A Canadian curling legend has officially retired.
Al ‘The Iceman’ Hackner, who curls out of Thunder Bay, competed in his final Canadian Senior Curling Championship in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia last week.
The 68-year old won the Brier twice for Northern Ontario, along with two World championships for Canada in the 1980s.
Hackner says he’s proud of what he’s accomplished.
“My longevity, to still be curling at this age and be competitive is something that I can be proud of and enjoy. My message to anyone would be to just keep playing and keep enjoying it,” says Hackner.
His career was honoured at a reception Sunday in Yarmouth.
He says there were some great teams to play against last week.
“The whole event, I was privileged to play against the best in Canada. You have to appreciate that, and do your best to enjoy it, even though we weren’t winning.”
Hackner says his World title in 1982 was special, after winning it in a small town in Germany, he says he’ll never forget the reception when he got off the plane in Thunder Bay from the community.
A few words from the legend himself @therealhackner pic.twitter.com/TQZXmyZR2w
— Curling Canada (@CurlingCanada) December 11, 2022
