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Upcoming skating party in Maloney's honour will support food bank

Annual skating party will take place Saturday, Dec. 14 at the recently renamed Sadlon Arena in support of the Barrie Food Bank

An annual skating party is lacing up again in support of the Barrie Food Bank and in memory of a famous NHL player who called the area home.

The Christmas Skate for Friends and Families takes place Saturday, Dec. 14 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the recently renamed Sadlon Arena (former Barrie Molson Centre) on Bayview Drive in the city's south end.

The skate will also be in memory of former NHL player and coach Dan Maloney, who died Nov. 20, 2018.

His daughter, Shelley Maloney, told BarrieToday the local food bank was special to her dad and he did what he could to give back to the much-needed local facility.

“Supporting the Barrie Food Bank was important to my dad and he felt having it benefit from his annual skating party was such a great idea,” she said.

Dan Maloney was born and raised in Barrie and was the youngest of nine children. His parents immigrated to Barrie in the 1930s from Ireland. He attended St. Mary’s Elementary School and St. Joseph’s High School.

After playing with the Ontario Hockey Association's London Knights, Maloney embarked on a 12-year NHL career with Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit and Toronto.

The 1981-82 season was his last in the NHL. He finished his playing career with 192 goals, 451 points and 1,489 penalty minutes in 737 regular-season games. He also had four goals and seven assists in 40 playoff games. 

Maloney then turned to coaching, serving as bench boss with the Maple Leafs for the 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons, and then with the Winnipeg Jets in 1986-87, 1987-88 and 1988-89. 

“My dad came back to Barrie after the NHL and was a realtor for 30 years,” said Shelley Maloney. “During that career, he fondly hosted an annual Christmas Skate for family, friends, clients and colleagues. It is a great time and everyone has a lot of fun being together and raising whatever they can for the food bank.”

Dan Maloney was inducted into the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. 

Anyone interested in being part of the skate party should show up to the arena located at 555 Bayview Dr. with a non-perishable food item and their skates.