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For Canada's faded hockey dreamPipedream plan marks resurrectionHALIFAX (CP) -Resurrecting Canada’s faded dream of a return to international ice hockey supremacy might be a pipedream, but the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association has produced a plan association officials say will at least provide competitive representation by the time the 1984 Olympics role around.And the federal government has bought the association’s idea, CAHA officials said Monday. Although they declined to offer firm figures, CAHA executives said the government will help pay for the development of the team during the next three years.The first phase begins in August with two national camps — one for midget-age players and the other for juniors. Part of the program includes forming an all-star team to represent Canada in next winter’s world junior championship.The skeptics might say, said CAHA president Murray Costello of Ottawa, that regardless of what kind of team Canada sends into international play the Russians still will skate circles around our best.“That’s the attitude some people take and in a sense it’s realistic,” Costello said in an interview during the opening day of the CAHA’s annualmeeting. “But do we quit trying? .“There still is merit in being involved internationally. And although it’s not necessary to win, even though that would be nice, we would like to be more competitive.”Costello said the CAHA decided that, since nothing had been done since the February, 1980, Lake Placid, N. Y., Olympics towards preparing a Canadian team for the next Winter Games, the association devised a player development program and presented it to federal officials. Funding followed.The CAHA has not been involved in a similar player development plan since the mid-1960s when Father David Bauer constructed a national team. Hockey Canada was in charge of Canada’s return to Olympic hockey competition in ’80.The CAHA pulled out of Hockey Canada in 1979 and the two groups are not on the best of terms. The association is taking the agency to court to try to get $200,000 it says it has not received from a $l-million fund set up after the 1976 Canada Cup.Costello said the CAHA will draw top players from midget to major junior “that would begin to expose players to international competition on as regular a basis as we couldwithout interrupting their regular programs with their teams.”“This way, when players reach the major junior-or university age levels, they will be among the players trying out for the Olympic team and will have had a suitable amount of international competition behind them.”The plan sends the CAHA in a new direction.“For the 64 years we’ve been in business we’ve been known as a club-team assocation whereby we try to protect the right of every youngster to play at his level of ability at the club level.“We think now as other sports do that we should also make provisions to accommodate the more gifted players to allow those players to pursue the sport to the full limit of their capabilities as well.”It’s a long-range project, Costello said, and “players coming in at the midget level now might very well be the players representing Canada in 1988.”Costello said he believes there are Voung, talented hockey players willing to make a commitment to represent Canada before turning pro.“Sometimes we undersell the dedication of our youngathletes because some of the more talented players I’ve seen this year have expressed an interest.”Canada’s ’80 Olympic entry consisted largely of university students. The big difference in the ’84 team would be the presence of some top juniors.“We would like to convince the National Hockey League that the players drafted in the summer prior to the Olympics also would be made available through February of that season —even if they signed them and put the money in trust. That might be a bit of wishful thinking on oqr part but we’d like to convince the pros that would be a worthwhile gesture. They would get back a more complete hockey player and a better marketing product as well because he’d be better known, particularly if the team did well.”What about the owners of major junior teams? Would they agree to wave goodbye to their best players so they could play for a national team?“This is a concern of the juniors ... if you happen to be the franchise owner of a team that produced a Gretzky, you’d hate to lose him. And I don’t think you would because there would be one or two or three players who would be an exception to the rule. I don’tthink you could ask either a NHL team or a junior team to give up someone like that.” Gord Renwick of Cambridge, Ont., immediate past president of the CAHA and an officer of the International Ice Hockey Federation, said club teams have been representing Canada because money has not been available to hold tryout camps and slowly develop a national team.“It’s been a funding problem,” said Renwick. “But, now, with the NHL getting beat in the Challenge Cup, suddenly people are a lot more concerned than they were before and I think that had something to do with putting pressure on government to help us ... . Now is the right time for us to move ahead with this type of plan.”The Europeans, said Renwick, are always happy when a Canadian team visits because Canada still is the best gate attraction in Europe “and most of them like beating us.” The Europeans, however, find it hard to understand why better representation does not come from Canada.“They think we should have more pride. It’s hard for them to comprehend the importance of the Stanley Cup.” Architect of the plan is Dennis McDonald, developmentcoordinator at the CAHA’s Ottawa office, who studied various European systems.“Of all of the ones we looked at,” said Costello, “the one in Finland seemed to be more adaptable to the Canadian system of hockey.”Roland Mercier of Quebec, junior hockey chairman, said even if the development plan produces a competitive team no one at the CAHA is closing his eyes to the reality of international hockey.“Last winter the Russians sent five players off to work only on a power play for three months. We can’t do thingslike that.”In preparation for the Canada Cup renewal this fall, added Costello, the Russians sent scouts to Canadian rinks to map ice and board dimensions so facsimiles could be prepared back home to familiarize the Russian team with the arenas in which they’ll play*.By The Canadian Press REMEMBER WHEN... Quebec Nordiques defeated Winnipeg Jets 8-2 to win the World Hockey Association championship four years ago today — in 1977. The seventh and deciding game of the series, the first final involving two Canadian WHA clubs, was played at Quebec City.
Newspaper Details
Medicine Hat News
Medicine Hat, Alberta, CA
Tue, May 26, 1981
Page 15
Full Page
Clipped by
Jason P.
USA 13 Dec 2018
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