Conversations from the River – Remembering Ken Dryden
By David Dodge, GreenEnergyFutures.ca
I was digging through my archives of thousands of interviews recently, and there it was, a conversation with the late Ken Dryden recorded on a sandbar on the Athabasca River in the wilderness of northern Alberta.
Just over 20 years ago, I had the enormous privilege of joining more than a dozen luminaries on an amazing canoe journey down the Athabasca River from Fort McKay in northern Alberta to Wood Buffalo National Park.
It was all part of a 2003 nationwide event called Boreal Rendezvous, an effort to raise awareness and support the conservation of Canada’s Boreal Forest.
There were ten trips organized on rivers that transect the boreal forest from across Canada. The list of luminaries involved in the trips was astounding, including: Dr. David Suzuki, Dr. David Schindler, Sarah Harmer, Tomson Highway, Jimmy Rankin, John Raulston Saul, Candace Savage, Melody Lepine, Justin Tredeau, Suza Tsetso, Courtney Milne, and Harvey Locke, a former president of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society that helped organize the epic event.
There were about 15 people on our trip that would canoe the mighty Athabasca River.
I was the first executive director of CPAWS Alberta, but I was on this trip as a photographer and producer. There was also a Nature of Things crew on the trip.
My canoe mate was Peter Robinson, a former CEO of Mountain Equipment Co-op who furnished participants of the trip with canoes and branded Boreal Rendezvous rain jackets.
On the Athabasca River from Fort McKay to Wood Buffalo
On our trip, I had the enormous pleasure to spend a week on the river with David Suzuki, the eminent ecologist; the late David Schindler, scientist Suzanne Bayley, writer Tara Cullis, Jill Sturdy of CPAWS at the time; Melody Lepine of the Mikisew Cree; Cathy Wilkinson of the Boreal Initiative at the time; Vince Peden, our guide; Rick Schneider, a biologist; Len Gilday of the Nature of Things; Helene Walsh of CPAWS; Jacqueline Hutchinson, a guide; Rick Schneider, a biologist; a few others; and Ken Dryden, statesman, hockey legend, and author.
Athabasca River Expedition Photo Gallery
Despite all the luminaries, it was one of the most laid-back trips you could imagine.
We set in the river at Fort McKay, home of the Fort McKay First Nation, about 54 km north of Fort McMurray, Alberta.
I will always remember a picture of Ken Dryden sitting in a beached canoe reading a book as he easily settled into the rhythms of canoeing and camping in the boreal wilderness.
While on the journey, Archie Waquan, the former Chief of the Mikisew Cree from Fort Chipewyan, landed on the Athabasca River in a float plane with a group of elders to greet us. They brought ice and cold pop, a welcome gift on the +30 C days on the river.
It was hard to decide who they were more excited to meet: David Suzuki or Ken Dryden.
According to Wikipedia, “Ken Dryden played for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1971 to 1979, winning the Stanley Cup six times, the Vezina Trophy as the goaltender on the team allowing the fewest goals five times, and the Conn Smythe Trophy along with the Calder Memorial Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs and rookie of the year respectively over the course of his rookie campaign.”
He served as a member of parliament from 2004 to 2011, is an Officer of the Order of Canada, an author and at the time of this interview, he was the President of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
I ran across other unpublished interviews in my archives as well. In the future, we will present some of these interviews in an occasional series, we’re calling “Conversations from the River.”
One such interview was with the late Dr. David Schindler, a famous scientist who helped us understand and ultimately fight off acid rain with his landmark whole-lake experiments in Ontario.
To appreciate this other side of Ken Dryden, the best way is to listen to the full interview in video or audio format at the top of this post.
It was hard to find details of the Boreal Rendezvous online, but I was lucky enough to find a copy of James Raffan’s book “Rendezvous with the Wild: The Boreal Forest,” a series of essays from celebrities and conservationists alike from the Boreal Rendezvous.
I hope you enjoy the interview and this other side of the late, great Ken Dryden.
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We produced two short features for CKUA Radio, part of an occasional series we’re calling “Conversations from the River.” You can listen to the entire interview in our video podcast at the top of this blog. (part 2 of the short feature will be released next week on CKUA Radio and presented here as well)
