All-star blueliner Kevin Dunk

leaves Meyers Zig-Zags to

play for Warkworth Travellers

WARKWORTH -- Afer several weeks of rampant
speculaton around town, its ofcial: the Warkworth
Travellers oldtmers hockey team has signed the top
free agent player available on the market.
All-star defenceman Kevin Dunk has bolted the Mey-
ers Zig-Zags of the Sunday Morning Hockey League
(SMHL) and agreed to a lucratve six-year deal with the
Travellers.
Although Travellers player-general manager Wayne
(Elbe) Pearson would not disclose fnancial terms of
the contract, sources have told the Warkworth Journal
that several cases of Old Vienna beer and a brand new
Dodge Caravan were part of the deal. (Pearson, coinci-
dentally, is the top salesman at Campbellford Chrysler,
so its likely that he got the vehicle at a huge discount.)
Pearson introduced Dunk to the local media during
the Travellers Fan Fest event that was held on Sat-
urday afernoon at a packed Warkworth Arena. For-
mer Toronto Maple Leaf great Wendel Clark also was
on hand signing autographs for fans and even took the
tme to congratulate Dunk on his new deal.
For the 66-year-old Pearson -- who stll takes a regu-
lar shif on the right wing of the teams second line --
signing the highly sought-afer Dunk was his No. 1
priority in the of-season.
Its no secret that defence has become a bit of a
problem for our hockey team, Pearson told the Jour-
nal in an interview. Were old and slow back there
and it needed to be addressed.
We like what Dunker brings to the table. For start-
ers, hes a helluva lot faster than most of the guys on
our team, and hes really talented ofensively as well.
The other thing we like about Dunker is that he
plays with a bit of an edge. He can be real nasty out
(on the ice) with his hockey stck when he wants to. He
can hack and slash with the best of them. I like that.
Its something thats been missing from our hockey
team ever since (defenceman) Bob (Lumberjack) Crate
retred.
Dunk, who was an eight-tme all-star during his stel-
lar 10-year career with the Zig-Zags, admits leaving
the Double Zs is tough, but hes looking forward to
playing a higher caliber of hockey with the Travellers.
I needed a change, Dunk said. Ive accomplished
all I can with the Zs. At this stage of my career, I just
felt that I needed to play more compettve hockey.
Meanwhile, the Travellers training camp begins tonight at the
Warkworth Arena as players report for medicals and ftness tests
at 7 p.m., and then hit the ice for a 90-minute scrimmage at 9.
The team will play its frst regular-season home game Monday,
Oct. 20 against the Bewdley Bruins (9 p.m.). The frst 100 fans
atending the game will receive a free Kevin Dunk collectble bob-
blehead, courtesy of the Travellers hockey club and the Wark-
worth Journal.
Warkworth Travellers
Hockey Club
The tradition continues!
A Slam-Dunker: Travellers sign prized free agent
Warkworth Travellers player-general manager Wayne (Elbe) Pearson (lef) is
all smiles as he introduces all-star defenceman Kevin Dunk to the local media
at a press conference Saturday during the teams Fan Fest at the Warkworth
Arena. Dunk, formerly with the Meyers Zig-Zags, was the top free agent on
the market this past summer and was aggressively pursued by the Travellers.
Pearson told the Warkworth Journal that signing Dunk to bolster the teams
worrisome blueline was his No. 1 of-season priority.
(Photo courtesy of Mary Weilandt)