Some nights at Frank Crane Arena, Tony Peyton sticks out like a sore thumb. He sports a hockey hoodie with a snarling bulldog on the front, representing his city’s arch-nemesis.
Peyton lives in Nanaimo, home of the BC Hockey League Nanaimo Clippers Jr. A team, but his loyalty is with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs—and more specifically, Bulldogs’ part owner David Michaud.
A storyteller at heart, Peyton writes a blog called Tony With a Capital T. He started in late 2021 and posts everything from tales from the frozen north to childhood memories and humour.
“There is something uniquely Canadian about my friend David Michaud,” Peyton writes in one of his latest blog posts, “This is not about Mich.”
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“I’m using David to talk about the incredible contribution people make every day to this game. Without people like that the game wouldn’t be what it is,” Peyton said in a telephone interview.
Peyton met Michaud in Kelowna many years ago when they both worked for K96.3, Kelowna’s Classic Rock radio station. Peyton was a morning show host and Michaud was a salesman for the station. “We connected easily” despite their age difference, Peyton said.
“I got to know his history. Radio was a way for him to raise money to live his dream in hockey.”
Peyton’s blog post details some of that history: Michaud grew up in Sudbury, Ont. and played goalie during his minor hockey days. He had a goal of pursuing a career in hockey, and he knew he was not National Hockey League material. He was pragmatic in finding a way to fulfill his dream, whether it was as general manager for a U18 AAA team or serving as a scout for a Western Hockey League team.
Michaud has been part owner and president of the BCHL Bulldogs since 2019-20, and has been active in the Alberni Valley community, promoting hockey and lacrosse. It is evident whenever you see him at the “Dawg Pound” in Alberni that he loves his team and he loves the game of hockey.
Peyton said it’s Michaud’s “stick-to-it-iveness” that he most admired about Michaud. Peyton’s children played organized sports when they were young, including rugby and hockey. As a sports father he lived his life around people “who give so much,” and Michaud was a classic example, he said.
“He reflects for me the heartbeat of hockey.”
You can read “This is Not About Mich” online at tonywithacapitalt.ca/2023/03/20/this-is-not-about-mich/.
Susie Quinn is the Alberni Valley News editor.