CBC P.E.I.'s Bruce Rainnie: 5 of his favourite things

Bruce Rainnie professes he is not a "stuff kind of guy," but that doesn't mean the longtime CBC News: Compass anchor, sports fanatic, musician and best-selling author won't have plenty to pack in May when he leaves P.E.I. for his new job with the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame.

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Bruce generously agreed to share some of his favourite things as part of an ongoing occasional series of profiles of Islanders and their things. 

Here are a few of Bruce's items that may get an extra layer of bubble wrap as they go on the moving truck.

1. Gibson guitar

Rainnie has played guitar since he was 9 years old and plays acoustic as well as electric. His Gibson SJ-200 is one of his prized possessions. 

"My favourite acoustic model ever. Same model Elvis played in the movie Loving You. All similarities end right there!" he laughed.

Along with his wife, entertainer Kendra McGillivray, and CBC weather specialist Kevin "Boomer" Gallant, Rainnie hosted a sell-out show at The Guild in Charlottetown and Summerside's Harbourfront Theatre for several summers. 

2. Caricature

"Hilarious depiction by the great Wayne Wright," said Rainnie of this caricature published in The Journal Pioneer newspaper. "Wayne was very kind to one of us, that's all I'm saying!"

3. Bobby Orr jersey

"Greatest NHL player ever, and a humble gentleman to boot!" said Rainnie of why he loves the former Boston Bruins defenceman. 

He asked Orr  back in 2012 if he could play one last shift, who he'd pick to be on the ice with. Orr replied: Ken Dryden in nets, Larry Robinson as defense partner, and forwards Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe  — all established legends —and Sidney Crosby.

"I thought, what a compliment for Sidney," Rainnie said. 

4. Guy Lafleur rookie card

You know when you meet your idol and you get all tongue tied? It happens to the best of us, even Bruce Rainnie.

"Hello, I'm Guy Rainnie!" the flustered Rainnie said as he shook hands with the NHL great in 1997, to Lafleur's amusement. Lafleur responded, "Your name is Guy too?" 

"My favourite athlete ever. Before he signed, he said, 'this will actually devalue the card,'" recalls Rainnie. "I said, 'Please sign. I'm not ever selling.'"

5. Bruce Springsteen ticket

Along with sports, music is one of Bruce's greatest loves — and no one living artist is bigger for him than the Boss, Bruce Springsteen. 

"At 7:30 that night I was a fan. Come 10:30, I was a fanatic," Bruce said of this 2002 concert in Toronto 

Since then, Rainnie has seen Springsteen in concert seven times and even struck up an acquaintance with the musician at the equestrian facility Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Alta., where Rainnie was broadcasting and Springsteen was watching his daughter compete in show-jumping. 

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