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[hockeygod]

Red Fisher: Jean Béliveau has "always been in a class by himself"

Ailing Jean Beliveau won the love and respect of Canadiens fans, teammates and opponents with his magical play and charitable work off the ice. He never forced himself on anyone, but everyone knew he was always there to help

By Red Fisher, The Gazette, February 29, 2012

MONTREAL – The golden years have not been kind to the legendary Jean Béliveau, who is undergoing “active investigation and treatments” at the Montreal General Hospital after suffering a stroke on Monday night.

Béliveau has been struck with an alarming number of health issues since retiring as a player following the Canadiens’ Stanley Cup victory in 1970-71.

There were cardiac problems in the mid-1990s. And in 2000, all of us were saddened to learn he would start radiation treatments for a malignant tumour doctors had discovered in his neck. This man, loved and admired by so many, who won so many battles on the ice in his 18-season career, took on his biggest one with greater resolve and courage than any game he ever played.

“I rely totally on the expertise of my doctors,” he wrote in a statement. “I intend to follow their instructions and recommendations to the letter. I feel good and I fully intend on winning this next battle.”

He won it, against all odds. He handled the radiation, although for a long while, he lost his sense of taste. He carried a bottle of spring water with him all day to ease the terrible discomfort of dry mouth, a condition that still exists. However, all through it he was still the smiling giant of a man, available to people of all ages and languages and colours.

His ability to charm others has never left him through good and bad times, because he is, after all, Jean Béliveau.

In June of last year, he underwent a preventive surgical procedure to repair abdominal aneurysms and required several months to recover.

Last week, he entered hospital with a severe nosebleed that finally was corrected after three days of treatment. Now this.

“He’s been going through a lot,” former teammate Dickie Moore was saying on Tuesday.

“It’s so sad. After all of the things he’s done over the years, after all of the charity affairs he’s attended … the money he’s raised for kids, Jean should be enjoying life,” Moore said of Béliveau, who celebrated his 80th birthday last August.

Béliveau and Moore were fierce rivals in junior hockey, but have been the closest of friends since their Canadiens days.

“When you talk about the great players, the superstars who’ve played for the Canadiens,” Moore said, “he’s right up there with the very best. As an individual, he’s always been in a class by himself. As an individual, on and off the ice, nobody comes close.”

Everyone who was there will never forget the night Béliveau was the guest of honour at a Bell Centre black-tie affair where $1 million was raised for six institutions: The Montreal Children’s Hospital, Ste. Justine Hospital, the Society for Handicapped Children, the Shriners and children’s hospitals in Quebec and Sherbrooke.

All of it for the kids.

Numbers and individual achievements don’t begin to describe what Béliveau has meant to the Canadiens organization, to people everywhere. Eighteen seasons with the Canadiens, his last 10 as captain; 10 Stanley Cups; two Hart trophies, one Conn Smythe; 507 goals and 712 assists in 1,125 games; 176 points in 162 playoff games. Stunning numbers, but they pale in comparison alongside the love and respect other players, old and new, and the people … his people … have for him and he for them.

“You know, when people are good, it makes me feel good to give back,” he would tell you. “People always have been good to me.”

This good man has been special in so many ways. Everything that is Béliveau comes from within. He truly cares about people, and that care always has been returned to him by people in all walks of life.

The same applies to the players he faced during his career. Opponents always played hard against him, but their respect for him and he for them was always there – and remains so to this day.

The same applies for hockey people at every level. Who but Béliveau could have been named captain of Team Canada at the Vancouver Olympics? A health issue prevented him from attending the Games, but eventually he was presented with the same ring players received for winning the gold at a sold-out charity dinner in Montreal

Béliveau, the player, was more than a captain: he was a father figure in many ways. If a player had a problem on the ice, Béliveau was only a stick-length away. If there were personal problems that needed attention, he was available. He never forced himself on anyone, but everyone knew he was there.

He was, in every way, a one-of-a-kind player, matched only by his grace and quality as human being.

Pray for him.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Hitchcock embodies experience

DEREK VAN DIEST, QMI Agency, March 1 2012

EDMONTON – Ken Hitchcock’s love of the game is apparent.

It doesn’t take long to realize how completely immersed the St. Louis Blues head coach is into hockey, and how he’s come to understand it as good or better than anyone involved in the game.

So it’s little surprise Hitchcock has been able to take a talented club in the Blues and get them to the next level.

“The thing that I get out of him is how smart he sounds when he talks,” said Blues defenceman Carlo Colaiacovo. “He just makes everything seem so simple when he talks. The sort of system that he teaches makes it easy to pick up and play. I got a sniff of him at the World Championships, had a great experience with him there, and had a lot of good things to say about him. Now that he’s my coach, I still have a lot of great things to say about him, so I’m really grateful.”

Hitchcock took over the Blues in November, replacing Davis Payne. The Blues got off to a 6-7 start and management felt a change was necessary.

Having been relieved of his duties in Columbus, the Blues turned to the veteran coach, hoping he could turn their fortunes around.

Heading into Wednesday’s game against the Oilers, Hitchcock has the Blues three points out of top spot in the Western Conference.

“Davis was a lot younger, when he came in, he was relating with the younger players a little bit,” said Blues winger Andy McDonald. “Then when Hitch came in, everybody was relying on his experience. We know that he’s won in the past and we trust him every night that he’ll have a good game plan for us.

“He’s got the confidence of the players in their room. When he has a game plan, the guys realize when we follow it, we’re going to have success every night. That’s what it is, trusting him and knowing that he knows what it takes for this team to have success.”

Under Hitchcock, the Blues have amassed a 33-10-7 record heading into their game against the Oilers.

They are getting great goaltending from both Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak, and offensive production is spread throughout the lineup.

They’re not blowing teams away, but finding ways to win close games, which is a credit to Hitchcock.

“There were a lot of mixed feelings when he first came in, because we were just starting a long home stand,” said Colaiacovo. “We had played the majority of our games on the road and we were a .500 team, and nobody really expected something like that to happen.

“When he came in a lot of guys were asking players who had played for him before what he was like and what to expect. The message was clear, he’s a guy that’s going to come in, be a good teacher, be a guy that brings a lot of experience, but at the same time, be someone that pushes guys to be their best. The results are there and they’re proven that we are where we are because of it.”

Hitchcock, 60, is currently the oldest coach in the NHL. The Edmonton native admits he’s had to evolve over the years to be more in tune with today’s professional hockey players.

So far, he’s pushing all the right buttons with his young squad.

“I think the players said it best: playing for me is like playing for their dad,” Hitchcock said. “Then one guy spoke up and said it’s the step dad.

“It’s what it is. When you’ve been through this before you kind of know the end game, you know where it’s going to go and you can cut things off at the pass. I find myself spending more time on big picture stuff. I still know the details of the game, but I also know where the path goes and that’s what helps a lot of people. I know if we go down this path where it’s going to end up, and I know if we go down the wrong path where that’s going to end up.”

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

The first black player's big secret
Boston's barrier breaker: Willie O'Ree, shown in this 1960 photo, became the first black man to play in the NHL on Jan. 18, 1958.

Luke Fox, Sportsnet.ca, February 29, 2012

Almost all of the black players to ever wear an official NHL sweater have sought him out.

Mike Marson, only the second black player in NHL history, joined the Washington Capitals in 1974, a long 16 years after the colour barrier had been trampled. He wanted to talk to Mr. O’Ree.

