In just 24 seconds Wednesday night between periods of a game between the Vancouver Canucks and Colorado Avalanche, sawmill worker Darwin Head made $1 million for scoring goals. That's more money than a quarter of the NHL pros on the Canucks and Avalanche rosters make in a year.
The 35-year-old Prince Albert, Sask. man fired 15 out of 20 pucks from the far blue-line at Vancouver's GM Place into an empty net to win the Chevrolet Malibu Million-Dollar Shootout.
He did so in front of a sold-out crowd of 18,630 and a national television audience on TSN. He scored the needed 15th goal on his last shot just before the 24-second time limit.
"This is my first morning as a millionaire," a tired-looking Head told Canada AM Thursday morning. "It's a little hard to comprehend."
The five-foot-nine, 215-pound Head, who played recreational hockey until he was 25, was randomly chosen from 8.6 million entries to participate in the event.
He told Canada AM that he spent nearly two hours a night, often in Saskatchewan's bone-chilling weather, training for the event. But practising in the backyard isn't quite the same as playing in front of an NHL crowd.
"I was very nervous walking onto the ice, seeing the crowd, hearing the crowd, feeling the excitement," the soft-spoken Head said.
Fortunately, he had a decent coach in a former hockey player by the name of Bobby Orr.
In a practice session with the hockey legend, Head said that Orr told him to "forget about the crowd . . . the seats are empty."
"He gave me great advice. I think it worked."
In his practice session with Orr, Head reached the 15-goal plateau needed to win just once in four tries, scoring 14, 16, 13 and nine goals.
Head, who will be paid the money in a one-time payment, plans to pay off his mortgage and save the money for his children. And he plans to keep his job at the sawmill which he says pays a "good wage."
In another part of the contest, Head, along with friends Lance Badger and Randy Bout, each won a Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid by combining for 15 goals.
Head joins Brian Diesbourg of Belle River, Ont., as the only other million-dollar winner of a Canadian sports skill contest.
In 2006, Diesbourg famously booted a 50-yard field goal during halftime at a CFL game in Toronto as part of a $1-million contest. Unlike Head, however, Diesbourg's million is spread out over a 40-year payment plan.
There have been seven million-dollar winners in sports skills contests during intermissions at U.S. sports events, including the NFL Pro Bowl, NCAA football, Major League Baseball's all-star game and NBA games.
