WHALERS COMING HOME 

Whalers Sports is excited to announce the following list of 23 alumni who have confirmed their involvement in the Whalers Reunion & Fan Fest. These 23 men are a large part of the Whalers legacy and will continue to make Whalers history by participating in the weekend-long Fan Fest.

All of the former players are donating their time for the Whalers Reunion and Fan Fest events to assist the Arthritis Foundation and the Whalers Wives Foundation.

Dave Babych, Wayne Babych, Norm Barnes, Don Blackburn, Jeff Brubaker, Bob Crawford, Kevin Dineen, *Ron Francis, ****Stewart Gavin, Alan Hangsleben, ***Gordie Howe, Grant Jennings, Chuck Kaiton, Chris Kotsopoulos, Andre Lacroix,

Paul Lawless, ****Mike Liut, Dana Murzyn, **Larry Pleau, Joel Quenneville, Mike Rogers, Brit Selby, Brad Shaw, Garry Swain

*Ron Francis will appear at the Arthritis Foundation Dinner and have a limited appearance schedule at the Whalers Reunion & Fan Fest

**Larry Pleau will only be able to attend the Arthritis Foundation Dinner

***Gordie Howe will only be signing his book, “Nine: A Salute to Mr. Hockey Gordie Howe,” which will be available for purchase the day of the Fan Fest. No other items will be available for Mr. Howe to sign. There will also be an additional signing fee, which will include a personalized autograph and picture with Mr. Howe. There will be a table and chairs in a roped off area to be used for the display, sale and signing of the #9 books written by Gordie Howe. At least one member of the Whalers Sports and Entertainment staff will remain at the front of the line to accept orders and pass out purchased books. Once you have purchased the book you can present it to Gordie Howe to be personalized. Along with the purchase of the book you will be given the opportunity to pose with Gordie for a photo with the book. Fee to be posted later this week.

****Still awaiting official confirmation

More player announcements and a full schedule of details to come at a later date

All players are subject to change. For future information regarding all things Fan Fest go to www.whalerssports.com

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In other news surrounding your Hartford hockey club…

Also, as many have read in local newspapers, or here on Howlings, the last hurdle has been cleared for Howard Baldwin and his Whalers Sports & Entertainment to take over operation of the Hartford Wolf Pack. Larry Gottesdiener and his Northland Investment Corporation’s essentially removed itself from the equation in the operation of the XL Center. They turned over their interests to AEG. Well, it is only a matter of time now, as early as next week, that it should become official. When that happens, the Hartford Wolf Pack will be no more and the new team will be the Connecticut Whalers. The relationship with the Rangers will remain in place. This will be a huge moment for the city of Hartford and for the players as well. With Baldwin running things there should be a renewed interest in the team and making it an event once again. Expect the team to once again start drawing big crowds and become the place to be. Howlings will stay on top of this story.