Bill Riley, the NHL’s third black player, wanted to meet him as well.

So too did Herb Carnegie, a black Torontonian who believed racism kept him out of the game’s ultimate league in his prime, the 1940s and ’50s. Herbie and his brother Ossie and Manny MacIntyre formed hockey’s first all-black line as the starting forwards for the Quebec Provincial Hockey League’s St. Francois. Mr. O’Ree still chats from time to time with the Carnegie brothers.

Journeyman Tony McKegney, who played 13 seasons for seven NHL clubs after entering the league in 1978, wanted to speak to Mr. O’Ree. Grant Fuhr, Jarome Iginla, Wayne Simmonds… Mr. O’Ree, now 76 years old, is happy to talk to them all.

But what is there to say to the first black man to skate on National Hockey League ice, on Jan. 18, 1958? To the man who didn’t just smash through the game’s colour barrier but continues to stomp all over the rubble and grind it into a fine dust?

“All they can say is, ‘I can’t imagine what you went through to bust the doors and break down the barriers to make it possible for players like myself,’ ” Mr. O’Ree says.

If you think this is a story about a black Canadian, since dubbed the “Jackie Robinson of Ice Hockey” and awarded the Order of Canada, enduring hateful epithets and a few hundred extra hacks, then you are only 10 per cent correct.

For the most remarkable thing about Willie Eldon O’Ree is not that he made the cut in an all-white sport while he happened to be black. It’s not even that he made the NHL when there were only six teams and roster spots were five times harder to come by. It is that he made the NHL, and then flourished as a professional hockey player deep into his 40s, as a man half-blind.

We spoke at length with Mr. O’Ree from Buffalo, where he was continuing his new mission: encouraging boys and girls from diverse backgrounds to lace up skates and pick up the game of hockey.

Do people have any clue what it was like for you in January of 1958 when you became the NHL’s first black player?

You can Google me and find out a lot about me. But what they don’t know is, I lost my right eye when I was struck with a puck. I lost sight in my right eye, and the doctor told me that I would be blind in my right eye and never play hockey again. When I got out of the hospital, I told myself, I just can’t accept the fact that this doctor is telling me I’ll never play hockey again. He doesn’t know the burning desire I have within myself, and the goals and dreams that I’ve set for myself of not only playing professional hockey but making it into the National Hockey League. So I started playing again.

I went to the (Quebec Senior Hockey League’s) Quebec Aces’ training camp after playing my last year of junior. Up in Quebec, Punch Imlach was the coach and general manager. I made the team, but I didn’t disclose the fact that I couldn’t see out of my right eye. I was a left-hand shot playing left wing, so to compensate I had to turn my head all the way around to my right shoulder to pick the puck and the play up. I played for the Aces the next year, and then the Bruins invited me to their training camp in (1957). I went to their training camp, then came back and started playing for the Quebec Aces, and the Bruins said, “We want O’Ree to meet us in Montreal and play two games, on Jan. 18, which was a Saturday in 1958, and then in Boston on the Sunday.” I played the two games, then went back to my parent club, the Aces, and finished out the season. I went to the Bruins’ training camp again the next year and was called up again in 1960-61 and played 45 games with the Bruins.

A lot of people don’t realize, in the 21 years I played pro, I played with one eye.

How do you keep blindness a secret?

When I went to training camp and made the team, I told myself, “If I can make the team with one eye, don’t tell them.” Back then you needed a certain percentage of vision in each eye (to be allowed to play). If it gets out that I’m blind in my right eye, I probably won’t be allowed to play pro, and definitely won’t be allowed to play in the National Hockey League. I never took an eye exam in all the 21 years I played. I never sat in front of an eye machine. I don’t know why back then they didn’t make me. It’s different now. Back then, they were more concerned with your physical condition, and I always kept myself in good shape. I worked out in the gym and played some baseball. And by the time I was ready to return to training camp I was two pounds away from my playing weight. I kept my fingers crossed all those years hoping that nobody would find out. I just played and eventually forgot about it.

I was traded to the Los Angeles Blades of the Western professional Hockey League in 1961. Alfie Pike was the coach when I was out there. When I went to training camp, Alfie said, “Willie, have you ever played right wing?” I said, “No, Alfie, I’ve played left wing my whole career, being a left-hand shot.” He says, “Well, I’ve got about seven left-wingers here. Why don’t you give it a try? We could use your speed on the right side.” So now I switch over to my right, the boards are on my right, and I don’t have to turn around and look over my shoulder. The only disadvantage was taking passes on my backhand, but after three or four games, I fell right into it. I played the last 12 years of my career on the right side, and I won the Western scoring race in 1965, in ’69, and was voted onto four all-star teams due to the fact I switched over.

Do you let yourself wonder how successful you would’ve been in the NHL if you had perfect vision? Or if you had made the switch to right wing earlier?

That’s the thing right there. I don’t know if they found out that I had an impairment. After I left the Bruins, the coach and general manager, Lynn Patrick, said, “Willie, go home and have a good summer. We look forward to you coming back to the Bruins.” So I go home and tell my mom and dad and all my friends that I’m coming back to training camp.

I was home about six weeks, I’m in my living room at my mom’s place, and the phone rings. My mom says, “It’s a sportswriter. He wants to talk to you.”

I pick up the phone, and he says, “Willie, what do you think about the trade?”

I said, “What trade are you referring to?”

He says, “You’ve been traded to the Montreal Canadiens.”

I say, “I have?”

He says, “Yeah, what do you think?”

I said, “Well, I’ll probably be playing on their farm team.”

I never found out why I got traded, and I never asked.

How’s your sight now?

Oh, I’m blind. I’ve been blind from the day the puck hit me. Later I had my eye removed, it was paining me so much. I went to the doctors, and they X-rayed it and said, “We could inject a solution that will alleviate some of the pain, or we can remove your eye and you’ll have no pain.” So I had my eye removed and I wear a special prosthesis; it’s like a contact lens that I need to clean every now and then.

Obviously it was a different era, but when you were hit in the eye, did anyone even mention the need for face protection?

Nobody wore any helmets. The goalies didn’t wear masks. Face guards weren’t even invented until the ’70s. The goalies were getting hit with sticks and pucks in the face, and you tried to protect yourself by keeping an eye on the puck. What happened to me was, a slap shot from the point came when I was in front of the net. A defenceman cross-checked me in the back and swung me around. I turned around to see where the puck was, and it ricocheted off a stick and struck me in the eye.

Let’s go to the beginning. What was it like growing up as a kid in Fredericton, New Brunswick?

Great! Being the youngest of 13 children, I had a good childhood. My parents were very strict about me staying in school and getting an education. I played about nine different sports growing up, but I always had to keep my grades up. I played up through the ranks (in several sports) until I was 14, when I decided I wanted to be a professional hockey player.

My older brother was also my friend and my mentor, and he taught me a lot of things I should know if I wanted to choose hockey as a career: “You’ll have problems with other people because of your race. You’ll be called names. Don’t let that interfere with what you really want to accomplish. If you stay focused on playing to the best of your ability and representing your hockey club, the other stuff will fall by the wayside.”

That’s what I put in my mind, and I just kept focused and worked hard. And every time I went to camp I said, “If they’re going to keep 20 players on their roster, I’m going to be one of the 20 no matter what I have to do. If I have to fight, if I have to score, if I have to skate faster…” In all the training camps I went to, I made the team. Later, I got traded. I was afraid to fail. I was afraid to go away to a training camp and not make it and come home and face my parents and say, “I wasn’t good enough to make the team.” That would be devastating. I played afraid.

