Blue And White Beat: Closing Olympic Thoughts

Closing Olympic Thoughts

High-fives celebrate all Canada’s achievements – not just men’s hockey

How fitting it was that Sidney Crosby, the highest-profiled member of Team Canada, scored the overtime winner to clinch the gold medal for the host country at the XXI Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

By firing the biggest goal for this country since his landlord Mario Lemieux clinched the 1987 Canada Cup, Crosby sent the nation into frenzied celebrations staged from BC all the way to his hometown of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia and beyond, and every town in between.

The win gave Canada not only its most coveted prize at the Olympics, but also its 14th gold medal, setting an all-time record for finishes atop the podium by one country in the Winter Games.

As one of several thousand participants of the joyful mayhem at Robson and Granville Street in Vancouver on Sunday, being among the collective euphoria of my fellow countrymen and women was truly intoxicating.

And yet, as I high-fived and embraced complete strangers waving their red and white flags, I couldn’t help but feel a sigh of relief – not necessarily just for the Steve Yzerman and the men’s hockey team – but for all 198 athletes of Team Canada.

For, if Zach Parise or any of his American teammates had been able to duplicate the magic in overtime that Parise did with 24 seconds left in regulation of that final game, all the ecstasy felt from Victoria, BC to Cape Spear, Newfoundland would have been tempered.

In that scenario, the baker’s dozen of gold medals would have still tied Canada with Norway and the former Soviet Union for the Winter Olympic benchmark. But far fewer people than who celebrated on Sunday would have noticed.

And that would have been a shame. For the traditional Olympic ideal has never been about NHL millionaires skating and shooting their way to glory, as hard-earned as their dollars may be, and as well-deserving as they are of their accomplishments.

Rather, the headliners of the Games should be the ones from Small-Town, I-Think-It’s-In-That-Province; those who are virtually anonymous for the other 3 years, 11 months and 2 weeks in between Olympics.

The Olympics should be about Ilderton, Ontario and its favourite son Scott Moir embracing his partner Tessa Virtue in a flawless ice dance skate that was superior in both its elegance and athleticism. Or, Virtue’s fellow London, Ont. native Christine Nesbitt shaking off the pressure of being favoured in the 1,000 metre event and delivering gold.

It’s about the humility of moguls specialist Alexandre Bilodeau, who knew as soon as he crossed the finish line in first place that he’d be forever immortalized in pub trivia contests as the answer to the question ‘who was the first Canadian to ever win an Olympic gold medal on home soil?’ Bilodeau was quick to downplay his own achievement, reminding everyone that more gold medals were to come, and each subsequent gold would be just as important.

And for every tear that you shed watching Bilodeau gather inspiration from his brother Frederic who has cerebral palsy, you gushed a thousand more when Joannie Rochette took to the ice just two days after her mother Therese died suddenly of a heart attack at age 55, just hours after arriving in Vancouver to watch her daughter skate.

No one would have faulted the younger Rochette had she withdrew from the competition. Instead, in one of the most courageous displays of resilience, Joannie skated her way to a bronze medal – which in the opinion of this author – was worth a magnitude more than its weight in gold. Rochette was named a co-winner of the Terry Fox Award for showing perseverance, and was also selected to carry Canada’s flag into BC Place for the closing ceremonies.

When I joined the several high-five gauntlets on the streets of Vancouver, there is no doubt that in my mind I was thinking “This one’s for Sid!” And Toews. And Weber. And of course, Luuuuuuuu.

But I also wondered if many of you same hosers were also thinking “This one’s for Maelle Ricker”. And Russell, Manitoba’s Jon Montgomery. And Summerside, PEI’s Heather Moyse. And Charles Hamelin and his girlfriend Marianne St. Gelais, who joined Kristina Groves as Canadian multiple-medalists at these Games.

Don’t get me wrong. If the NHL chooses to participate at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, I’ll be alongside all of you drinking my Tim Horton’s, and my Molson’s and wearing my red maple leaf crested sweater (it’s not a ‘jersey’, eh?)

