Big Canucks Performances in International Hockey

Originally published in Full Tilt in 2006

By Lucas Aykroyd

If you have a Canucks logo tattooed on one bicep and a Canadian Maple Leaf on the other, hopefully you wore long-sleeved shirts in February. International hockey is wonderful when you win, but it’s a cold feeling when you lose.

Before the 2006 Olympics kicked off, most Vancouver-area fans were confident that members of their favourite NHL team would return home from Italy wearing gold medals around their necks. They also assumed those smiling men would be power forward Todd Bertuzzi and stud defenseman Ed Jovanovski after a Team Canada victory.

However, a combination of injury woes and Scandinavian excellence yielded a much different result than expected. Jovanovski never got to Turin due to abdominal surgery, while Bertuzzi started off well but took an untimely penalty in the quarter-finals that led to Russia’s decisive goal in a 2-0 Canadian defeat.

While Canada was posting arguably its worst international hockey result of all time, not everything went smoothly for the Canuck Olympic hopefuls from Sweden and Finland. Captain Markus Naslund skipped the Games to rest his sore groin. Mattias Ohlund and Sami Salo logged significant blueline minutes, but rib and shoulder injuries respectively denied them the chance to play in the gold medal game with Tre Kronor versus the Finnish Lions.

In the end, Daniel and Henrik Sedin gave local fans at least something to cheer about. Our twin Swedish aces maintained the high standard of play they’ve shown all season long in a 3-2 win over Jarkko Ruutu’s mates in blue and white. It was just the latest in a string of big Canuck performances in international hockey.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the past, present, and future team members who have excelled amidst flag-waving fervor.

MORE OLYMPIC MEMORIES

Two of the greatest Olympic stars ever donned Canuck colours in 1989. Unfortunately, both Vladimir Krutov and Igor Larionov were past their hockey prime when they arrived in Vancouver in their late 20’s.

In light of what he’d accomplished at the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, Krutov was particularly disappointing. (He showed up overweight and became known as hockey’s answer to Marlon Brando.) Nicknamed “The Tank” when he played on the top Soviet national team line with Larionov and Sergei Makarov, this explosive left winger racked up 15 points in eight games to lead the 1988 scoring derby as the USSR gained its second straight Olympic gold medal. Krutov also won a silver medal in 1980, and Larionov would capture a bronze in 2002.

Krutov and Larionov’s other Olympic championship came in 1984 in Sarajevo versus Canada’s Doug Lidster and J.J. Daigneault. Both those young defensemen used the Games as the jumping-off point for successful pro careers that began in Vancouver and extended to nearly 900 NHL games apiece.

The Canuck-Olympic connections don’t end there. Czech stalwarts Ivan Hlinka and Jiri Bubla won medals in the 1970’s before joining Vancouver in 1981-82. Steve Tambellini, currently the Canucks assistant GM and a Team Canada executive, suited up for his country at the 1988 Olympics. Defenseman Adrien Plavsic took a regular shift for Canada’s silver medal squad in Albertville 1992, while future teammate Jiri Slegr claimed bronze with Czechoslovakia. Journeyman blueliner Leif Rohlin was part of Sweden’s first-ever gold medal run in Lillehammer 1994, and familiar Canuck names like Adrian Aucoin and Corey Hirsch played for Canada’s second-place team.

More recently, Trevor Linden almost became a classic Canadian hero when he scored a late tying goal versus the Czechs in the 1998 Nagano semi-finals (before Dominik Hasek spoiled that party with his shootout brilliance). And Ed Jovanovski did Canada proud with his play when Canada won its first gold medal in 50 years in Salt Lake City.

JUNIORS WITH JUMP

On January 5, 2006, GM Place exploded with joy as Team Canada won its second straight IIHF World Junior Championship with a 5-0 spanking of Russia. QMJHL star Luc Bourdon, Vancouver’s 10th overall pick last year, tied for second in tournament scoring among defensemen and threw hits reminiscent of a young Scott Stevens en route to an All-Star team berth.

The Canucks have an enviable World Junior history. Doug Halward, an important blueliner in 1982’s Stanley Cup final run, participated in the first-ever (albeit unofficial) World Juniors in Leningrad in 1974. In Team Canada’s 1982 gold medal triumph, journeyman goalie Frank Caprice posted a 3-0-0 record and a 2.33 GAA.

Seven of the ten players chosen by the IIHF Directorate as Best Forward in the 1980’s went on to play for the club: Krutov (1980), Patrik Sundstrom (1981), Petri Skriko (1982), Jim Sandlak (1986), Robert Kron (1987), Alexander Mogilny (1988), and Pavel Bure (1989). All but Mogilny were drafted by Vancouver as well. World Junior Best Defenceman awards have gone to past and present Canucks like Jiri Slegr (1991), Bryan McCabe (1995), and Mattias Ohlund (1996).

In 1993, playing for Sweden alongside Peter Forsberg, Markus Naslund established the single-tournament record for most goals (13), including a five-tally outburst versus Japan. Naslund, Bure, Mogilny, and Esa Tikkanen (who logged more than 100 games with the Canucks) are all among the top 10 all-time WJC scorers.

Fueled by memories like these, many Canucks fans will get up early during the Christmas holidays to catch TSN’s coverage of the 2007 World Juniors in Sweden.

A WORLD OF GOOD

The IIHF World Championship hasn’t always been the most popular tournament among Canuck supporters, mainly because if you’re playing in it, you’re not participating in the playoffs. Nonetheless, Vancouver’s players have made major contributions in Europe’s annual answer to the Stanley Cup. And don’t dismiss the tournament’s significance: by the time it starts nowadays, 22 of the 30 NHL teams have been eliminated and most of the world’s elite talents are available to participate if they so choose.

Hlinka and Bubla won gold medals for Czechoslovakia in the 1970’s, while Krutov and Larionov did likewise with the Soviets in the 1980’s. Defenseman Dennis Kearns suited up for the first two Canadian teams to feature NHL players in 1977 and 1978. Canada’s 1985 silver medal squad featured four Canucks and the 1986 bronze team (coached by Pat Quinn) had two. Five Canadian Canucks earned silver in 1991.

More recently, Anson Carter scored the OT winner for Canada versus Sweden at the 2003 tourney, while Brendan Morrison and Matt Cooke celebrated a title in 2004. Last year, Morrison and Jovanovski finished with silver medals in Austria.

CANUCK COURAGE AND CANADA CUPS

In the old Super Series format versus touring Soviet clubs, the Canucks posted a respectable 3-2 record. On December 27, 1977, goalie Curt Ridley earned a 2-0 shutout over Spartak in Vancouver’s first such clash. Two years later came a 6-2 win over Dynamo Moscow, again backstopped by Ridley. In 1988, Brian Bradley’s two goals led Vancouver past Dynamo Riga 6-1.

However, in the Canada Cups, which also put the Soviets front and center, Vancouver players accomplished very little (unless named Krutov, Larionov, Hlinka or Bubla). No then-Canucks ever cracked a Canadian roster, although Patrik Sundstrom and Thomas Gradin played respectably for the 1984 Swedish finalists. Similarly, there were no great international Canuck performances in the two World Cups, and it may be a while till that tournament’s revived again.

Still, the international calendar is packed with upcoming events, and soon Canuck fans will find new reasons to cheer for their heroes on big ice surfaces.