Was your brother able to see you play in the NHL?

Oh, yeah. My family came to Montreal and Toronto, because those were the two closest cities. They watched me play. They came to Montreal and saw my first game, and then to Boston to see me on the Sunday. My mom and dad supported me. They didn’t have to push me because I did all the pushing, but they were always there when I needed them.

When did you realize that there were no black players in the league?

I knew it when I was in junior. When I went to Quebec the first year, Phil Watson was the coach. He had played earlier with the New York Rangers in the ’40s. He said, “Willie, you know, there are no black players in the NHL. You could be the first. You have the skills, you have the ability. All you have to do is work hard.” It went in one ear and out the other, because I just wanted to do a good job in junior.

When I was second year I went to Kitchener and Jack Stewart told me the same thing: “Willie, you have the skills to break the colour barrier.” When I turned pro with the Quebec Aces, Punch Imlach and Joe Crozier told me the same thing. It started to register with me. We won the Duke of Edinburgh Trophy, which was like our Stanley Cup at that time. That gave me the extra confidence I needed.

How aware were the fans on Jan. 18, 1958 that the colour barrier was being broken?

I don’t know if they were or not. I was no stranger to the Montreal fans. I had played against the Montreal Canadiens in exhibition games, and I played against the Montreal Junior Canadiens and the Montreal Royals. So when I stepped on the ice on Jan. 18, 1958, I saw people pointing at me, saying, “There’s that black kid. He’s up with the Bruins now.” There was nothing said about breaking the colour barrier. It didn’t register with me until I read it in the paper the next morning. Then when I was called back up in 1960-61, the media said, “That’s Willie O’Ree. He’s the Jackie Robinson of hockey.”

Where did the majority of hate and ignorance come from?

Players and fans, especially when I came to the States. There were only six teams when I was playing. I noticed the racial slurs and remarks in Detroit and especially Chicago. But it really didn’t bother me. I just wanted to play hockey, and if they couldn’t accept me for the individual that I am… because I had the skills to play in the league. I fought a lot when I first started, not because I wanted to but because I had to. Guys wanted to see what I was made of. I’d drop the gloves. I said, “If I’m gonna leave the league, it’ll be because I don’t have the talent.” It got a little easier as time went on, but I stayed focused on playing the best hockey I could. Soon I gained the respect of not only the players on the opposition but the fans in the stands. I’ve had racial slurs directed at me at airports and restaurants, so it goes in one ear and out the other.

How old were you when you stopped playing profesionally?

Forty-five. I injured a couple of ribs and decided to pack it in. I enjoyed the 21 years I played (pro), met a lot of great guys. The guys I played against in the NHL were great players, and I thank the Boston organization for thinking enough of me to call me up and making me part of their team.

What happened to you after you stopped playing pro?

I retired in 1980, my last year of pro, and then I had several jobs, but I wanted to get back into hockey in some capacity. I had something to give back to the sport that the sport gave to me. I wrote letters and had doors open and close. I had numerous jobs. I worked for a private security company for 18 years. And if you’ve ever been to San Diego, there’s a historical hotel in Coronado called Hotel Del: I got into security over there.

I worked there for five years, and then Brian McBride, who was the newly appointed vice president of the (NHL’s) diversity program, found out I was in San Diego, and Brian said, “Mr. O’Ree, would you like to be an ambassador and encourage boys and girls to play hockey?”

They laid a plan out, and I looked at it. The first thing I said was, “Are we looking at a long-range program? Is this something that’ll still be going in 20 or 30 years? Because I don’t want to involve myself with something that goes for a couple years and fizzles out.”

Brain McBride says, “No. I’m 100 per cent for it, and commissioner Bettman is 100 per cent for it.”

I said, “I’m in.”

When you hear of incidents such as the fan in London, Ont., throwing a banana at the Flyers’ Wayne Simmonds last fall, what runs through your mind?

Ignorance, that’s all it is. This guy who threw the banana, put yourself in Wayne Simmonds’ shoes: How would he like it, the reception that he gave? It’s just ignorance. The guy brought the banana in for one purpose only; they don’t sell bananas in the stadium. (Editor's note: The man who threw the banana said he did buy it from a stand in the John Labatt Centre.) He brought it in to throw it on the ice and discredit the player. Things like that, they happen but you wonder why they happen. We just need to keep working together, and hopefully down the road there will be no more racial remarks and slurs directed towards these players.

Most of your recognition has come in the last decade: the Order of Canada, the Fredericton arena named after you, the Lester Patrick Award. Why the delay to recognize your accomplishments?

They say things happen for a reason. I have to credit commissioner Bettman for appointing me to the diversity program. A lot of this recognition has come in the past five to eight years. I don’t know why the reason. The type of individual that I am, I just wanted to give back and let these boys and girls know there is another sport they can play if they want to. Some of them have never had a chance to skate, let alone play hockey.

Once I get these kids on the ice, I’ve never had one boy or girl tell me, “Mr. O’Ree, I don’t like this. I’m not coming back.” Ninety per cent of the job is just getting them on the ice and letting them know that it’s a fun sport. Like yourself, feel good about yourself. If you like yourself and feel good about yourself, people will like you. If you have a negative attitude, what do you expect from other people? The one expression I use is, “If you think you can or if you think you can’t, you’re right.” You have to believe in yourself and set goals for yourself and don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t attain your goals.

When the doctor told me I’d never play hockey again, I couldn’t accept that. He was a fine physician, but he didn’t know the burning desire in my gut. I went out and played hockey regardless, to prove this gentleman wrong. And I forgot about the impairment that I had. People said it’s impossible to play hockey, with its speed and sticks flying, when you’re blind. Well, you can do the impossible if you feel it within yourself. I’m a strong believer in that.

I’ve been blessed. My dad said, “Find a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” There’s truth to that. It doesn’t seem like a job when you can go out and put a smile on a boy or girl’s face. It’s very rewarding.

Is the NHL doing enough to encourage diversity?

Oh, yeah. There’s more rinks all over now. Hockey’s a very unique sport. You can go to any type of hall or court and throw a baseball, dribble a basketball or hit a tennis ball. In order to play hockey, you need to get on the ice. You could start with an in-line skate program, but you really need to get on the ice. There’s no other way. Now these kids have that opportunity.

Is there a piece of memorabilia that you hold dear?

When I left the Bruins I would’ve taken my jersey with me had I have known I wasn’t coming back. But there are some early hockey cards out. I have a couple cards that have part of a hockey stick that I played with inserted in the hockey card. Then I have some pictures of some of the guys I played with and a picture of the old Boston Gardens. I get back about four times a year and go to the Alumni Room and see some of the guys I played with. Some are still there. It’s a nice feeling.

Why aren’t you in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

[Laughs] I only played in the NHL 45 games. If I get into the Hall of Fame, it’s going to be for the work I’m doing now. A lot of people tell me, “You should be in the Hall of Fame. You broke the colour barrier!” Yeah, but I only played 45 games; the guys that are in there played in the NHL for years and established themselves. But I’m hoping one day I get in.

Describe your day-to-day role with "Hockey Is for Everyone."

