Sunday, December 16, 2001
Golden Opportunities
By GEORGE GROSS -- Corporate Sports Editor
The past and future of Canada's Olympic men's hockey team is eerily similar to, and entwined with, that of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Both have had numerous first-place triumphs. Both have gone multiple decades without claiming top prize.
In the immediate future, both teams are counting on coach Pat Quinn to lead them back to glory.
If we were to delve into the early history of Canada's foray into the shinny world of Baron de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, we would be surprised by the fantastic successes of teams wearing the maple leaf.
The Winnipeg Falcons won gold at the 1920 Summer Games in Antwerp, Belgium, where hockey was added as a demonstration sport.
In the first Olympic Winter Games -- dubbed "International Winter Sports Week" and held in Chamonix, France, in 1924 -- the Toronto Granites literally trampled their opposition. They thumped Switzerland 33-0, Czechoslovakia 30-0, Sweden 29-0, Great Britain 19-2 and the U.S. 6-1.
Star player Harry Watson scored six goals in one period against Czechoslovakia and tallied 13 goals in the game against Switzerland.
Four years later in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Canada's goal production dropped a bit. Canada defeated Great Britain 14-0, Sweden 11-0 and Switzerland 13-0 even though the tournament was played on fragile natural outdoor ice. On warmer days organizers had to mark puddles with orange peels to warn skaters of danger spots.
Team Canada won gold in 1932 in Lake Placid, N.Y., and took silver in 1936 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, against a team from Great Britain stacked with expatriate Canadians. Canada captured more gold in 1948, again in St.Moritz, thanks to the RCAF Flyers. In 1952 at Oslo, Norway, the Edmonton Mercurys marked the end of Canada's hockey gold rush at the Olympic Games.
The string was broken in 1956 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, when the Kitchener Waterloo Dutchmen had to be contented with the bronze medal. The same team lost 2-1 to the U.S. and goalie Jack McCartan in 1960 in Squaw Valley, Calif., bringing home the silver medal.
The Canadian hockey powers decided to forego the use of a club team in favour of a national select squad and handed the reins to Father David Bauer. He failed to succeed in 1964 at Innsbruck, Austria, where the team finished out of the medals for the first time in Canada's Olympic history by placing fourth behind the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Sweden.
The first time Canada was represented by its front-line pros was at the most-recent Games in 1998 at Nagano. That team included the Wayne Gretzky, Eric Lindros and a flock of other NHL stars. It came close, but didn't win. It's history why Canada lost to the Czechs. The fact is the Olympic atmosphere, the tension, a wrong coaching decision and other factors came into play and Canada left Japan without a medal.
So, what about Salt Lake City? Sure, once again Canada has a star-studded lineup. On paper it should be a shoo-in as a top contender for the gold medal. But that isn't how things work at the Olympics.
Who could have predicted the intense nationalistic fever which would drive the U.S. to one of the greatest upsets in hockey history in 1960 at Squaw Valley, when wins over Canada, the USSR and Czechoslovakia earned the Americans their first hockey gold? Who could have predicted that Canada would go into Nagano minus Paul Kariya, Al MacInnis and Mario Lemieux? Who would have predicted that one man, Dominik Hasek, could stand between the frozen pipes of the Czech Republic goal and almost single-handedly lead his country to the gold medal?
So, it is fairly easy to understand why there is no clear-cut favourite for this February's tournament at Salt Lake City. Just as the Leafs will have to go through New Jersey, Philadelphia, Ottawa, Boston and one of Detroit, Colorado, St. Louis or San Jose, Team Canada will have to go through the Russians, Czechs, Swedes, Americans and perhaps even the Finns and darkhorse Slovaks to strike gold. All these countries have won either Olympic tournaments or world championships and are eager to prove they can do it again.
Will Team Canada players be able to pump up sufficient adrenalin to overcome the fierce dedication of the defending champion Czechs, world beaters in recent years?
The Dominator is hell-bent on stoping the rubber from going in the net. So is Hasek's backup, Roman Turek. Jaromir Jagr, at times the best player on the planet, is just as keen to put the puck in the opposing net. Leafs' Robert Reichel, who shone brightly in the Czechs' triumph over Canada in 1998, and his Toronto teammate Tomas Kaberle, in my books possibly the next Doug Harvey, give them reason for optimism. And don't forget Radek Bonk, Jan Hrdina, Martin Rucinsky, Milan Hejduk, Patrick Elias, Petr Sykora and Robert Lang.
The Russians, in earlier decades known as the Soviets, are internationally the most successful team. They were almost unbeatable under the coaching hand of Anatoli Tarasov, the father of Soviet hockey, and Viktor Tikhonov, his successor. But after the exodus of their top players to the NHL and others' reluctance to play for Russia, the team has been slipping.
Slava Fetisov, the newly inducted Hockey Hall of Famer, is in charge of the Russian team for Salt Lake and hopes to change things. After all, the Soviets have won so many world championships and Olympic gold medals they could open a jewelry store. They have eight Olympic golds, compared to six for Canada.
Fetisov will command a team of seasoned NHLers who have the advantage of having played in international competitions under international rules. Talented players like Sergei Fedorov, Pavel Bure, Dmitry Yushkevich, Alexei Zhitnik, Darius Kasparaitis, Alexei Yashin, Sergei Gonchar, Sergei Samsonov, goalie Nikolai Khabibulin and others are determined to bring back the glory days of Russian hockey.
The Swedes proved themselves many times in more recent Olympic and world championships. The eyes of Toronto fans will be focused on Leafs captain Mats Sundin and his sidekick, Mikael Renberg. They are trying hard for the Leafs, but there's no doubt in my mind that they'll reach even deeper for their homeland. They'll likely play on one line, along with Jonas Hoglund, the third Swedish Leaf. Then there are defenceman Nicklas Lidstrom and forwards Daniel Alfredsson and Peter Forsberg, if he plays. It looks like a solid team.
FORCE
Which brings us to the Slovaks. If they qualify for the Games with a team that would be without most Slovakia-born NHL players, they'll be a force to reckoned with in the final round. Coach Peter Stastny, another Hockey Hall of Famer, still is pleading with NHL clubs to let Slovak players participate in the qualifying tournament. He hasn't been too successful so far, except for Slovak players being able to participate in the first qualifier.
If they make it to the final round and the likes of Peter Bondra, Miro Satan, Pavol Demitra, Marian Hossa, Ziggy Palffy, Jozef Stumpel, Robert Svehla and Zdeno Chara join the squad, they'd be as tough as mountaineers in the Tatras.
The U.S. will be loaded with NHL stars such as Brian Leetch, Chris Chelios, Tony Amonte, Brett Hull, Mike Modano, Jeremy Roenick, Keith Tkachuk and Doug Weight, all hoping The Star Spangled Banner will be played at the victory ceremony to complete a home-ice Olympic hat-trick after winning at Squaw Valley and 20 years later at Lake Placid in another huge upset.
UPSET
Although the Finns beat Canada for the bronze medal in Nagano and upset Canada 4-3 at Lake Placid in 1980, this time they'll be minus their top star, Saku Koivu, captain of the Montreal Canadiens who's fighting cancer. Their goaltending also is weak.
Recent history indicates that Canada will not win the gold medal in Salt Lake City. Recent history also indicates that the Leafs will not win the Stanley Cup. However, regardless of who is favoured on paper they'll still play the games. And in the Olympics, you don't get a second chance to fail.
2002 Games Men's Hockey Coverage
