TORONTO – Tomas Kaberle couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see former Toronto Maple Leafs teammate Tie Domi put on figure skates.
That’s why he jumped at the chance to attend Sunday’s taping of the first episode of “Battle of the Blades,” accompanied by the Leafs’ new tough guy, Colton Orr.
Kaberle came away impressed after watching eight former NHL players perform figure skating routines with experienced female partners. His expectations of hockey players were not very high.
“I was surprised the guys did so well on the ice,” Kaberle said Monday. “It’s not easy, I wouldn’t do that. They were lively and the public loved it.”
About 3,000 fans attended the taping at Maple Leaf Gardens, the building where Kaberle began his NHL career.
Even though the arena has been mothballed for several years, the Leafs defenseman didn’t think the place was much different than what he remembered from his rookie season.
“It’s nice to see them doing this there to remind (people) that Maple Leaf Gardens is still here,” Kaberle said.
Sunday’s show attracted 1.95 million viewers on CBC, including several current NHL players.
In fact, the “Battle of the Blades” was a popular topic of conversation in locker rooms across the country on Monday. Calgary Flames tough guy Brandon Prust was one of the guys who approved of the program.
“I think it’s a good thing, especially in Canada,” he said.
Prust could be a good fit for a future season of the series after a figure skating routine he performed last year while with AHL Quad City (there’s a clip on YouTube called “Brandon Prust Skates artistic like a little girl).
Others who have indicated they might also be interested in participating include Montreal Canadiens winger Mike Cammalleri and Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson, who thinks his wife Bibi might force him to.
“She loves these shows,” Alfredsson said.
His Senators teammate, Mike Fisher, was very impressed by the performance of Ron Duguay, 52, twenty years since his last NHL game. The other seven guys have also earned his respect.
“They’re brave,” Fisher said. “Some of them are pretty good, but obviously some of them haven’t had a blade for a while and it shows. But Duguay still has it – how old is he?”
According to Kaberle, the best performances came from Duguay, Claude Lemieux, Craig Simpson and Glenn Anderson.
“They were awesome,” Kaberle said. “They looked like they’d been doing it for a while. Obviously they’d been training for about a month, but it looked like they’d been doing it for a few years.”
One player who didn’t attend the initial taping was Leafs defenseman Mike Komisarek, who had to decline Kaberle’s invitation due to an already-scheduled commitment.
He can’t wait to get out and support former NHL players.
“I want to go next Sunday, for sure,” Komisarek said. “I can not wait.”
Although many NHL players were curious to watch the spectacle, a few had absolutely no interest.
“I refuse to watch that,” Leafs defenseman Ian White said.
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With files from Chris Yzerman in Ottawa and Laurence Heinen in Calgary.
