So a lot of people, including yours truly, were in foul moods when they finally opened the doors. When the circulation of blood in our feet finally got going sufficiently to start moving around, my girlfriend and I started our trek around the Spectrum concourse.

The first player we saw was Dupre, who was seated by himself with no line of fans waiting to meet him. Well, I wanted to meet Dupre. He was one of the better skaters in the organization and as someone who is a poor skater, it's always been a skill I admired. Dupre utilized his speed to make himself a dangerous penalty killer darting into passing lanes; he was a shorthanded goal threat in the AHL and was also utilized in that role by Terry Murray. Having just seen him score his second NHL goal- and first home goal- in person the previous week, I welcomed the chance to meet Dupre. It was a nice goal, scored early in the 3rd period of a wacky and controversial 5-5 tie with St. Louis. Dupre started the play by intercepting a Blues headman pass near the blueline and also finished it, converting an Anatoli Semenov feed. It actually gave me something to talk about to Dupre, because let's face it, these sorts of conversations tend be a little awkward and stilted unless you actually have a specific topic to discuss. Other than "I'm a big fan," what else is there to say?

We approached Dupre. He spoke first. "You guys look *real* cold. How long were you outside?" We told him that we'd been waiting for over an hour and he said, "Well, thanks a lot for coming out. It's worth it." And he was right. He realized that from his end- sitting around all day in the concourse talking to strangers- it was worthwhile. He was doing his part for a good cause- fund raising for leukemia (the original purpose of the carnival after the death of Barry Ashbee) and other diseases. And from our end, braving the cold outside and the crowds inside, it was worthwhile, too. Not only was it a chance to meet the people in the organization, but all the money spent was for a very worthy cause. We discussed his goal against St Louis and then I shook his hand before he autographed his page of the Flyers yearbook and I moved on.

It was strictly a routine type of meeting, and most everyone we met later was also very nice. But Dupre was the only person all day who thanked us for coming out. He really brought home the point that the day wasn't all about autographs or getting one of the "lucky" gift boxes, it was about the cause itself. Suddenly, standing outside for so long didn't seem like it was such an ordeal. It WAS worth it.

A few months later, Dupre learned *he* had leukemia. The first warning signs were when his greatest assest - his skating ability- fell off dramatically. He was struggling up and down the ice. That set in motion the tests that led to the discovery of his condition. Later, during his remission period, he admitted in interviews that he had never considered the possibility that he would ever have a personal stake in the fight against leukemia. But now it was all too real for him. The guy went through hell. His chemo treatments left him very ill and near death. But he battled through a coma and eventually the leukemia went into remission. Doctors told him they thought the chances of his survival were excellent. Slowly he started to put on weight and eventually took to the ice again. He visited his Flyers teammates periodically, and spoke of a comeback with their AHL club.

Shortly before the 1997 carnival Dupre, nearly bald and much lighter than his playing weight- but seemingly much better than he had been- dropped the ceremonial opening faceoff before a Flyer game at CoreStates Center. He was received warmly by the fans and the players on the ice. The last we heard was that Dupre would return to Quebec and commence much more intense workouts in his effort to eventually start playing again.

That came to a crashing halt last spring when the news came that the cancer had returned. He had to undergo the chemo again followed by a bone marrow transplant. During the NHL playoffs, he followed the Flyers. Few of his teammates contacted him, but he said that he understood- they didn't know what to say. Dupre battled on once again and last month underwent the transplant procedure. Sadly, it all went for nothing. This past weekend, he died.