NHL Hall of Famer Ray Bourque to play in Long Pond Heritage Classic

It only makes sense that an event celebrating the origins of hockey would attract one of the game's all-time greats.

The big welcome sign at the edge of Long Pond in Windsor, N.S., lets visitors know they are at the cradle of hockey.

While there is always a debate among Kingston, Ont., Montreal and Windsor as to where hockey was first played, the Nova Scotia town has always said the birthplace was Long Pond back in the early 1800s.

'It's the history of this event'

For the sixth year in a row, this is the weekend the community celebrates its hockey history with the Long Pond Heritage Classic, and helping them do it is NHL Hall of Famer Ray Bourque.

Big crowds are expected for the games beginning at 8:30 a.m. and admission is free. Bourque said it's the mystique of the event that attracted him to Windsor. Other guest ex-NHLers for the event include Joe DiPenta and Stephane Richer.

"For me it's the history of this event, and the history of hockey on that pond is a long one," said Bourque.

"It'll be nice to experience what many others have experienced over the years."

He's clearly still a fan favourite, and everywhere he went in Windsor on Friday, fans wearing Boston Bruins logos followed.

'It was such a relief'

Bourque spent 22 years in the NHL, 20 with the Bruins. It looked like he would be one of the greatest players to never win a Stanley Cup until he was traded to Colorado. He won his first and only Cup in his 22nd season and hockey fans rejoiced.

The moment Colorado Avalanche captain Joe Sakic handed Bourque Lord Stanley's Cup, making him the first player on the team to skate with the iconic trophy, is considered a classic hockey moment.

"It was such a relief and such a joy and just talking about it brings back a lot of emotion," said Bourque of the honour usually reserved for a team's captain.

"I mean Joe had an incredible year that year, but I still think that was his best assist — when he handed me the Cup. He wanted me to lift the Cup up first. He was a classy guy and for me it was finally a dream come true that took 22 years."

Fans who lined up at a hardware store just outside Windsor came with old hockey cards, sticks and their Bruins jerseys with Bourque's No. 77 on the back.

'He's a classy player'

When Dave Elliot called his son, Brian, in Vancouver to tell him Bourque was coming for the hockey classic, Brian booked his ticket back for the weekend.

"This is very exciting," said Brian Elliot. "He's a classy player on the ice and clearly a classy guy off the ice."

Now people will get another chance to see Bourque's class on the ice — this time on the pond where hockey might just have been played for the very first time.