Sticking it to Alzheimer’s touches a personal chord for Mark Napier

Doug Gilmour, Lanny McDonald, Mike Bossy, Paul Coffey, Wendel Clark and Borje Salming are among some of the hockey stars participating in the third annual Baycrest International Pro-Am Hockey Tournament which runs May 1 – 3 at York University.

This year’s Tournament hopes to raise over $2 million dollars for Baycrest towards care and research in Alzheimer’s and related disorders.

For Mark Napier, executive director of the NHL Alumni Association, the tournament touches a personal chord. Approximately five years ago, his father-in-law was diagnosed with mild Alzheimer’s disease. “For my family it was devastating to see the state of decay that this awful disease can do,” says Napier. “Luckily my wife, who is a nurse, knew about Baycrest and arranged for him to be seen at the clinic.”

“After seeing a few key physicians at Baycrest and undergoing several thorough assessments, he was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia, which is a rare disease that has similar symptoms to Alzheimer’s,” he explains. “This made a big difference for us because now we could understand why he acts the way he does. It put our minds at ease and made it so much easier to cope with.

“At Baycrest, we have a facility that is one of the best in the world and not many people outside of Toronto know about it. Hopefully, with this tournament, we can help change that!”

The tournament begins on Thursday evening with the Draft Party, during which each team drafts an NHL alumni player. With space for over 50 teams, this is an event like no other. Each team of 12-17 players must raise a minimum of $25,000 to participate. The more money a team raises the better their chance of drafting their favourite former NHLer.

All tournament players and NHL alumni will eat, drink and party together at the Draft Night extravaganza as the drama of the Draft unfolds in the hands of the Celebrity Master of Ceremonies. The hockey action begins the next day at Canlan Sports arena at York University with each team guaranteed at least three games.