Back in 1998, the NHL all-star game was in Vancouver, Canada. It just happened to fall on my anniversary (of breaking the colour barrier) of Jan. 18. Commissioner Bettman appointed me the director of the NHL’s diversity program as an ambassador to make it possible for more boys and girls to play hockey. At that point, there were about four or five programs; we have 34 now. My duties are to travel around to the different programs and help these kids on and off the ice, develop their hockey skills and life skills. The logo “Hockey Is for Everyone” is exactly what that means — we won’t turn any boy or girl away. We’ll make it feasible for these boys and girls to play, and if they come and don’t like it, they can just walk away. It won’t cost them anything. Since my involvement over the past 14 years, I’ve seen a big increase in the number of boys and girls who want to play the game.

In those 14 years, are there examples of children you’ve seen grow up through the program?

There’s several. One is Gerald Coleman. He was with the program in Chicago called PUCK, Positive Uplifting of Chicago Kids. I met Gerald when he was 13, just a skinny little black kid. He came through the program, wanted to be a goaltender. Everybody tried to talk him out of it: “No, Gerald. You’ll be turned down because of your colour.”

“I don’t care,” he said. “I’m going to be a goalie, and I’m going to play in the National Hockey League.”

Well, four years ago he was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning, played (two games) in the NHL. I think he’s in the minors now, but he’ll definitely be back. (Coleman currently plays with AHL’s Lake Eerie Monsters.) And there’s two or three other kids who are in college playing now. A lot of these kids come through the program, then come back to help out.

Before we finish, tell me about meeting Jackie Robinson.

I met him on two occasions. I met him in 1949. I was playing baseball in my hometown, and the reward was my team was taken to New York to see the Empire State Building and Radio City Music Hall and Coney Island and all the tourist attractions. He was playing with the Dodgers; I met him after a game. I told him, “Yeah, I play hockey too, Mr. Robinson.” He didn’t know there were any black kids playing, but he said, “Whatever sport you choose, work hard and do your very best. Things will work out for you.”

And when I was traded to the Los Angeles Blades in 1961, in 1962 the NAACP held a luncheon in Mr. Robinson’s honour. I made a case to the Blades to go. Mr. Robinson was over in the corner talking to a couple of media people. After they cleared out, we went over.

The coach of our team said, “Mr. Robinson, I’d like you to meet one of our star hockey players. This is Willie O’Ree.”

Mr. Robinson looked at me for a couple of seconds. Then he said, “Oh, yeah, you’re that young fellow I met in Brooklyn.”

So from 1949 to 1962, he remembered.

—–

My dad played with Willie in Spain in the late 1970's(?); many years after Willie 'retired' from playing pro. He said he was an incredible man and was still in unreal shape for his age and a heck of a hockey player. I wished I would have had a chance to see that.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Hall of Fame character: Fleury continues to share his personal journey in hopes of helping others.

Mike Brophy, Sportsnet.ca, March 2, 2012

Mark Howe is one of the lucky ones.

Each year when the Hockey Hall of Fame's selection committee gathers in late June to debate the merits of potential inductees, the emphasis is on recent retirees. So this year, you'd have to think Joe Sakic, who is now eligible, will be an automatic while others such as Mats Sundin and Brendan Shanahan will be discussed, too.

Every now and then, a player who has been passed over, often more than once, gets the nod.

Last year, it was Mark Howe, the son of a legend and one of the steadiest defencemen to ever skate in the NHL and WHA. It's not as though he somehow got better as a player in the 16 years between his retirement and his induction, but somebody on the committee managed to convince the others that his inclusion with the best that have ever played the game was right and just.

There are others that have been passed over, in this man's opinion, who also deserve reconsideration: Steve Larmer, Pavel Bure, Eric Lindros and Claude Lemieux, to name a few.

And, perhaps more than anybody else, Theoren Fleury.

On the surface, one might think Fleury's record speaks for itself:

— 455 goals and 1,088 points in 1,084 regular season NHL games

— 34 goals and 79 points in 77 NHL playoff games

— IHL championship with the Salt Lake City Eagles in 1987-88

— Stanley Cup championship with the Calgary Flames in 1988-89

— Gold medal with Team Canada at the World Junior Championship in 1988

— Gold medal with Team Canada at the Canada Cup in 1991

— Gold medal with Team Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City

All of that while beating the odds of being one of the smallest players in the NHL. At 5-foot-6 and 180 pounds. The deck was stacked against Fleury trying to make it in a big man's world.

And size wasn't the only obstacle he faced.

Try alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling addition and, worst of all, the deep, dark secret that he had been sexually abused by a man he trusted to do all the right things to get him to the NHL, Graham James.

You think Fleury's off-ice behaviour is a reason to keep him out of the Hall? I say, with all he went through in his life, all those skeletons in his closet are reasons to induct him! This man — a giant in my books — went through hell and all the while accomplished on the ice what so many others only dream about.

So how did he do it?

"I didn't realize this until I first started doing my speaking tours and read a book called Outliers: The Story of Success (by Malcolm Gladwell)," Fleury said. "Basically, what this guy says is, if we want to be the elite of the elite in whatever field we choose, we need to put in 10,000 hours of practice. From the time I was six until I was 16, guess what happened? I put in those 10,000 hours of practice and because of that, when I stepped on the ice, I never had to think because I had gone through every single scenario thousands and thousands of times on the ice. And because I was naturally gifted and had ability and talent, and because I put in all those hours or practice, that is what set me apart from every other small guy who tried to play in the NHL."

Another statistic in his career that stands out is the 1,840 penalty minutes he accumulated. There have been plenty of small, skilled players over the years in the NHL, but few had the combative nature of Fleury. He said he realized early on that, as a tiny player, he needed to find an edge that kept others on their toes.

"There's not a lot of us," Fleury said with a laugh. "There's Mats Naslund, Denis Savard, Dennis Maruk. There's only a handful of guys who really had an impact on the game. I realized in my first year in Moose Jaw when I was 5-foot-2 and 120 pounds and playing against guys that were three times as big as me, in order for me to be able to do what I do on the ice, I needed something different and that was unpredictability. They didn't know whether I was going to cut their eye out or kiss them. Also, not backing down from any confrontation on the ice. If you allow it to happen one time, you're done."

Fleury spends a great deal of his time counseling others that have shared similar experiences to his. It is an on-going fight. Asked what difference it might have made to his career had he not battled booze, dope, gambling and sexual abuse, Fleury was silent for a moment before offering:

"What would I have done? Would I have won another Stanley Cup? Would I have won a scoring title? I don't have any regrets about my life. The lesson that has been learned here is we all have a plan for our life; we all have a purpose for our life. Sometimes we have to go to the depth that I went to in order to figure it out. If you ask any successful person in the world, they will tell you the biggest reason for their success is they have helped other people achieve success. They have inspired people or have given of their time, one-on-one, to teach others how to get through adversity or how to become a great salesman or a great executive. You're not born into that. You need experiences to get to a certain level — to gain awareness."

For Theo Fleury, the battle never ends. He controls what he can and he doesn't dwell in what he cannot control. In my eyes, as well as in the eyes of many others in his life, he doesn't need to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame as an endorsement of his excellence. That said, it sure would be cool.

"It's hard to put into words," Fleury said. "It is the highest honour you can receive as a player — even bigger than Stanley Cups and gold medals. To be recognized by your peers; that not only did you play the game at a certain level, but you carried yourself in a certain way, too.

