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Avalanche Players Receive Rings from IIHF Worlds

By Nadia Archuleta

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Three of the four Colorado Avalanche players who represented Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship in the Czech Republic received gold championship rings. Centers Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon along with defenseman Tyson Barrie attended the ceremony. Center Ryan O’Reilly was not in attendance. The ceremony took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Director of Hockey Canada, Barry Reynard, was on hand to help hand out the gold rings to the players.

The rings are spectacular looking. I don’t have specifications for cost or diamond carets, but both are bound to be high considering how they look:

The sides of the rings feature rubies and the gold-stamped slogan, “Meet at Center Ice.”

The Canadians dominated at IIHF Worlds, winning all seven of their preliminary round games before marching to gold medal victory. The Canadians trounced Russia 6-1 in the gold medal game.

Hockey Canada also put on other events while all the big stars happened to be around anyway. These included the Hockey Canada Foundation Celebrity Classic Gala and Golf Event. This event is Hockey Canada’s largest annual fundraiser. All proceeds are directed to Hockey Canada Foundation initiatives that support minor hockey programs and accessibility to the game, as well as legacy programming in the host city.

Several keepsakes from IIHF Worlds were up for auction, with proceeds going back into Canadian hockey. One of the most popular pictures from the event occurred with Hockey Canada’s “past, present and future” excellence being represented by Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid respectively:

Of course, for Colorado Avalanche fans, the best picture is this one:

As some Twitter-folk observed, Nathan MacKinnon appears to have his ring on upside down. However, if you think about it, the ring is perfectly placed for him to admire it.

The golf portion of the celebrity classic takes place June 11, 2015, at The Country Club. Distinguished honorees of the gala are Jim Gregory, Pat Quinn and Serge Savard.

Next: Duchene Disappointed by Team Russia

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