Canada’s Teams in Russia’s Rinks

Originally published in Prospects Hockey in 2005

By Lucas Aykroyd

By now, Canadian hockey fans are accustomed to watching touring Russian junior teams. In addition to the Canada/Russia Challenge we’re enjoying for the third straight year, the Russians have participated in numerous Canadian-hosted World Junior tournaments: 1978, 1986, 1991, 1995, 1999, and 2003. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when you consider the World U-17 Challenge, various OHA-sponsored tours by Russian midget-level teams, and so on.

But there have also been four occasions when Team Canada has visited Russia and played against the host nation in the World Juniors. For fans in Moscow and Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), those confrontations surely rank among their most vivid junior hockey memories, especially since three out of the four were during the Cold War between Communism and capitalism.

Let’s revisit what happened to the young men sporting the red Maple Leaf in these history-making excursions across the Atlantic.

1974: The Petes Compete in Leningrad

When you consider the tremendous excitement about Vancouver’s hosting the 2006 World Juniors, it’s hard to believe that just over 30 years ago, there was no official World Junior Championship. But an unofficial, invitation-only tournament featuring Canada, the Soviet Union, Finland, Sweden, the USA and Czechoslovakia was staged in Leningrad for the first time in 1974.

The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association originally picked the defending Memorial Cup champion Toronto Marlboros to represent Canada, but their squad was severely depleted by defections to the new World Hockey Association in the summer of 1973. Thus, the Peterborough Petes got the nod as Ontario’s second-best major junior team.

“It was the first tournament,” said Petes defenseman Doug Halward, who had a 663-game NHL career with L.A., Boston, Vancouver, Detroit, and Edmonton. “We had no idea. Unofficial, official, who cares! We were going. It was pretty neat.”

The Petes split a pair of exhibition games in early December 1973 versus Team USA, and six of their players also suited up for the London Knights in a 9-3 loss against a senior Moscow Selects team touring Canada.

Coached by future Hockey Hall of Famer Roger Neilson, the Petes entered the Leningrad tournament with confidence. But the rigors of life in the Leonid Brezhnev-era Soviet Union took a toll on the players.

“It was a real eye-opener for us in terms of the accommodations and food,” said Halward. “As the tournament went on, a lot of our guys got sick, having picked up some kind of bug over there. Still, we played pretty well, and it was good hockey.”

Canada beat the Americans, Czechoslovakians and Swedes and lost narrowly to the Finns in round-robin play. But the final game against the host nation put the gold on the line.

“When we played the Russians, we got blown out 9-0,” said Halward. “We just ran out of gas. But they were quite a bit better as a hockey team than us. They played very well.”

Still, the Petes benefited from the experience, and not just in terms of claiming bronze medals. Future NHLers like Halward, Doug Jarvis, and Stan Jonathan learned what it would take to elevate their game to the next level.

1983: Super Scorers Lead Team Canada

Imagine having a roster with three of the NHL’s top 25 all-time scorers (prior to October 2005). That’s pretty rare. Of course, nobody knew in 1983 that Steve Yzerman (#6), Mario Lemieux (#7), and Dave Andreychuk (#25) would go on to make hockey history. But all three made valuable contributions to Canada’s World Junior entry that year in Leningrad en route to a hard-fought third-place finish. Other notable names included Sylvain Turgeon, Pat Verbeek, Gary Leeman, James Patrick, and Mike Vernon.

“We knew we had a chance to win after the previous year’s result,” said Paul Boutilier, a St. Jean Beavers defenseman who won gold in 1982 and would capture a Stanley Cup with the New York Islanders later in 1983. “As the defending champions, we knew we were entering a heavily competitive situation. Back then, those Soviet teams were basically together all the time, unlike today. And the Czechs and Slovaks were on the same team, too.”

Dave King, who coached Canada’s national team from 1983 to 1992, was behind the bench in this tournament, warming up for the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics. With victories over West Germany, the USA, and Finland, King’s boys appeared destined for glory. But the Soviets staked their claim to the gold on December 30, whipping Canada 7-3 as Sergei Nemchinov scored twice.

“Overall, they beat us fair and square that year, and we beat them fair and square the year before,” said Boutilier, alluding to Canada’s 7-0 win over the USSR in Winnipeg.

Canada also played to a 7-7 draw with Czechoslovakia. In the second period, the Czechoslovakians scored six times, and Canada countered with five against a future superstar. “It was a wild tilt,” said Boutilier. “I guess if we’d known back then who Dominik Hasek would become today, we’d have been thrilled to put that many pucks behind him.”

1988: Mission to Moscow

In 1987, Canada and the Soviet Union were ejected from the World Junior Championship due to brawling in the infamous “Piestany Punchup.” In 1988, the Canadians vowed things would be different on Russian ice.

“At that time, Hockey Canada’s junior program was starting to identify what it would take to win championships,” said NHL veteran Trevor Linden. “We were a really organized, focused group. We had a great group of guys.”

Then 17, Linden had already won a Memorial Cup with the Medicine Hat Tigers, but the rangy forward played a supporting role on this World Junior squad. Go-to guys for coach Dave Chambers were Greg Hawgood (9 points), Theoren Fleury and Rob Brown (8 points apiece). Adam Graves, Mark Recchi, and Joe Sakic all made their presence felt.

But goaltender Jimmy Waite was easily Canada’s MVP. The Chicoutimi Sagueneens product played every game, and he made 38 saves in Canada’s 3-2 win over a Soviet team with Sergei Fedorov and Alexander Mogilny.

Linden recalls tallying his lone goal of the tournament in that game, which ultimately secured the gold for Canada: “It was thrilling to score in the same rink where the 1972 Summit Series was played.” And the vibe in Moscow? “It was a typical Iron Curtain ambience. The hotel we stayed in was quite downtrodden. Guys were selling their Nike shoes and their Levi’s jeans.”

Nobody knew it then, but this was the last time a Canadian World Junior squad would play on “Soviet” ice.

2001: A Bronze Medal Odyssey

Entering this tournament in Moscow, Canada hadn’t won gold since 1997. Would the drought end? Unfortunately for coach Stan Butler and his troops, they wound up with the bronze. But despite a 3-1 round-robin loss to Russia where Ilya Kovalchuk pumped his fist after adding an empty-netter, the Canadians had one consolation: the host nation finished seventh.

Prior to the tournament, Steve McCarthy had sat out for weeks with the Chicago Blackhawks. The smooth-skating 19-year-old blueliner rejoiced over his invitation to play for Canada for the second straight year, especially as he was named team captain.

The Trail, BC native showed his leadership after Canada lost 5-2 to Finland and was forced to play Sweden for third place. “It’s a pride thing,” said McCarthy. “A bronze medal is certainly better than fourth place.”

Teammates who shared his sentiments included Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley, and Raffi Torres, who scored the 2-1 OT winner against Tre Kronor. McCarthy still enjoys looking at his WJC bronze medals from 2000 and 2001 when he visits his parents’ home in Trail.