Ken Lovsin was the epitome of so many Canadian national team players in the 1980s and 1990s.
Yes, the national team program was an excellent breeding ground for young prospects looking to improve their skating, puck handling and especially their defensive game. Many went on to long and successful NHL careers.
Yet many were like Ken Lovsin - an anonymous NHL cast-off who most of us had never heard of before or since the 1994 Olympic games in Lillehammer, Norway.
Lovsin was a standout defenseman at Camrose Lutheran College before joining the University of Saskatchewan in 1986, graduating two years later.
Though the Hartford Whalers acquired his NHL rights in 1987, Lovsin chose to join the Canadian national team for the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons. He loved the international game, but it was a tough life. He made only about $30,000 a year, and there was no Olympics to aspire to. World Championships were also very unlikely as the national team players tended to get bumped by NHLers whose season ended early.
With that in mind Lovsin jumped at the opportunity to play pro by signing as a free agent with the Washington Capitals in 1990-91. He played with their AHL farm team in Baltimore until 1992, and also got a late Christmas gift by playing in his first - and what proved to be only - NHL game on Boxing Day 1990.
Lovsin was somewhat disheartened with his pro experience at the time. When he became a free agent in 1992 he jumped at the chance to play pro hockey in Sweden.
``Washington said I wasn't solid enough on the defensive side,'' said Lovsin. ``I proved them wrong. I was pretty consistent over there.''
It wasn't long before the national team came calling for him again. With the 1994 Olympics in Norway on the horizon, Lovsin was eager for the chance to return.
Lovsin may have had a chance at the 1992 Olympics, but the Capitals balked at Team Canada's request to have him loaned to the team.
But nothing was stopping the Peace River, Alberta native in 1994. He was determined to make the team and has a silver medal to show for it.
``Not many NHL players have silver medals. I was part of a team that made all Canadians proud and I got to play on the same team as Petr Nedved.''
While Nedved and several of his teammates went on to big contracts in the NHL, that was the end of the line for Lovsin
``I don't want to go anywhere right now,'' said Lovsin following the Olympics. ``I just want to stay here and soak it in. I don't want to spoil that moment. I haven't applied for any jobs and nobody's called.''
Though he probably could have found a hockey job travelling around Europe, Lovsin chose to stay home and return to the family business. His father started a chain of grocery stores in Alberta and Ken and his brothers now run it.
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