But nor will I be disappointed if the plug is pulled on the league’s 12-year, four-Olympics project. Because, in that instance, the outlet for a men’s tournament featuring each country’s best-on-best players will simply be replaced by another World Cup, Canada Cup, or whatever name the organize choose to call it. Neither Lemieux’s goal nor Henderson’s famous winner at the 1972 Summit Series was scored in an Olympic tournament. I don’t recall feeling any less patriotic when watching the footage of those moments.

To Jasey-Jay Anderson, and Denny Morrison. To Kevin Martin, Maelle Ricker and (ahhhh) Ashleigh McIvor. I was just as happy for you as I was for Rick Nash, Scott Niedermayer, and Jarome Iginla.

I won’t forget about you after the NHL is back in full swing and the cameras stop focusing on you.

Hopefully, neither will the rest of the country.

***

Just One More Thing….

Undoubtedly the biggest non-story of the Games was the attention given to the celebration staged by the Canadian women’s hockey team following their victory in the gold medal game. Long after the patrons had left the Canada Hockey Place arena, the women indulged in cigars and alcohol on the same ice surface on which they had shutout the rival Americans 2-0.

In particular, some critics felt compelled to give a spanking to 18-year-old Marie-Philip Poulin – the heroine who spanked Canada’s opponents by scoring the only two goals of the game – for her participation, as she is one month below legal drinking age in British Columbia.

Of course, those raising the furor were curiously silent when Canadian skeleton racer Jon Montgomery punctuated his gold medal win a few days earlier by chugging from a pitcher of beer while walking through the streets of Whistler and smiling for the television cameras.

Hockey Canada officials could not have been faulted had they challenged the outcry by asking why a male athlete can drink in public without retribution, but women have their wrists slapped for similar consumptions within the privacy of a virtually deserted arena.

Nevertheless, the reaction to the women’s hockey team’s impromptu party led to a prompt, but unnecessary, apology from Hockey Canada, which said in a release “The team regrets that its gold medal celebration may have caused the IOC or COC any embarrassment.”

The statement of contrition reinforces Canada’s reputation as a sometimes overly-polite culture, often at the butt end of jokes such as “How do you get 50 Canadians to leave a swimming pool? Just ask them to get out of the pool.”

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Rob Del Mundo is the author of Blue And White Beat, and is a regular columnist at TMLfans.ca

Follow TMLfans.ca on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tmlfansca

Blue And White Beat: Canada’s gold medal quest begins

Canada’s gold medal quest begins

Today marks the day that Canadian hockey fans have circled in their calendars since the men’s Olympic team skated off the ice in Torino, Italy with a seventh place finish in 2006. The red-and-white maple leaf-crested squad built by executive director Steve Yzerman takes to the ice for their first tournament game at the 2010 Olympics, facing off against Norway at Hockey Canada place in Vancouver (7:30pm ET).

Roberto Luongo, whose club team the Canucks place on the same ice surface 41 times a year, will get the nod in goal this evening.

Projected lines:
Nash-Crosby-Bergeron
Staal-Getzlaf-Perry
Toews-Richards-Iginla
Marleau-Thornton-Heatley
Morrow

Defence pairings:
Pronger-Weber
Niedermayer-Boyle
Keith-Seabrook
Doughty

Backup goalies:
Brodeur
Fleury

***

The trash talk started weeks ago between Canucks’ teammates Luongo and forward Ryan Kesler. The two men are on opposite sides of the heated and historic Canada-USA rivalry which is set for yet another collision course on Sunday, February 21.

Boosted by last month’s American victory at the World Junior Championship, Kesler quipped “It was a good win. It was even better beating the Canadians because they’re pretty cocky when it comes to hockey.”

“Was he playing there? I don’t think so!” retorted Luongo. “We’ll see, when it comes down to the real deal, what happens.”

Using Luongo’s reasoning, Kesler’s jab is better directed at the third member of Canada’s goaltending trio behind Martin Brodeur, namely Marc-Andre Fleury. Kesler played on the 2004 Team USA World Junior team that upset Canada in the gold-medal game.

***

This Day In Leafs History:
On Feb. 16, 1999 the Leafs made a trade with the Vancouver Canucks. The transaction makes for a great trivia question, “In between the time that Toronto played its last game at Maple Leaf Gardens and first game at Air Canada Centre, which player did the Leafs trade, and who did they get in return?” The answer is provided below.

