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8- CROSSROADS, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER II, 1987at IIHF congressEuropean hockey officials refer to Alan Eagleson as hockey’s Gray Eminence — behind his back.And it has nothing to do with the colouring of his hair which might well be Grecian Formula.At any rate, at the recent congress session of the International Ice Hockey Federation in Biaritz, France, Eagleson certainly sparkled as the behind the scenes manipulator. His main task, for a change, was not arranging a series with the Soviets.Canadian Amateur Hockey Association executives were banking on his contacts and know how to help reverse the decision of the suspension of Canadian and Soviet juniors for the infamous brawl in the Sports Editor 1987 world tourney at Toronto Sun -Piestany, Czechoslovakia. .The Eagle’s chief ally was to be IIHF president Dr. Gunther Sabetzki, a well-meaning and business-like executive who molded the global amateur hockey setup into a multi-million dollar corporation. But when The Eagle arrived in Biaritz after an overnight ride from Paris he discovered that Sabetzki was not there.“Gunther fell in Hamilton during the Canada Cup and hurt his elbow,” reported Eagleson. “He didn’t think much of it until he felt ill at home and the doctor diagnosed blood poisoning. They had to lance the wound before he could travel.“I ran into Gordon Renwick of Cambridge, our IIHF council member and told him I was concerned because Miro Subrt of Czechoslovakia would be chairing the meeting in Gunther’s absence. And like the Swedes, he wanted no part of pardoning the juniors.”The Eagle suggested to Renwick to contact Walter Bush, of the U.S. Amateur Hockey Association, and the Soviet rep, to form a triumvirate. The Americans had one of their young players under suspension for taking an antihistamine to ease his breathing in the 1987 Vienna World Championship, while the Soviets also had players suspended for their part in thePiestany show. - ;That gave the good guys, if you will, three voices against those of Subrt and Curt Berglund of Sweden, who wanted no part of the pardon. The council delegates from Austria, Holland, Yugoslavia, Japan, Hungary and, Japanwere not really involved.“I told Renwick not to make a big deal of it, just make certain that it gets on the agenda of the council,” explained Eagleson. “But Subrt wouldn’t budge in talks the evening before the session. He kept arguing that to bring it up was against the statutes.“He (Subrt) stuck to his word and not a word was brought up about the juniors the next day. We thought we were dead in the water. But that evening Sabetzki arrived from Germany and I had a four-hour dinner meeting with him. We cleaned up all Canada Cup leftover items before I brought up the juniors.“He told me he’ll make sure to settle the issue in council because the IIHF was not there to impede the careers of juniors. He felt they had already been punished enough. However, he insisted on the suspension of the coaches. Therewas little we could do about that.”True to his word, Dr. Sabetzki brought up the Piestany incident, allowed Canada and the Soviets to make a presentation, then told the council that since the suspensions imposed on the players were not in the statutes in the first place but were still imposed, the council can pardon the players the same way. Czechoslovakia and Sweden voted against.“Naturally, the reaction from some delegates was anti-Sabetzki,” said The Eagle. “They started,yapping that he was getting too old (72), too weak and was losing his edge. They kept running him down until I said stop. I told them he has still three years to go on the contract and that he has done more for the IIHF than anybody before him.”He talked from strength and told them he wasn’t intersted in the job, certainly not until 1993 when his contract with the NHL Players Association expires. By then he’ll have so much money that he’ll be able to take the presidency, an honorary position, and all the headaches that go with it.
Newspaper Details
Shoal Lake Crossroads
Shoal Lake, Manitoba, CA
Wed, Nov 11, 1987
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Jason P.
USA 14 Dec 2018
Other Publications Near Shoal Lake, Manitoba
Shoal Lake Star
Shoal Lake Crossroads
