It seems that succeeding as a singer in Canada gets you an opportunity to become a part, for a few hours at least, of your favorite NHL hockey team. Two famous Canadian singers, Michael Buble and 17-year-old Justin Bieber are cases in point.
On the day after Buble skated with his favorite NHL team, the Vancouver Canucks, Bieber skated with his favorite NHL team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. On Wed. Dec. 21 he donned Leaf colors - a toque, sweat pants and a Leafs sweater - and skated with a group of Maple Leafs. The group included captain Dion Phaneuf, goalie Jonas Gustavsson, forward Tyler Bozak and defenceman Jake Gardiner.
And like Buble in Vancouver, who skated in on a breakaway on Canuck goalie Roberto Luongo, Bieber took two breakaway shots on Gustavsson. Neither of the singers scored but it must be said that each can play the game. Both played hockey as kids and footage of each with their respective NHL teams showed them to be looking almost like they belonged. They were not tested too severely, however, but each can skate and handle the puck.
Justin Bieber: Toronto Maple Leafs Fan
Bieber, from nearby Stratford, Ont., not only grew up playing hockey but grew up as a devoted fan of the Leafs, attending a handful of Leaf games. He continues to root for Toronto and hockey. When his girlfriend Selena Gomez was on tour in October and playing in Winnipeg, Bieber flew there following his tour in South America and the two attended a Winnipeg Jets NHL game.
Bieber is also a decent, if diminutive, basketball player and fan. He played last year in the celebrity game during the NBA all-star weekend and, among other strong plays, actually drained a three-pointer. He was named the MVP of the game, though that may have been as much to please his fans as to acknowledge his performance on the court.
Bieber: Food Bank and Massey Hall
It wasn't a day devoted entirely to hockey for the world's most famous teenager. He visited a Toronto area food bank and helped out while there, naturally to the delight of young fans who gathered to be a part of it. His visit was to raise the profile of the food bank at Christmas.
In the evening he played a concert in Toronto's Massey Hall, taping it for a special Christmas TV show, 'Justin Bieber: Home for the Holidays' to be aired on two Canadian stations, MuchMusic and CTV the following night. The entire proceeds from the concert were going to his 'Believe' charity foundation.
So Bieber, the hardest working teen in show business, had a day that saw him go from skating with an NHL team to working at the food bank to performing a sold-out show, taped for TV, at one of Canada's most prestigious concert halls.
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