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PHOTO (RIGHT) PROVIDED BY SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
I think the real thing that should and has been profiled is the sum of all our work that we do together to help a lot of people in need
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- Travis Hamonic
When the Calgary Flames acquired Travis Hamonic and a future fourth round draft pick from the New York Islanders on June 24 (in a trade that saw the Islanders receive a first round draft pick in 2018, and two second round picks), the Flames knew they were getting an elite defenseman. Hamonic would be joining an experienced Flames blueline that already included Captain Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie and Dougie Hamilton. In an exclusive interview for Hockey Magazine Calgary, Hamonic said he was thrilled to join the Flames organization. “It’s awesome,” he said. “From the day I was traded until now, it’s been really good. My family has been treated great by everybody in the organization. It is a unique thing to be playing on a team like this. It means a lot.” Hamonic has been able to fit in with the Flames and not just on the ice. Only in his first season with the Flames, he is already making an impact in the community, following in the Flames strong tradition of making a difference with programs that are supported by the Flames Foundation. Hamonic and his wife Stephanie have brought the ‘D-Partner’ program from Travis’s time with the New York Islanders to Calgary. The program is for children who have lost a parent. The child is given four tickets to a Flames game in the lower bowl, a D-Partner t-shirt and an opportunity to meet Hamonic after the game. “I have kept in communication with a lot of the families,” said Hamonic. “It is a pretty gratifying thing to see a smile on their faces. I get a lot out of the program as well.” On Oct. 6, the day before the Flames regular season home opener against the Winnipeg Jets, MEG Energy announced it would be a sponsor for the initiative.
“I am super appreciative of their help. To have a company like that take the reins and be a sponsor means a lot. It is a program that is close to my heart and has affected me a lot. It has been good so far,” said Hamonic. The program is personal for Hamonic, a native of St. Malo, Manitoba. When Travis was - 10 years old, his father Gerald died of a heart attack on Sept. 15, 2000. Gerald was only 44 years of age. In Travis’s early years playing minor hockey in Manitoba, Gerald was the president of St. Malo minor hockey at the time of his death. Travis had a special bond with his father because there was a large age gap between him and his three older siblings. In an interview with the New York Post on Oct. 15, 2014, Hamonic told Brett Cyrgalis, “He was my superhero. He was someone who I felt more safe with in this world than anyone could imagine.” In a feature for ESPN, Hamonic said, “When you’re 10 years old, you are still trying to comprehend what is going on, what is not going on, what is real and what is not real. You are in shock.” Hamonic’s mother sold the family farm and the family moved to Winnipeg where his mother became a nurse. Hamonic played minor hockey in Winnipeg before joining the Western Hockey League in 2007, where he played for the Moose Jaw Warriors and Brandon Wheat Kings. He was the Islanders second round draft pick, 58th overall, in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
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