Movember Campaign

Kirk Thompson was a leader off the ice
with the Movember Campaign

November was an interesting month for the Prince George Spruce Kings, especially off the ice where members of the team participated in the Annual Movember campaign for men's health. The month became a learning exercise for these young men in more ways than one as some discovered they could grow a moustache and others realized that they were maybe another year away from sporting a Burt Reynolds or Magnum P.I. look on the ice.

Third year veteran, Kirk Thompson spearheaded the campaign from the dressing room where he enlisted the participation of all players. The campaign was seen as a success for the players who were looking for a team bonding exercise after it exceeded all expectations raising just shy of $2400.

"I couldn't believe it," said Spruce Kings goaltender, Kirk Thompson. "We thought maybe we would see a couple of hundred dollars total. We never thought we would raise almost $2400 and (Liam) McLeod didn't either, that's why he's going bald."

Apparently a few players made friendly wagers about what would be raised and it seems that the younger goaltender's family found out and made sure that certain benchmarks were met. McLeod is now the subject of debate as to whether his head will be shaved.

When asked about some of the funnier moments surrounding the Movember campaign, Thompson recounted a story of another rookie who forgot and shaved off a strip of his moustache before remembering. Missing a good chunk of his mo, Jake LeBrun was let off the hook and allowed to shave off the mustache after coming forward.

"It was funny to be able to bug him about it," said Thompson with a smirk on his own clean shaven face. "There were a few guys we thought had also shaved until we realized that they just couldn't muster up anything."

The whole purpose of the campaign was to raise funds and awareness of men's health issues and Thompson admits there were a few guys that were a little naive to some of the issues. With the new found knowledge around the health issues and the fun that the guys had during the month, Thompson believes that next year will be even better than this year.

"I won't be here to see it next year," stated Thompson. "But knowing the guys on the team, it will carry on."

As for the winner of the 'stach, there is a little controversy in the dressing room after Mark Begert showed up late in the month sporting an envious top hat for his upper lip. Adding to the controversy was the use of products like Just For Men, that is widely known to have increased sales during the month of November.

So unofficially, the holder of the title Mr. Movember is Sean Landrey. The Prince George hockey product entered the month sporting a noticeable tuft and proceeded to groom out a respectable Hulk Hogan - even if it was a little darker than one would expect.