***

Leafs at the Olympics:
Jonas Gustavsson – Sweden
Niklas Hagman – Finland (since traded to Calgary, after named to roster)
Tomas Kaberle – Czech Republic
Phil Kessel – United States
Ron Wilson, coach – United States
Brian Burke, general manager – United States

Named to team, but will not play because of injury
Mikhail Grabovski – Belarus
Mike Komisarek – United States

***

Leafs Notes:
While Dion Phaneuf is clearly the cornerstone of the January 31 trade between the Leafs and the Calgary Flames, the contributions of Fredrik Sjostrom should not be overlooked. The native of Fargelanda, Sweden has blazing speed and has been a fine complement to Rickard Wallin. A perennial doormat for the fans due to his lack of production, Wallin scored his first goal in nearly six years on Feb. 5.

As a result of the blockbuster deal in which Matt Stajan and Ian White were two of the Toronto players shipped to Calgary, the last of the draft choices that the Leafs had on the roster of the 2003 World Junior Championship team have departed from the club. The junior squad that won a silver medal in Halifax also had Brendan Bell (traded to Phoenix, now with Columbus), Kyle Wellwood (signed with Vancouver as a restricted free-agent) and Carlo Colaiacovo (traded to St. Louis).

The third acquisition of the Leafs-Flames trade, Keith Aulie, suffered a shoulder injury during Friday’s Marlies game in Manitoba and could be lost for the season. In an article in today’s Toronto Star, Marlies coach Dallas Eakins compared the play to the ugly Kurtis Foster-Torrey Mitchell incident in March 2008, when Mitchell and Foster raced for the puck on an icing, with Foster breaking his leg.

Still with the Marlies, forward Andre Deveaux has been suspended indefinitely by the AHL after throwing a roll of tape at a fan who allegedly directed racial slurs at him.

Trivia Answer:
Eleven years ago today, the Leafs traded forward Darby Hendrickson to Vancouver in exchange for defenceman Chris McAllister.

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Rob Del Mundo is the author of Blue And White Beat, and is a regular columnist at TMLfans.ca

Follow TMLfans.ca on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tmlfansca

Blue and White Beat: Brendan Burke’s passing puts hockey in perspective

Brendan Burke’s passing puts hockey in perspective.

It is impossible to comprehend the loss for Brian Burke and his family, with the sudden passing of the Leafs general manager’s youngest son Brendan at just 21 years of age.

When the Maple Leafs skated off the ice at Prudential Center on Friday evening, having lost a game in which they held a two-goal lead late into the third period, words like ‘heartbreak’ and ‘devastation’ were used by the team’s fan and critics to describe the defeat.

Suddenly, when news broke of the car accident that claimed the life of Brendan and his friend Mark Reedy, age 18, the unspeakable tragedy overshadowed any on-ice result.

Brendan Burke was described as ‘a good kid’, and a tireless worker, by all who were fortunate to have known him. Messages of condolences immediately flowed onto the website of the University of Miami (Ohio), where the young Burke served as student manager of the Division 1 NCAA hockey team, the RedHawks.

“You never think of something like that happening, and when it does happen, it brings you down a little bit for sure, “ said a somber Francois Beauchemin on Saturday, the morning after the shocking announcement. Beauchemin recalled with fondness the celebration in which Brendan participated after his father managed the 2007 Anaheim Ducks to the Stanley Cup.

That championship team was backstopped by Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who Toronto acquired from the Ducks last week in a trade engineered by the elder Burke. “We can’t even comprehend what Burkie is going through at this point,” said Giguere. “We’re in shock. It’s not supposed to go that way. ”

Often in sports, athletes are described as being ‘courageous’ in descriptions of their performances on the ice, or on the field. But, as told in a story to ESPN just over two months ago, no one exemplified courage more than Brendan Burke when, in December 2007, he disclosed to his father that he was gay. With homophobic attitudes unfortunately still very much prevalent in hockey culture, Brendan’s news certainly had potential for backlash.

