Falloon jersey, stick in Hall of Fame

When the Yorkton Terriers were honoured with a parade Friday for their Royal Bank Cup win, one Terrier was not like the others.

As the parade made its way down Broadway Street, ending at the Western Financial City Centre Park, only Derek Falloon wore the team's black jersey, his teammates all in white.

The reason, Falloon, now a local hero for scoring the overtime winner in the RBC final, had both his white, game worn jersey, and the stick he used to score the goal collected for the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

The request for the gear came as a complete surprise he said during the team's awards banquet Friday evening at the Nexera Flexihall.

"On the ice a Hockey Canada representative said 'we need your stick for the Hall of Fame'," said Falloon, adding in the excitement of the moment he agreed without giving it a lot of thought.

"After he (the rep) came into the room and asked to have the jersey (it made sense)."

Falloon said he was at first a bit apprehensive.

"I didn't know what hall of fame it was for," he said, but once he learned it was the Hockey Hall of Fame, he was glad he had agreed.

"It's an honour to have them in the Hockey Hall of Fame. It's a great feeling," he said.

Falloon said the magnitude of what he did, and how he will be remembered locally, was starting to sink in.

"The way people have been congratulating me has just been awesome," he said.

But Falloon said he is trying to keep the goal in perspective.

"I try not to think about it as a personal thing. I look at it as more of a team thing," he said. "It was team effort."

The goal might well be Falloon's last, at least in terms of competitive hockey.

Having dealt with concussions, Falloon said any thoughts of playing college, or pro, are tempered with what the impact on his health might be.

"It's a tough situation," he said, but added since the injuries deal with his head, he is leaning toward leaving the game behind.

As it was injuries kept him out of most of the Western Canada Cup action in Dauphin, which Falloon said was not easy since it was played in his native province where family and friends could have watched.

"I really wanted to play. It wasn't easy for me," he said. "It was tough watching the guys play. It's actually almost more nerve wracking watching than playing."

But in retrospect Falloon said he is glad the team kept him out of action in Dauphin allowing him time to be ready for the RBC, and his moment of heroics.

Falloon said if he doesn't play hockey in the future he will leave the game "satisfied" having been a big part in the Terriers first national crown.

And he'll be happy going back to the family farm near Russell, MB.

"I'm already involved," he said, adding he has some land that he will be seeding for the third time already.