Twenty-four years ago, a kid named Hume wore No. 19 for the Cochrane Generals.
That was Wally Hume. Fast-forward a couple of decades and you have another Hume wearing the same Generals sweater number.
In a ceremony prior to Cochrane’s Sept. 27 home-opener against High River Flyers, dad Wally handed his No. 19 over to son Talus, who features on Cochrane’s top forward line, just like Wally did all those years ago.
“I’m very proud of him. It’s very cool,” said Wally Hume of son Talus, who wore No. 26 last season. “He could have worn any number he wanted. I think he did it for me. Just to show some respect for his dad. It went a long way. I get kind of emotional talking about it.”
The second-year Generals forward, named the team’s top rookie at last season’s end in April, had hockey options available but chose to stick with his Junior B home team.
“He’s certainly got some talent. I think he could have played AJHL (Alberta Junior Hockey League),” Wally Hume said of his 18-year-old son. “But he’s taking school pretty seriously. He’s going to SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology), doing the civil engineering. That was the choice he made. And I support him 100 per cent. He could have gone to lots of camps this year if he wanted to. But he wanted to stay home, go to school . . . and wear his dad’s sweater.”
Back in the day, when the Gens had their own team bus, Wally was a high-skills player for Cochrane. So high skills, in fact, he was awarded the visiting team’s player-of-the-game recognition in a 1991 South Central Alberta Jr. B Hockey League tilt against the Medicine Hat Cubs – despite taking a game misconduct and hitting the showers early. Prior to getting tossed from the tilt, Hume Sr. had three points that night in Medicine Hat.
While one of Cochrane’s top players in his day, Wally Hume is certain his sweater is in even better hands now.
“Certainly he’s got good skills, for sure,” dad said of son Talus. “He’s probably a lot faster than I was.”