“I had a million good reasons to love and admire Brendan. This news didn’t alter any of them,” replied Brian Burke, the man who builds his teams on pugnacity and testosterone, in the ESPN piece. “This takes guts, and I admire Brendan greatly, and happily march arm in arm with him on this. I hope the day comes, and soon, when this is not a story.”

In the wake of the tragedy, the Leafs team responded by performing just as their boss would have wanted. They halted the Ottawa Senators’ 11-game winning streak on Saturday, dominating their opponents from start finish by a score 5-0.

For good measure, the University of Miami crushed Lake Superior State 10-4 on the same night.

Brendan Burke would have been flashing the trademark smile with which he greeted everyone.

“I’ve known Brendan since almost the day he was born, “ said head coach Ron Wilson. “It’s just the worst thing that any parent can possibly imagine.”

During the Olympic games next week, several athletes will be crowned as heroes. The American hockey team, managed by Brian Burke, will certainly be affixed that label should they repeat the Miracle on Ice from thirty years ago.

However, when placed in a proper perspective, the greater hero – for his openness in the face of a prejudicial culture – is Brendan Burke.

His voice is forever silenced, but the best way for the hockey community to honor his memory is to look past the stereotypical attitudes that unfairly cloud the lives of openly gay men and women.

When the day does arrive at which a person’s sexuality isn’t an issue in the dressing room, Brendan Burke will be remembered as the pioneer of the cause.

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Rob Del Mundo is the author of Blue And White Beat, and is a regular columnist at TMLfans.ca

Follow TMLfans.ca on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tmlfansca

Blue and White Beat: ‘Sense of entitlement’ is over – Burke

‘Sense of entitlement’ is over – Burke

About a half-hour following the announcement of the Leafs acquisition of Dion Phaneuf, Leafs general manager delivered news of a second transaction on Sunday.

Goaltender J.S. Giguere, with whom Burke won a Stanley Cup in Anaheim in 2007, is now a Maple Leaf, with netminder Vesa Toskala and forward Jason Blake heading to the Ducks.

By coming to Toronto Giguere, a Conn Smythe Trophy winner seven years ago, is reunited with not only Burke but also his mentor, goaltending coach Francois Allaire.

“Allaire was instrumental in turning Giguere into a top-flight goaltender in the National Hockey League,” said Burke. “I’ve never had a goalie that worked this hard. He takes every scoring chance in practice as a personal challenge. “

While Giguere’s goals-against average (3.14) and save percentage (.900) do not place him among the league’s elite backstops, both numbers are still superior to Toskala’s. With over nine full seasons of NHL experience, Giguere serves as an ideal tutor to young netminder Jonas “The Monster” Gustavsson.

The deal makes economic sense for both teams. Anaheim’s contract extension for Jonas Hiller solidifies the Swiss goalie’s role as the team’s starter. For Toronto removing Blake’s contract is a relief of a huge financial burden. The winger’s 50 goals in 206 career games were certainly below the standard expected of him when he signed a $20-million five-year contract in 2007.

“We’re saving a bit of money this year,” concluded Burke after both of Sunday’s transactions were made official.

Giguere looks forward to the reunion with his old coach. “I’m excited to be working with (Allaire) again,” he told reporters. “He’s taught me how to work, and what it’s like to be an NHL goalie. He gave me a great foundation. Everything that I do on the ice, technical-wise, he has taught me almost everything about it.“

As for the prospect of Giguere – the teacher – engaging Gustavsson, the pupil, in a tug-of-war for the starter’s role, Burke hopes that the tussle evolves into a competition that perpetuates throughout the entire team.

“Great teams have goalie controversies,” said Burke. ”We’ve got to create tension where there’s enough talent on the roster and a high enough battle level that the coach has decisions to make.

“We’ve had a sense of entitlement, and we’re trying to change that,” noted Burke when assessing both moves of the day.

“It should be clear to our players that hard work is going to be a big part of playing for the Leafs.”

