SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - It's not every day one of hockey's greatest legends comes to Yellowknife, but one of the best of all time is here for the weekend.

Gordie Howe, left, poses with Jerome Gower after touching down at the Yellowknife Airport yesterday afternoon. - James McCarthy/NNSL photo

Gordie Howe arrived yesterday afternoon with his son, Marty Howe, to take in the fourth annual RCMP-YKFD Memorial Hockey Game tomorrow at the Multiplex.

"Mr. Hockey" said this isn't his first time in Yellowknife.

"The last time was in the 1970s when I was working with Eaton's. I got to go out on the ice and play with a few guys and I really enjoyed it," he said.

The Howes got wind of this year's game through the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League, a team in which Gordie Howe holds a minority stake.

Deputy fire chief Jason Davidson used to work with the Giants organization and said he called in a favour or two to see if Howe could come.

"I heard he was in Lethbridge, Alta., to visit an old teammate of his," he said. "I asked if there was any way we could get Gordie to fly North instead of east back to Michigan and it was a stroke of luck."

The Howes won't just be up to make an appearance and say hello.

Davidson said Gordie will be behind the bench as a guest coach for the fire department, while Marty will be the bench boss for the RCMP. Pretty much anywhere Gordie Howe goes, he is the star of the show and that's sure to be the case this weekend, but some people do still hang back a bit initially, said Marty.

"People are usually in awe when they first see him, but then he cracks a smile and tells them, 'No, you can come over'," he said. "I just enjoy walking behind him about 10 or 15 feet and hearing people say nice things about him. He loves to meet people."

Gordie Howe does have a small Yellowknife connection with Sir John Franklin physical education teacher Bill Burlington. Burlington's father, Tom Burlington, played in the American Hockey League with the Cleveland Barons and played an exhibition game against Howe in the 1940s.

Bill Burlington also got a chance to work with Gordie when he was younger in Ontario.

"I remember asking him what my dad was like and he told me he was like Max Bentley, who was one of the best puck-handlers ever," he said.

"I'm hoping to talk to him and I just hope he remembers me."

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