"I totally understand what people think about me because at the end of my career I wasn't a Hall of Fame guy. But I think over the last six or seven years I have proven to everybody that I am a person of quality and morals and all those things that people seemed to forget. It's something I face everyday on Facebook and Twitter, trying to get rid of that reputation I had at the end (of my career). People think we can't recover; we can't go on to have a peaceful and successful life, but I'm saying, 'No. Nothing is impossible.' "

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Unlike father Warren, Spitfires’ Kerby Rychel looks to be a sure bet for NHL draft

Sean FitzGerald, National Post, Mar 2, 2012

WINDSOR — Stan Rychel can remember feeling uncomfortably warm in the big room, but suspects it was probably just the tension. His son dreamed of hearing his name called at the National Hockey League’s amateur draft, but one by one, hour after hour, teenagers sitting behind, in front and beside them were invited to the floor, and the air grew stale.

It was June 15, 1985, and they had driven into Toronto from the family home in Windsor, where Warren Rychel would borrow his father’s lawnmower to cut the grass at one local arena just so he could get one more hour of ice time. Along with Warren’s mother, the two were in the audience as the NHL’s 21 teams began calling out 252 names.

“It was hard,” Stan said. “It was probably harder for us than maybe it was for him.”

Wendel Clark went first. Craig Simpson went second. Wayne Gretzky’s little brother was called late in the third round. Warren Rychel, a hard-working winger with more ambition than natural ability, was never called, leaving his seat only when it was time to climb into the car for the long tearful drive home.

“It’s an experience,” Stan said. “I don’t think I’d want to go through it too often.”

But he will have to, at least one more time.

Warren Rychel eventually landed regular work in the NHL after fighting his way through the now-defunct International Hockey League — and fighting is the proper term, with the 938 penalty minutes he earned in one three-season stretch — and has become part owner and general manager of the Windsor Spitfires. The Ontario Hockey League team won back-to-back Memorial Cup titles under his ownership group, and even though it is rebuilding this year, the team has been making a run at a playoff spot with a player whose name could be called early in the 2013 NHL draft.

Kerby Rychel, Warren’s eldest son, is the team’s leading goal-scorer.

“He’s got way more skill than I did,” Warren said. “But his work ethic, I don’t think, at this age, that anybody matches it. He really wants it.”

Kerby was born nine years after his father first went undrafted, on Oct. 7, 1994, the week the NHL locked out its players. Warren had landed work with the Los Angeles Kings and was one season removed from appearing in a Stanley Cup final. Gretzky was the star, and Keith Gretzky, that third-round pick in 1985, played through his final season in professional hockey, in a minor league that no longer exists.

Kerby Rychel scored 36 goals in 60 games heading into play Thursday. His father scored 47 goals over his entire three-year OHL career.

“He’s a good package of NHL potential,” said Dan Marr, director of NHL Central Scouting. “So when you look at the OHL, he’s going to be one of the guys that you’re going to say, ‘he has first-round potential.’”

He is being projected as a power forward. Kerby has his father’s frame, at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, but has better hands and vision. He has a knack for scoring, beating the highly ranked London Knights for three goals in a game last month, and he also has a knack for violence, getting thrown out of a game last weekend for hitting from behind.

“I’ve talked to a few NHL scouts, friends of mine, who said if he was in the draft this year, he’d be considered a first-round pick,” Spitfires coach Bob Boughner said. “That’s a pretty big statement for a kid this age.”

Boughner, who is also president and part owner of the team, has known Kerby since he was a baby. Many of the people around the team have known him for that long, in no small part because Rychels and Boughners seem to be everywhere around the arena in Windsor.

Stan Rychel works in the pro shop with Boughner’s father. Kerby’s grandmother helps to prepare meals in the arena on game days, and his little brother, Maddux, has a seat next to their father during home games. They both watched in silence as Kerby was ejected last Sunday afternoon, opening a small hole in the broad tapestry of profanity that Warren had been weaving during a critical game in the schedule.

The Spitfires have become a factory for NHL talent over the last six seasons. Edmonton Oilers winger Taylor Hall was a key member of Windsor’s back-to-back Memorial Cup championships, along with Nashville Predators defenceman Ryan Ellis and New Jersey Devils centre Adam Henrique, who led the NHL in rookie scoring heading into Thursday night’s games.

Their accomplishments have been framed and put on display in a wood-panelled hall that leads into the team’s dressing room.

What Rychel and Boughner have developed is junior hockey only in name. Players have their own lounge, a fully equipped gym and a flat-screen television hung on the wall of their dressing room, with spacious wooden stalls that are almost identical to ones used by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“It’d definitely be a special moment for me and my family if I were to get selected,” Kerby said. “I worked really hard, all the way up, and it’d be an honour to get drafted.”

His grandfather did not even learn to skate until he was 12 years old. Stan Rychel was born in Poland, moved to Canada when he was 10, and is almost certain the first pair of skates he ever wore were a donated pair of men’s figure skates.

He has already been through the draft as a father, and as the patriarch of a group that lists hockey as a family business, he sounds like a man trying not to get too excited about going through the whole process again as a grandfather.

“Anything can happen — he can get hurt, this may be a fluke year and next year could be a different story — but with Kerby’s work ethic, I could see him being drafted,” he said. “It’s a dream.”

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Don Cherry feels sorry for Leafs coach Ron Wilson

Joe O'Connor, National Post, Mar 2, 2012

One of the ongoing mini-dramas beneath the over-arching, all-consuming drama that is the life and times and failings of the Toronto Maple Leafs and their embattled, beleaguered head coach, Ron Wilson, is the feud between the bench boss and Don Cherry.

Cherry and Wilson are like shinny rinks and spring-like temperatures: they just don’t mix. And they don’t like each other much, as evidenced by a bubbling feud of barbs that, at various times, has seen Cherry blast Wilson on Coach’s Corner for being “pompous and arrogant” and a “bully”. He also sneeringly refers to him as “The Genius.”

Wilson’s boss, Leafs GM Brian Burke, has complained to the CBC about Cherry’s criticisms, the latest coming back in January when the talking head trashed the working coach for not applauding during a pre-game ceremony at the Air Canada Centre honouring the Canadian military.

Now, Wilson is reeling. Leafs fans, and media types, are all calling for his head, as his team continues its crazy carpet ride from serious playoff contender to league laughing stock. There is blood in the water, and now that there is, Cherry is refusing to bite and instead says he pities his Leafs nemesis.

“I don’t want to get into it,” Cherry said in an interview with the National Post this week. “I had my say about him two years ago — and every year since — but now that the sharks have smelled blood I am not going to jump in. I feel sorry for him.

“Even though he detests me, and vice versa, I feel sorry for him because it is a tough deal. You know, when I was in Colorado, it was the same thing.

“You don’t like to see any coach, even one that detests you and vice versa, get the treatment he gets. And for him to be standing there hearing chants of “Fire Wilson” from 18,000 people, that is tough. And I can’t comment on that.

“I can’t comment on any coach being fired because I know how they feel. It is not only you — it is your family, your kids and especially your wife. Can you imagine if she is at the game and she hears “Fire Wilson?”

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Bettman talks Quebec, Coyotes: Relocating franchises a last resort

By REJEAN TREMBLAY, QMI Agency, March 2 2012

No easy road to top for Bettman

NEW YORK – When you enter the building at 1251 Avenue of the Americas, you are initially held up for a good 10 minutes by security. It is also located at the heart of Manhattan, three minutes from Times Square.

The offices of the National Hockey League are on the 15th floor. Hypermodern, in steel-grey tones, the meeting rooms line the way as you approach the office of Gary Bettman. A huge space, where many objects and photos remind you that you have indeed stepped into the office of the NHL commissioner. It's a work area, not overly luxurious.

