MY FAVOURITE FLAME - LANNY MCDONALD

Who's your favourite Flame?
That may be an absolute no-brainer for many people.
For others, it could be like asking which of your children you love more. How do you pick just one?
Perhaps it was a player from your childhood that helped you fall in love with the game and the team? Maybe someone you met over the years that had a lasting impact on you? Possibly the one you thought had the biggest impact on the franchise? Or perhaps, the player you most enjoyed watching on the ice?
Either way, it's deeply personal.
Today, golfer and long-drive champion Lisa 'Longball' Vlooswyk talks about her Favourite Flame, a player she idolized growing up, and now appreciates even more for the person he is.
Share your favourite players on Twitter using the hashtag #FavouritefFlame and tell us your story.

I was over the moon to be asked to write about my favorite Calgary Flames player as I am a born-and-raised Calgarian and a voracious Flames fan. It was tough to pick just one, as we have so manyincredible alumni and current players that I respect and admire, but if it must be one … it must be No. 9, Lanny McDonald!
I went to my first Flames game in Grade 2 and watched Lanny play. It was against the Chicago Blackhawks and it ended in a 2-2 tie. I still remember it. My dad bought me a Flames t-shirt that I was so proud to wear to school the next day - and every day after that!
When I was in Grade 6 in 1986, the Flames made it to the Stanley Cup final. My birthday is May 21, which was on a Wednesday that year. Wanting to have my party on the weekend, it ended up on Saturday, May 24, which was Game 6 of the Cup final against the Montreal Canadians. Instead of a birthday cake my mom bought 'Lanny Burgers.' They were ice-cream cookies with huge red frosting moustaches on each one. Sadly, we did not win the series, but I did not lose hope.
In 1989, my Flames made it back to the Stanley Cup final. I was glued to every game and was watching with bated breath as the Flames took on the Canadians on May 25 to potentially win the series. McDonald scored the go-ahead goal in Game 6 and the Flames won their first Stanley Cup. I will never forget Lanny skating around the ice with the Cup held high above his head. I was not 18 yet but several of my friends drove. We hopped in the car immediately and drove down to the then downtown hot spot of Electric Avenue. Horns were honking, people cheering - it was sheer joy!

I then had an opportunity to attend my first Stanley Cup parade. There may not have been as many people there as last year's Toronto Raptors parade, but it had every bit as much heart. I went down with friends to follow the parade route and celebrate at Olympic Plaza. That is as close as I had ever been to Lanny. I remember watching him and being in awe of his accomplishments.
It was after this moment that I saw the true role model and inspiration that McDonald is. I started volunteering for Special Olympics, and I was part of the Canadian Winter National Special Olympic Games held in Calgary when I was in university. Who did I see at almost every venue cheering even louder than parents and friends? None other than Lanny McDonald. Lanny was always there with the athletes. He was high-fiving them and hugging them. This was the first time I met Lanny. I had no words … and for anyone who knows me, that's saying something. Lanny was so gracious and kind. He looks you in the eyes and shakes your hand and makes you feel like you are the only person in the room. That is a gift. That was HIS gift!
Lanny started volunteering with Special Olympics Canada in its first year of inception, back in 1969. He and former NHL star Darryl Sittler were volunteer coaches at its first-ever National Games at Maple Leaf Gardens that year. Lanny continues to passionately support the Special Olympics more than 50 years later. I just attended the most recent Special Olympics Calgary Breakfast with Champions event with Lanny last month. He was honoured for his service at the event. He signed every autograph and took every photo that any athlete wanted. I watched him make every single person feel like a true champion and like they were the most important person in the room. The athletes were just beaming.
Lanny continues to give back to his community in countless ways. He shared with me he was helping coach his grandson's minor hockey team, continuing to spread the joy and love of the sport of hockey to our youth. He can be found down at the Saddledome taking pictures with fans. That is where my son Luke first met Lanny. Being an avid hockey player and fan, Luke's eyes were as wide as saucers when he met Lanny. Lanny signed his hat, his jersey and made him feel like an old friend. My son talks about it to this day, and we were only one in a line up of hundreds of fans. He made everyone feel like that.

He also donates his time to the Flames Alumni Charity Golf Tournaments. These are fun days, but they are long days. They typically start with being at the course at 7 a.m. It is often a five-and-a- half-hour round where every fan there wants to meet the man and the moustache himself. He stops for every person and gives his time.
I recall a recent tournament where we had just finished the round. Lanny was signing autographs and we were leaving the clubhouse together to head down to the Saddledome for the dinner and auctions. It would easily be a 13-hour day. As we were exiting the building there was a little boy sitting by himself on a bench. We were in mid conversation and Lanny said to me, "Excuse me for a moment." He went over to the boy, said hello, and asked him how his day was. The little boy started grinning ear to ear. You knew it was a moment that he would never forget: the moment he met Lanny.

I realized right then that McDonald - who has played more than 1,100 NHL games, in which he scored 500 goals and more than 1,000 points during the span of a 16-year career, is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, and the Chairperson of the Hockey Hall of Fame - is not only a sport celebrity and outstanding athlete, he is a man that inspires those around him. A man that people look up to. A man that makes dreams come true. A man, that no matter how long his day is, or how tired he may be, he will always take the time to make a person's day and to inspire the next generation - even when he is not asked to do so.
Lanny McDonald is simply a gift!