Calgary family reflects on devastating flood and their unique experience with Sidney Crosby

Kellie Greiner describes it as an escape, even if it was only for a few days.

In early July, less than two weeks after their house in Calgary was ravaged by floods, the Greiner’s – Kellie, her husband Todd and their three sons Cayd, 16, Ty, 14 and Dayne, 10 – were given a unique opportunity by Dean McIntosh, Dayne’s former hockey coach who works as the director of marketing services for Hockey Canada.

The family was on the way up to their newly-bought cabin in Saskatchewan when McIntosh called Kellie and told her that a hockey player between the ages of 10 and 12 who was affected by the floods was going to have a chance to film a commercial for Sport Check.

He wondered if Dayne would be interested.

“I said ‘Oh he would be thrilled.’ Then he said that [the commercial] would be filmed in Halifax and our whole family could go,” Kellie Greiner said in a telephone interview.

Finally, McIntosh gave Kellie the piece of news that would likely excite her son more so than a four-day trip to Halifax.

Sidney Crosby was going to be in the commercial, which is now being aired nationwide.

“It was just the most surreal conversation I was having while we were on our way to the cabin, still covered in dirt and [all the sudden] we were off to Halifax,” Greiner said.

“It was really a bright spot, just an escape from the reality of what was going on for us, and our whole family got to go together. So many times we were looking at each other on the plane, at the airport, thinking this is just unbelievable. And it gave the boys a focus other than cleaning out things they had lost and dealing with where we’re going to go from here. It was an amazing bright spot.”

Dayne recalled what it was like to meet the NHL superstar who happens to be his favourite player.

“Well when we first walked into the dressing room I actually couldn’t see him,” Dayne Greiner said. He was over in a corner and his agent or manager was the first one to say ‘Oh hi guys,’ and then Sidney Crosby stood up and came over. I was just like ahhhh! I felt really star struck.”

He got his picture taken with his hockey idol, Crosby wish him well and offered him a valuable piece of advice: “He told me to stay dry.”

Though the entire experience is likely something the Greiner’s, especially Dayne, will always remember, when they returned home to Calgary reality set in again. Because the family’s entire basement, where Cayd and Ty’s bedrooms are, was lost in flood, staying together under the same roof has been rather tricky.

And aside from the first week after the flood when the entire family stayed with relatives, and when they’ve been at their cabin in Saskatchewan, they haven’t been able to live together. They’re also still trying to work out how they’re going to deal with the estimated $400,000 in losses. The family’s basement and garage were essentially washed away and two of their cars were totaled. The boys also lost personal belongings, everything from musical instruments to sporting equipment including the hundreds of dollars in hockey equipment that Dayne was growing into.

Prior to their trip to Halifax Kellie recalls returning home to her neighbourhood for the first time after the floods hit and breaking down in tears.

“Our families, our neighbours, it was really just total breakdown,” she said. “I think the first few minutes it’s shock, there’s really not much you can say but as you look around and you see the devastation not only to your own home, but to your friends just within a close proximity it was really just devastating.

But she’s done her best to pull positives from the entire situation.

“We are trying really hard to make this as light of a situation as we can,” she said. “We have some heavy days, especially two nights ago we actually moved from the house. That was really the last night we spent there as a family. We’ve had some moments where we’re dealing with it fine and we’ve had other moments when the reality of the situation is overwhelming.

"There’s no way Todd and I thought that we were going to lose our home."