Today, Gary Bettman receives visitors in a shirt and tie.

Half an hour later, the conversation is very animated. We have already spoken of the league's successes despite a difficult economy in the United States and started in on the situation of the Phoenix Coyotes.

The commissioner understands what's going on in Quebec: "I am aware of the new TVA Sports network. I am aware of the efforts of Pierre Karl Peladeau. I am informed of what is going on in my world. I also know that the economic power of Quebec City is much bigger than it was. The studies that I have read have kept me informed. And I know the mayor of Quebec, Mr. (Regis) Labeaume, and I know that he is certainly a determined and opinionated man. But I also know that the people of Quebec are lucky to have a mayor like that," Bettman said.

But every time he seems to open a door, he always adds, and sometimes repeats a dozen times in a louder voice: "If … if … if … if … if …"

In other words, if one day a team can be moved, he will let us know.

Expansion is never talked about, but wouldn't that be logical?

"We aren't talking expansion because we are not planning an expansion," Bettman said. "We are comfortable with 30 teams. We are continually receiving requests for information or signs of interest. We have received interest from Quebec, Seattle, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Southern Ontario, from Saskatoon, even Halifax. I always give the same answer.

"We don't like moving teams and, currently, there are no teams available. Maybe one day the circumstances will allow for one but for now, there is nothing available."

When he says this, Bettman's voice is unequivocal. However, he will take the time to explain to what point the league feels responsible towards fans of the teams.

He says — and repeats — that the league will work to the limit to protect the Phoenix fans or any other affected team.

"As we speak (last Thursday) we have been working with three groups to save the Coyotes," he said. "We are going to the limit. In the past, when we moved the Nordiques and the Jets, there was a reason. We had no owner ready to continue operations in those cities. Despite our efforts, we couldn't find one. That's what happened in Atlanta. The team became available for Winnipeg the day where it was certain that it was impossible to find an owner for Atlanta.

"The rule is that when we are in a city, we stay in the city and we do everything we can to make it work where it is. We don't want fans to worry. We have a commitment to them."

Seattle, Kansas City, Quebec? Bettman shrugs his shoulders. He repeats that as long as things aren't finished in Phoenix, there will be no option of a move.

Which doesn't stop him from preparing everything discreetly. For example, he knows Peladeau is interested in bringing an NHL team to Quebec.

"I met Pierre Karl a few times. At least two or three times. I know very well of his interest and his passion for hockey and to bring a team to Quebec. I also know his sophisticated business sense and I am aware that he brings an extraordinary environment along with him.

"If … if … if … if … a franchise was available, there would be three factors to consider. One, the owner. Two, the arena. And three, the market. That is how we must analyze the demands and make a decision."

But all the cities will have a new arena, so that's no longer a determining factor.

"It's a base condition," Bettman said. "I already said it. In fact, what weighs most in the decision is the new owner. Because we invite them to become one of the 30 owners in the NHL. He is invited to sit with the others at the big table. He becomes one of ours. As for the market, it might already be established or still needing development. But it goes without saying that we have never once doubted the passion and love of our fans in Quebec."

There has to be a deadline to get the Phoenix situation resolved but Bettman won't confirm it.

"I don't know. All I know is that we are working to save the Coyotes," he said. "And I should also say that there is no list of favourite cities in case of a move. There is no conspiracy. Look on the walls, do you see a list of cities? If you want, go look in the files on my desk, you won't find a list. For the simple reason that there is no team available. But when something moves, it is clear that these ones are ready to move forward.

"When we had to leave Atlanta, Mark Chipman and David Thomson were ready. They had made me aware of their intentions for a few years already. As did Pierre Karl Peladeau. But I'm not saying Quebec is ahead, I'm saying that I haven't yet thought about what we would do if…if…if…if it wasn't working in Phoenix."

Meanwhile, the commissioner made another point. Referencing the fans of Winnipeg and Quebec, he noted: "I understand that we had to leave a city like Quebec for economic reasons at a certain time. I think that you have to consider that these fans that had their team taken away because of a decision to move. If you went somewhere else and have a chance to come back, you have to keep it in mind."

And contrary to public opinion, Bettman doesn't consider himself biased towards the United States: "I am perfectly aware of the passion and power of hockey in Canada. And the economy in Canada is strong. It's a country that has been extraordinarily well directed for many years. It shows today. With the Canadian dollar at par, that weighs heavily."

My feeling after speaking with the commissioner and a few of his lieutenants? If the Phoenix Coyotes have to leave in the spring, they will end up in Quebec. Even the people in his office are dreaming about it.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

MP Marc Garneau on grassroots hockey

Anthony Jenkins, Globe and Mail Update, Mar. 01, 2012

Former astronaut Marc Garneau was the first Canadian in space, participating in three NASA space shuttle missions. He currently serves as MP for the Quebec constituency of Westmount-Ville-Marie.

Did you play organized hockey as a boy?

I played hockey until I was about 12, and then our family moved to England. So it dried up a little bit and I had to find other things, like soccer and rugby.

Do your kids play hockey?

I’m a hockey dad. I have some grown-up kids. One of them is 35 and he played hockey. I took him to the rink. I have two kids now, 12 and 15, and they were very engaged, but they are drifting away as well.

Do you know what a decent kid’s hockey stick costs?

I do. They can go from a plain-Jane wooden stick to sticks that cost hundreds of dollars. It’s a peer pressure issue. If someone really wants to play hockey, they can be persuaded that there is not that much difference if their hockey stick is not super-duper, really cool and the best. Branding and imaging are very important.

A recent study found that, at a grassroots level, boys’ participation in organized hockey in Canada is decreasing. In other countries, notably the United States, it’s rising. Is this a crisis, or just part of the natural evolution of the country?

It is part of the evolution. We have good infrastructure in this country to encourage people, to bring them up through. But other countries are getting very enthusiastic. If the interest is there, it is going to build and we may fade a little bit. How do you get people to play if they don’t want to play?

The study found “cost” as the most significant factor for kids – or parents – dropping out. A majority felt there should be more corporate financial involvement to help keep costs down. Should there be?

Corporations will get involved if there is a good business case for them, it gives them great publicity. You can’t force them to get involved, either. I’m not surprised that people feel that corporations should step in and help with paying some of the expenses, but wishful thinking is not going to do it.

Municipal rinks are feeling budget restraints, and costs for ice time are rising for parents. The government funds culture. Should it be more heavily funding something as core culture as ice time for kids’ hockey?

As I remember, there was the centennial ice-rink project back when we were celebrating our centennial [1967] and the government thought that was a good idea. The local hockey rink is very much the centre of a community.

We like to feel that hockey is Canada’s game and we’re the best in the world at it. Suppose this grassroots abandonment continues to the detriment of our hockey development and Canada slips as a hockey nation to the second tier – say on a par with France. Would that be a tragedy?

That will be hard for Canada, accompanied by people exhorting everybody to get more serious about it, to have more professional development, to develop our future hockey stars. I think that will come out in the process if that actually happens.

Would it be such a terrible thing if, due to costs or changing demographics, Canada declined as a hockey power and we came on internationally in, say, soccer?

I don’t think the country would fall apart. Some people would remember the glory days and wish they were there. It is part of an evolution, but I don’t think it will happen without a fight. I think we really do want to hold on to our image as being the best in the world. When we do lose at big international tournaments, we say: “We have to work harder for next time.”

