Mike Barnett remembers well an earlier visit to Blanshard Street. It was during the media feeding frenzy at the old Memorial Arena during Wayne Gretzky’s first training camp as a member of the Los Angeles Kings in 1988 after The Trade.
“I came four days in and asked Wayne if he had any sleep yet, and he said: ‘No,’ ” chuckled Barnett, who was Gretzky’s agent.
The Kings trained in Victoria for 16 years, generally to little notice. But everything changed with the arrival of Gretzky.
Barnett is now senior adviser to the president (Tad Smith) and GM (Glen Sather) of the New York Rangers and returns to Blanshard today as the featured speaker for the annual Victoria Royals awards banquet at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. The connection is Royals GM Cam Hope, who came to Victoria three years ago after being assistant GM of the Rangers.
Barnett is not surprised to see Hope enjoying success in Victoria, including being named WHL executive of the year in 2013-14.
“[Hope] spent about a decade in close proximity to Glen [Sather],” said Barnett, who was GM of the Phoenix Coyotes from 2001 to 2007.
“It’s a combination of Cam’s hockey expertise and common sense — he listens more than he speaks, and lets people do their jobs. Hiring Dave Lowry as [Royals] head coach was an astute move.”
As for his message today to the junior players on the Royals, Barnett said he will stress: “Relish every practice, shift, game and don’t get outworked. Believe in yourself and your teammates.”
Barnett can relate to what they are going through. His son, 22-year-old J.T. Barnett, is a WHL grad currently playing pro in the ECHL for Stockton.
Public tickets for the Royals awards banquet today are available through the team’s usual outlets.