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Rob Del Mundo is the author of Blue And White Beat, and is a regular columnist at TMLfans.ca

Follow TMLfans.ca on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tmlfansca

Blue and White Beat: Leafs inject fire into lineup in deal with Flames

Leafs inject fire into lineup in deal with Flames

Maple Leafs president and general manager Brian Burke has long since become weary of what has been an agonizing season in Toronto that has seen the team plummet to the basement of the Eastern Conference.

On Sunday, Burke pulled the trigger on a seven-player deal in which the centrepiece was the acquisition of defenseman Dion Phaneuf from the Calgary Flames. Also coming to Toronto are forward Fredrik Sjostrom and defenceman prospect Keith Aulie. Heading to Calgary are forwards Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman and Jamal Mayers and blueliner Ian White.

The common mantra when analyzing blockbuster trades is ‘the winner is the team that got the best player’. In this regard, the Leafs clearly have the early edge.

Phaneuf, 24, is just two years removed from a season in which he was nominated for a Norris Trophy and was also named a First Team All-Star. The Alberta native has had his fair share of struggles the past season-and-a-half, punctuated by his omission from the Canadian Olympic team. Nevertheless, Phaneuf ranks 12th among NHL rearguards in both hits and power-play time on ice.

His presence on the point, combined with his lethal slapshot, is expected to be an ailment to the Leafs power-play woes. “He won’t hesitate to shoot the puck,” said head coach Ron Wilson to the assembled media. The commented was likely not intended as a jab towards veteran Toronto power-play quarterback Tomas Kaberle who has a reputation for being loathe to take advantage of a shooting opportunity. Yet the validity of Wilson’s remark is not diminished.

Phaneuf appears to fit the mold of the aggressive, bruising style of hockey upon which Burke prefers to make his trademark. “He’s a big open ice hitter,” said the Leafs GM. “We’re adding an elite defenceman that plays our kind of hockey. This is a guy that likes it crude, and likes it black and blue, and that’s how we want to play. “

In Sjostrom, the Leafs acquire a fast-skating forward who can augment the team’s league-worst penalty kill. Aulie will be assigned to the AHL Marlies, and shows great mobility for his 6-foot-6 stature. His presence as one of the “Twin Towers” at the 2009 World Junior Tournament helped Canada win a gold medal, with his partner none other than current-day Calder Trophy favorite Tyler Myers of Buffalo.

Acquiring Phaneuf did not come cheaply for the Leafs. Hagman was the first player on the Leafs to reach the 20-goal mark this season and is on pace to eclipse his career mark of 27 tallies that he set as a member of the Dallas Stars. Stajan is on the way to establishing a career season in points, and has been one of the team’s most consistent performers during this season of futility. Arguably the team’s biggest loss in the trade is White, who has proven his durability over 127 consecutive games played after being a healthy scratch over the first eleven games of last season.

Burke has always vowed that Toronto will be a miserable place for opponents to play. So far the Leafs have just 9 wins on home ice, tied for fewest in the league.

Phaneuf’s presence on the blueline is the first step in making Air Canada Centre seem like Club Med, for the visitors.

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Rob Del Mundo is the author of Blue And White Beat, and is a regular columnist at TMLfans.ca

Follow TMLfans.ca on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tmlfansca

Blue and White Beat: Bozak, Cujo, and Juniors

Bozak, Cujo, and Juniors

Bozak does his part

Rookie Tyler Bozak meshed with linemates Phil Kessel and Nikolai Kulemin in his first game since being recalled from the Toronto Marlies. Each member of the line had a point on the Leafs second goal in Toronto’s 4-2 loss to Carolina. Kulemin capped off the play by cutting into the middle of the ice and sniping the puck over the shoulder of Cam Ward, all while being tripped by a Hurricanes defender.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Bozak of the opportunity to play with newly-named U.S. Olympian Kessel. “It’s a great privilege and something that I definitely didn’t think would happen this year.”

One game is hardly an indication of long-term success, or failure, but head coach Ron Wilson liked the trio’s initiation as a unit. “They created a bunch of chances and were never a defensive liability”, observed the coach.

***

Kudos to Cujo.