Let’s say the funding comes, either from government or through corporate involvement, and cost ceases to be an issue. To keep enrolment levels high, new Canadians would need to be encouraged to embrace the game. Can anything be done? Should anything be done?

I don’t think it should be included in their “Welcome to Canada” material. Kids and their parents pick it up through osmosis. In some cases, new arrivals come from countries where they play hockey, but if they come from, say, northern Africa, they don’t play hockey. It is totally foreign to them.

Should a few hockey questions be included in any citizenship test – “What is a neutral zone trap?” Or might prospective Canadians be tested for the ability to stickhandle or skate backward?

There are a lot of important things we want people to pick up when the come into the country. I don’t think we should go that far.

Can you stickhandle or skate backward?

Not very well …

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Canadiens icon Jean Béliveau progressing well after stroke

CBC Sports, Mar 2, 2012

Montreal Canadiens icon Jean Béliveau is making encouraging progress since suffering a stroke Monday evening, according to his wife.

Élise Béliveau told the Montreal Gazette on Thursday that her 80-year-old Hall of Fame husband is speaking and laughing and has regained some of his strength as he goes through more tests.

He remains closely monitored by specialists.

The Canadiens announced Tuesday that Béliveau was admitted to Montreal General Hospital after a stroke a day earlier. He was a patient at the same hospital in June for endovascular surgery to repair abdominal aneurysms.

The former Canadiens great, who won 10 Stanley Cups during his Hall of Fame career, has endured a number of health problems.

Since the 1990s, Béliveau has been in and out of hospital on several occasions. A cancerous tumour was removed from his neck in 2000, and he underwent 35 chemotherapy treatments for a malignant throat tumor. The cancer remains in remission. He also had a stroke in January 2010. Prior to that, it was mostly his heart that was the concern.

Béliveau played his entire 20-year career with the Canadiens and is second on the team’s all-time list in points (1,219) and assists (712) and is third in goals (507).

He capped his brilliant time in Montreal with an unexpected Stanley Cup title in 1971 after the Canadiens upended the Chicago Blackhawks in seven games.

Élise Béliveau expressed gratitude in the Gazette interview for the overwhelming concern and affection shown to her husband and family from around the world.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[Eric Fink]

Mark Spector | February 29, 2012, 7:26 pm
Twitter @SportsnetSpec
At age 60 and more than 1,000 games into his coaching career, Ken Hitchcock has seen a mistake or two in his day.

There are certain ones, however, that speak to a greater problem. A bigger, environmental issue that, say, Toronto Maple Leafs fans might know something about these days.

Hitchcock wasn't speaking to Luke Schenn's miscue on the first shift of a loss to Florida Tuesday. In fact, Schenn's name had not even come up when he was speaking with reporters prior to the St. Louis Blues game in Edmonton Wednesday night.

Yet, he was perfectly describing Schenn's blunder, as well as the rest of the situation enveloping the Toronto Maple Leafs these days.

"When I see some of the mistakes that get made on the ice, those aren't natural mistakes. Those are tension mistakes," he said Wednesday morning. "You have to find a way at this time of year to not make your team so tight. And that's not easy because there's pressure on you (the coach), there's pressure on the manager, there's pressure on the players. But no matter how you do it, you have to create a bubble.

"This is the time of year where the coach has to be dug in with the players at all costs."

So throwing the goaltenders under the bus, as Ron Wilson did last week in Toronto, does not fall under what Hitchcock would describe as acceptable, stretch-run coaching strategy. Nor would having the GM come out in relative agreement the next day, promising to investigate the goalie market prior to the trading deadline.

"You can't play at this time of year with tension other than the actual competition. If there's tension on top of that, it's so hard to play," said Hitchcock, who has never won the Jack Adams Award but will surely be on the ballot this year. "One of the things that happens is…whether it's the market you play in, whether it's the atmosphere, whether it's the culture, when there's too much tension, people freeze. You have heavy legs; you can't catch your breath.

"I've always had the attitude that a coach's job at this time of year is to make sure you do everything to protect the players so they can play the game."

So, let us review.

One 1000-game coach does it one way, and he's been hired and fired along the way.

Another 1000-game coach, Ron Wilson, does it his way. And he's been hired and fired along the way.

The difference is trajectory. Hitchcock joined the Blues early this season and has them challenging for first overall in the entire National Hockey League.

Wilson can't find the playoffs with an apple and a road map, and his home crowd is chanting "Fi-re Wil-son!" and booing the Maple Leafs off of the ice at the ACC.

St. Louis general manager Doug Armstrong had to make the tough call on Davis Payne back in November. It was perhaps his most poignant decision as a GM.

"Ken's getting the maximum out of our players, which he was brought in to do," Armstrong said. "We felt like, bringing in a guy with 1000 games, a winner – Stanley Cups, World Cups, World Championships, Olympics – the group knew that they had a coach who has experienced what they want to experience."

We did ask Armstrong about making the late-season coaching move, the way Lou Lamoriello has in New Jersey a time or two before.

"You have to know the pulse of your team," Armstrong said. "And you don't know it from the outside. You have to be inside. You make hard decisions based on that."

Over to you, Brian?

Mark Spector is the senior columnist on sportsnet.ca

[hockeygod]

Leafs fire head coach Ron Wilson, replace him with Randy Carlyle

Eric Duhatschek AND Sean Gordon, Globe and Mail, Mar. 02, 2012

At around noon on Friday, Ron Wilson was in his familiar track suit, running a brisk practice, putting the fast-fading Toronto Maple Leafs through their paces in suburban Montreal.

Afterward, he held forth for the cameras in a spartan dressing room typically populated by recreational hockey players.

Asked whether he was concerned over the mounting speculation he might soon be relieved of his duties, Wilson calmly said: “The talk in town doesn’t really matter.”

Within a few hours, he was the Leafs’ former coach.

On the heels of a miserable 1-9-1 slide that has seen Toronto tumble out of the playoff picture, the Leafs brain trust has evidently decided a change was in order.

And so they now turn to former Anaheim Ducks coach Randy Carlyle, another head man who also suddenly found himself without a mount on the NHL’s coaching carousel earlier this season.

The no-nonsense Carlyle, who just wrapped up a trip scouting Eastern Conference teams for Anaheim, is expected to be behind the Maple Leafs bench when they play the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, in what has to count as a pivotal game.

The 55-year-old former Winnipeg Jets standout spent more than six seasons as Ducks boss, and has previously worked for Leafs general manager Brian Burke, who hired the former Norris Trophy winner when he ran the Anaheim franchise. The pair won a Stanley Cup in 2007.

In a 2007 interview discussing his coaching philosophy, Carlyle said that while he never imagined that he would ever become an NHL coach, he hasn’t forgotten what was important to him as a player.

“I don’t spend a heck of a lot of time in the dressing room,” said Carlyle, a defensive-minded coach and a notorious taskmaster. “I think that’s the players’ area. As a player, I didn’t want our coach always in the dressing room, so I don’t go into the dressing room very often. I go in, deliver whatever I have to do, and come out.”

The decision to fire Wilson will have been a traumatic one for Burke, he and Wilson have known since their university days at Providence College and are close friends – as such Burke will be able to commiserate with Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier on Saturday. Gauthier made a similarly painful move in December, firing long-time pal Jacques Martin.

