One-on-one with Crushers' Head Coach Dale Hawerchuk

Born: April 4, 1963 in Toronto Hometown: Hockley Valley, six kilometres northeast of Orangeville. Lives with his wife, Crystal, and three children Eric, 19, Alexis, 16, and Benjamin, 10. Eric is currently on a golf scholarship at Centre Connecticut State, while his daughter also enjoys golf and Benjamin plays AA hockey in Orangeville.

In his spare time: Plays golf and owns a horse farm, where horses are bred and show jumpers are trained. NHL career: 1981 to 1997 NHL clubs: Winnipeg Jets, Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues, Philadelphia Flyers

What do you enjoy about coaching? Coaching is two-fold; there's the teaching side, which deals with practice and game situations and I get a lot of pride when I see kids start to improve and understand what I teach them. I always feel whenever I look at a player I see his strengths and weaknesses and I make sure they perfect their strengths, while I find ways to improve their weaknesses. During a game I try to stay one step ahead of the opposition at all times, as I assemble my lines against theirs and my strong lines against their weaker ones.

Were you nervous playing in the NHL? Never before the last few minutes I went on the ice, which was a "let's get going" type nervous. I was fortunate to have something in me that gives me that drive to compete and compete hard all the time. I was always a good anticipator of the play (thinking one step ahead), and I know what the next guy is thinking so I can intercept a pass or be in the right position. On being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001. I didn't play the game to get into the Hall of Fame. I played the game to compete because I loved the game and that's what makes a player successful. I was fortunate to get inducted. It's a fantastic honour. How do you want to be remembered as a person? I think people know me as a straight shooter with no hidden agenda. I respect being politically correct and I try to treat people the way I want to be treated. I was taught that at a young age and I still live by that, while teaching that philosophy to my kids and my team. You teach the Crushers on the ice. What about off the ice? I've always been an advocate for charity. I have an annual golf tournament - The Dale Hawerchuk Charity Classic at Hockley Valley Resort, which was in June this year and it raised between $30,000 to 40,000 for Headwaters hospital. This year the Crushers will be involved in different charity work, such as car washes, food drives and Christmas events. International experience with Team Canada: Won Canada Cup championships in 1987 and '91. He also was a part of World Championship bronze medal teams in '82 and '86, as well as silver in '89.

Fast facts: In a poll of NHL general managers during the mid-1980s asking them to select the player they would start a franchise with, Hawerchuk was voted third behind only Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey. There is a rock band in Quebec with the same name as Hawerchuk called Les Dales Hawerchuk. This is a tribute to the hockey player, and they released an album in 2005 with the same name, with the image of Hall of Famer in a retro Jets jersey as the cover art.