A group of young fans flocked around a hockey legend they recognized only from watching him live.

Not from his six Stanley Cups. Not from his Hockey Hall of Fame status. Not from his 18 years in the NHL, during which time he accumulated the Calder Trophy, the

Art Ross Trophy and the Hart Trophy.

The kids' parents probably recognized him, though.

Bryan Trottier stood in the hallway of the Takhini Arena signing autographs for the youngsters.

"We hope it brings back memories for some of the older folks, and for some of the young kids that never saw us play, hopefully it kind of inspires them to stay the route, if they're playing hockey or playing sports,” Trottier told the Star as the fans dissolved down the hall with their signed pictures.

"You hope it inspires. If I can make it from small-town Saskatchewan to the big city of New York, and have a little success along the way, get involved in some good organizations, great players and have my little dream come true, I think a lot of the kids that are in small communities or in remote communities feel, ‘You know what, we have a chance too.'”

Trottier and Co. – the Legendary Hockey Heroes – were in Whitehorse last night to take on the Yukon Select Hockey Team for the Oldtimers' Hockey Challenge.

Among the legends were Cliff Ronning, Bernie Nicholls, Gary Leeman and Doug Bodger, to name a few.

Final score: 17-14 for the guests.

But young fans Raine Silas and Corey Roberts, both 12 years old, agreed the score was secondary.

"You could really notice what their skill-level was … they were taking it easy, almost,” said Silas, who plays for the Whitehorse Wolverines in the peewee league, adding that he's taken in just about all the Oldtimers' Challenges.

"I like the entertainment-factor of all of them. It's always a good time to be at one of these games, it doesn't really matter what the score is, just here for a good time.”

Part of that good time is watching some former NHL greats play the game – still at a fast pace after all these years, Roberts said

"I didn't know who these guys were until I seen them and I heard that Trottier is a Hall of Famer,” he said.

Ronning also spoke of Trottier with the praise of a young fan.

"It's very special to be around a player like a Bryan Trottier that's won six Stanley Cups,” Ronning told the Star. "He presents himself very well to people, to kids, and

I think he's a great role model for other players, as myself and other players in the dressing room; we really look up to him.

"He still has the passion in the game and you can see he really cares about the people, and if we can follow in his footsteps, we're doing good things for all the communities.”

The legends kicked off their tour in Whitehorse, followed by a game in Powell River and tour of B.C. before heading off to the Maritimes to start February. All-in-all, the team will play 12 games in 15 days.

A portion of the proceeds sold from Thursday's game will go to Sport Yukon.

"We enjoy the hockey fans in Canada,” Trottier said. "They're great fans up here in the Yukon and we really enjoy coming up here. We're a little mad we missed them last year, but it's great to be back.”

Bodger recognized that Trottier's is probably the most recognizable name on the team.

"Some of the older crowd knows some of the guys in the dressing room but the younger crowd doesn't. I guess that you played in the National Hockey League and the kids see you on TV. Although we're all retired now and onto something else, it's nice to be recognized that you did play in the (NHL),” Bodger said, adding that his reasons for joining the tour are simple.

"I love playing and it's a great bunch of guys. They asked me 10 years ago just after

I retired, ‘Do you want to go up and play 10 games in 12 nights,' and I said, ‘Are you crazy, what for?' And I came one year and had a blast … it just wasn't the stress or the pressure of serious hockey, it was more fun – what the game's about.”

Brian Boorse played for the Yukon Selects, netting two goals, one on a penalty shot and one in the second period.

Playing against some of his heroes was quite an experience, he said.

"It was pretty intimidating; it was fun to watch them,” Boorse said. "It's quite amazing, after being out of the (NHL) for 10, 15 years, a lot of them, you can still see the skill that they have.

"The whole team, even their so-called goons, are still better than anybody on our team.

"You grew up watching these guys. I liked Trottier when I was growing up, even though he was against Montreal at the time … my team.”