Burke was steadfast in his support for Wilson last week when disgruntled fans in the Air Canada Centre voiced their displeasure with lusty chants of “Fi-re, Wil-son!”

But ultimately the team’s disconcerting slide made considerations of loyalty and friendship moot.

“This was not an easy decision for me to make,” said Burke, who thanked Wilson “for all of his hard work and dedication to our organization over the past four seasons.”

Earlier Friday, Wilson’s former players said the coach wasn’t to blame for the team’s current wretchedness.

“There’s only so much the coach can do,” centre David Steckel said. “We’re the ones who play the games.”

Added winger Joffrey Lupul: “It’s not fun for anyone, it’s not fun for the coach, it’s not fun for the goalies, it’s not fun for the fans. This is kind of the time when it’s easy to start pointing fingers and blaming people and that’s something we’ve talked about in here we don’t want to do.”

Historians will note Wilson, who signed a one-year contract extension over the Christmas holidays, was done in by spotty goaltending and inconsistent defensive play, both of which will need to improve drastically over the final five weeks of the regular season if the Leafs are to avoid extending their playoff drought to seven seasons.

The players believe it can be done, as Steckel said: “The reality is there’s still 18 games left, there’s still plenty of time to make up ground.”

The 56-year-old Wilson leaves Toronto fourth on the all-time NHL list for games coached, his record in Toronto was 130-135-45.

In 1,401 career games with Anaheim, Washington, San Jose and Toronto, he has a 648-561-91 record with 101 ties.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Hockey Memorabilia: Million-dollar bid for Henderson’s Summit Series jersey sets Guinness record

MONTREAL— The Canadian Press, Mar. 02, 2012

Once again, Paul Henderson is credited with making hockey history.

A Montreal-based auction house says it's received a certificate from Guinness World Records about the jersey Mr. Henderson was wearing when he scored the winning goal in the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviets.

Classic Auctions says they have been informed that Guinness has classified it as the most expensive hockey jersey ever sold at auction.

The winning bid came in at $1.275-million two years ago.

Marc Juteau, president of Classic Auctions, says he was actually told by the Guinness people that they can't find a comparable scenario for any auction, in any sport. He says the item was listed in a special hockey category as a matter of caution, to ensure accuracy.

The famous No. 19 jersey was sold to Toronto real-estate magnate Mitchell Goldhar.

Mr. Henderson's tie-breaking goal came in the last minute of the eighth and final game. Canada won the series 4-3, with one tie.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Brad Wall says it's too soon to talk about an NHL team in Saskatoon

SASKATOON— The Canadian Press, Mar. 02, 2012

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall says talk of an NHL team for Saskatoon is very speculative.

Hockey fans have been tweeting up a storm since TSN journalist Bob McKenzie wrote a column musing about the possibility of an NHL team relocating to Saskatoon.

But the premier suggested Friday that it's too soon to lace up the skates.

“Obviously this is very hypothetical and in early stages and sort of the stuff of rumours right now,” Wall told the Business News Network (BNN) in an interview from London, England.

“But I'm pretty biased. I would wonder why the NHL's not already in Canada's greatest province. I think we produce more per capita NHL players than anywhere else in the country. And obviously it's a hotbed of hockey.

“If Winnipeg can do it, I like our chances.”

A recent report from the Conference Board of Canada concluded that the country could sustain as many as nine National Hockey League franchises. The report from the Ottawa-based think-tank said Quebec City and Hamilton would be the most suitable cities.

The researchers looked at population size, market wealth, corporate presence and the level playing field created by a Canadian dollar that hovers around par with its U.S. counterpart. They ruled out any area with a population lower than 750,000.

Report co-author Mario Lefebvre said there were questions about Halifax and Saskatoon and Regina, but he said those markets are too small for teams to survive.

Saskatoon estimates its population is about 234,200. The city is home to the Saskatoon Blades, a junior team in the Western Hockey League.

Wall pointed out that the province supported the world junior hockey championships when they were held in Saskatoon and Regina in 2010. That included making upgrades to Saskatoon's Credit Union Centre.

But the premier said it's too soon to talk about what might be needed for an NHL team.

“We always look at reasonable proposals, based on a need for recreational infrastructure, for those kind of facilities. But I don't make that comment in the context of this NHL speculation. I think that'd be way ahead of ourselves,” he told BNN.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Hockey fan buys Zamboni for backyard rink

CBC News, Mar 3, 2012

A Pleasant Valley, N.S., man has taken the backyard hockey rink to a new level. The hockey fanatic bought an ice resurfacing machine to turn the frozen pond into a high-quality rink.

Scott Fraser says the machine saves him time getting the pond ready, because he, his son and his wife all play hockey. A two-hour flooding process is now 20 minutes onboard the ice resurfacer.

The CBC's Kevin Harvey stopped by to see it in action.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/offbeat/story/2012/03/03/ns-private-zamboni.html

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Study says outdoor ice hockey could perish

Canadian Press, 04/03/2012

Canada's favourite pastime is on its way to being an indoor-only sport in some areas of the country, a new study warns.

The study, released Monday by United Kingdom-based IOP Publishing, says outdoor ice hockey in Canada is being threatened by climate change.

Lawrence Mysak, co-author of the report and a professor at McGill University in Montreal, Que., said warmer winter temperatures caused by climate change is restricting the operation of ice rinks.

"We were able to see that in general, the rinks were being opened later and later over the last… 50 years, and secondly that the length of the season has also shortened by… one or two, sometimes three weeks," said Mysak from his office in Montreal last week.

Mysak fears the gradual warming of the earth caused by burning fossil fuels could eventually cause the beloved outdoor activity to perish in several decades.

"If we extend the trends into the future, there could be no outdoor skating rinks with global warming taking place," said Mysak, who grew up carving his skates into outdoor rinks in Edmonton, Alta.

Regions that are being hit the hardest are the Prairies, southeastern British Columbia and southern Ontario and Quebec. The Maritimes and northern parts of the country did not see significant changes, he said.

Using historical weather data from more than 140 weather stations across Canada since the 1950s, the researchers calculated the annual start date and length of the outdoor skating season, said Mysak.

He said the beginning of the season is considered the last of three days where the maximum temperature does not exceed -5 C, as it takes several cold days to lay the initial ice on the rink.

They then looked at how many days in January and February were cold enough to skate on backyard or community rinks built on the ground or snow, said Mysak.

Damon Matthews, co-author of the report and a professor at Concordia University in Montreal, Que., said many regions experienced decreases in the length of the outdoor skating season.

"It's hard to imagine parts of the country that currently do enjoy outdoor skating not being able to do that at some point in the future," said Matthews, adding the study is the first of its kind.

"Outdoor skating, particularly hockey, is synonymous with Canadian culture. I think there's big cultural ramification to this as well."

But Justin Beaulieu of Lower Sackville, N.S., said losing outdoor skating rinks is a small casualty in the grand scheme of climate change.

"There's a lot more than skating that we have to worry about with climate change," said the 39-year-old who was enjoying his Sunday on the ice at an outdoor rink in Halifax, N.S.

"It's the big picture. We have a lot more to worry about."

In order to ensure Canada's future hockey stars will have access to backyard rinks, the country must tackle reducing greenhouse gases, the experts agree.

Since 1950, winter temperatures in Canada have increased by more than 2.5 C – three times the globally-averaged warming attributed to global warming caused by human activity, a news release from the publisher said.

Mysak said the study began as a 2011 thesis by McGill masters student Nikolay Damyanov.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

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