Curtis Joseph officially bade his farewell to the NHL Tuesday, announcing his retirement after 19 years in the NHL. Joseph’s 454 career wins rank him fourth in league history behind Martin Brodeur, Patrick Roy and Ed Belfour. His 138 wins as Leaf place him fourth on Toronto’s all-time list, while his 32 playoff victories trail only Turk Broda and Johnny Bower, for the franchise.

“Cujo” attended Tuesday’s game in the platinum level at Air Canada Centre and was given a resounding ovation by the sellout crowd when being acknowledged during a first period stoppage in play.

By coincidence, Joseph’s departure came on a day when the Leafs played the Hurricanes; a matchup that has played a dubious part in Cujo’s Leaf career on two other occasions. Joseph’s infamous ‘blocker snub’ of Pat Quinn in 2002 happened in a pre-game ceremony between Toronto and Carolina in the Leafs first game after the Olympic break that year. Quinn, who coached Team Canada to gold in Salt Lake City, replaced Joseph with Brodeur for the rest of the Olympic tournament after the Swedes trounced the Canadians 5-2 in the opening game. Worse for Joseph, he suffered a hand injury in that post-Olympic outing against the Hurricanes and missed several weeks of action.

Three months later, Joseph addressed scores of reporters at the conclusion of what would be his final game in his first tenure with the Maple Leafs. The netminder declared that he “absolutely” wished to stay in Toronto, though in the end made the decision to sign on with the Detroit Red Wings as a free agent. The opponent in that final 2002 game – Carolina. The result? The Leafs had been eliminated from the playoffs on an overtime goal by Martin Gelinas. The Carolina coach? Paul Maurice – who was also behind the ‘Canes bench on Tuesday.

***

World Junior aftermath.

Marc-Andre Fleury knows how the Canadian juniors feel. His accidental clearing pass off teammate Braydon Coburn that deflected into his own goal held up as the game-winning goal for the U.S.A. six years ago.

“It was tough, because you work so hard to get there,” lamented Fleury of Canada’s silver medal in 2004. “It’s frustrating when you come so close to it and lose it.”

At the 2010 World Junior Hockey Championship in Saskatoon, Team Canada was poised for a hometown celebration, coming within a goal of an unprecedented sixth consecutive gold medal.

However an overtime tally by New Jersey native John Carlson clinched the title for the United States, leaving the host country to depart from the Christmas time tournament with a lump of coal in their stocking.

Understandably, the defeat left Canadians with a bitter aftertaste that hasn’t been experienced since the infamous 2004 game, when the same rival Americans won 4-3 to claim gold in Helsinki, Finland on Fleury’s miscue.

Yet even the staunchest Canuck supporter must concede that the end of the five-year winning streak was the best result for the Under-20 tournament, both as a storyline, and as a catalyst for generating interest outside of ‘our home and native land’.

The WJHC’s host broadcaster TSN has created a proverbial monster, with its annual airing of the event having been transformed into a holiday tradition. Certainly the television ratings indicate the degree of the audience’s captivity, with an all-time high of 5.3 million viewers having watched the final game.

But, Canada’s success has come at the expense of any competitive drama to whet the appetites of fans who enjoy being glued to the edges of their seats. In five straight gold medal games in which they outscored their opponents 23-6, Canada cruised to anti-climactic finish – with the lone exception of an overtime scare in 2008 versus Sweden.

Furthermore, the agreement to have the Under-20 tournament hosted by Canada once every three years only serves to fuel the perception that only the team assembled in the Great White North is destined – or entitled – to win it. In fact, the 2011 event is set to be staged in Buffalo, New York, meaning the United States will be the home country only by geographic and immigration standards, as the vast majority of attendees are expected to be Canadians from just across the border.

The U.S. victory produced not only less monotonous headlines, but will also serve as an inspiration for young American hockey players, particularly those in less traditional markets such as Oklahoma and Las Vegas – the respective birthplaces of Matt Donovan and Jason Zucker.

With the loss, Canadian fans are justified in feeling disappointment.

At the same time, hockey fans who enjoy competitive results should embrace the outcome by looking past their rose-coloured, and red-and-white coloured, glasses.

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Rob Del Mundo is the author of Blue And White Beat, and is a regular columnist at TMLfans.ca

Follow TMLfans.ca on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tmlfansca

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