the play one minute and the next he was lying on the bench not moving. Some of us actually thought that he died. It was a really scarry moment.

Me: Now you played with your brother Tony in high school as well as this game. What was it like to share this experience with him?
Brad: The best thing about it was how great it was for us to play together again. We hadn’t played on the same team since high school and that was pretty special. There’s a bond that you have that just never goes away.

Me: Last question. If there’s one thing that you’ll remember, what would it be?
Brad: Well, I have to say, that there isn’t just one thing. I’m going to remember all of it. Second chances don’t come that often in life and it was a great way for people to get back together. When you think about it, we all were part of what was a near death experience of a teammate. Something you never forget, but to get to do this was fantastic. The hockey community can provide a great atmosphere and can teach us alot of things not only about the game,but about life. You can be separated from people for years and then get back together, and after just a few minutes, your all best friends again. It was great!

I’d like to thank Arielle Williams from Gatorade and Brad Zancannaro for taking the time to chat with me.
I hope that you were able to watch the game.

Thanks for reading.

Cheers

Me: