Weekend Book Review

J.P. Bickell: The Life, The Leafs, and The Legacy

I have to admit this one surprised me. I mean, why would I, a western Canadian hockey fan, care about the businessman who financed Conn Smythe's Toronto Maple Leafs? That was how many years ago? And, ugh, yet another Leafs book, and this one about some guy no one has ever heard of? But J.P. Bickell: The Life, The Leafs and The Legacy is a fascinating read.

It's a fascinating read mostly because, as it turns out, this is not a hockey book so much as a Canadian history book (well, maybe Ontario history). It just so happens that J.P. Bickell was an incredibly important figure and continues to be many years after his death.

Bickell was a self made millionaire mining magnate who left an enduring legacy not only on the entire industry but the many communities who benefited from such development.

That made Bickell a very wealthy person, and he spread his wealth around. He was instrumental in the founding of the Famous Players movie theatre chain - think about that when you go to the movies next time. He fought in World War II and became very interested in aviation. And he was a great philanthropist. In fact half a century after his death his foundation continues to give away his money to hospitals, scholarships, art galleries and children's camps.

Bickell was also a financier of many sports, most notably the Leafs and Maple Leaf Gardens. He also was involved in boxing, boat racing, baseball and golf.

See, this isn't just another Leafs book. Far from it.

When The Moon Comes

Author Paul Harbridge and illustrator Matt James have teamed up to bring us the fantastic new hockey-themed children's book When The Moon Comes Out.

It's about hockey at it's best - kids playing shinny on the frozen pond. Only this book takes place in the dark of the night, with only the full moon to light the way. Anyone who has ever played the game this way understands what a unique experience this is.

James' brilliant use of colour truly captures the dark and cold so that you can almost see your own breath. Okay, not quite, but it does give you the chills of the black night and really sets the atmosphere for the story itself.

Harbridge's story matches the visual sensations, taking the readers on a nostalgic journey to a simpler time when hockey was beautiful.

Think I'm wrong? Well the people who shortlisted the book for 2017 Governor General's Award for Young People's Literature are on my side.

Killer

Doug Gilmour tells all in his autobiography Killer, as told to Dan Robson. It's a story of the Canadian Dream as the hockey-loving kid makes it all the way to the big leagues. He was one of the premier players in his day, and became near-immortal as the heart and soul of the Toronto Maple Leafs for a short time in the 1990s. He was arguably the best player in the world for some of that stretch.

That Toronto connection instantly puts this book on the best sellers list, as too many of the Maple Leafs books tend to do. The endless line of Leafs fans will enjoy this book, as will many other hockey fans from Gilmour's era. He was a well travelled superstar, extending his fan base.

It's an easy read, with some good stories, but for the most part this is a typical jock-talk book. You'll get some insight into the man himself and some of the events of his career. But for the most part this is another pedestrian addition to the world of hockey literature.

Legends of Team Canada: John Devaney

Everyone remembers the 1980 Olympics as the year of the American Miracle On Ice upset victory over the Soviets. But Canada had a strong team that year. Though they never won a medal, Team Canada also came close to a miracle of their own.

Team Canada that year had several future NHLers, including future Hall of Famer Glenn Anderson, future Stanley Cup champion Randy Gregg, scoring star Paul MacLean as well as Jim Nill, Time Watters and Ken Berry.

But can you name who led Canada in scoring during the Lake Placid Olympics? Here's a couple of hints - this player never played any notable hockey after the Olympics and was never drafted by a NHL team.

Edmonton native John Devaney led all Canadian scorers with 4 goals and 7 points. But chances are you never heard of him. Let's see what we can learn about John Devaney.

Devaney grew up in Edmonton where his whole family was heavily involved in hockey. He was recruited by several universities in both Canada and the United States but for Devaney the choice was obvious. He would stay home and, like his three older brothers before him, play for the University of Alberta Golden Bears.

In three seasons with green and gold he helped Alberta win two CIAU University Cup national championships and three Canada West conference crowns. Devaney was a CIAU all star and top scorer.

In 1980 Father David Bauer invited Devaney to the Canadian national team program. Bauer was said to be impressed by Devaney's skillset which included "deceptive speed, head's up team play, superbe hand-eye coordination, and fierce competitiveness.

After the Olympics Devaney did play one season of professional hockey with EHC Visp in Switzerland. He returned to Edonton and completed his bachelor of commerce degree while also serving as an assistant coach with the Golden Bears.

He briefly kept coaching at the junior level but gave up the game in order to concentrate on building his career as a chartered accountant.

Legends of Team Canada: Ron Davidson

Ron Davidson may better known as a successful lawyer to most, but hockey has always been his passion.

Never drafted by a NHL team, the lanky center played junior hockey in Cornwall, Ottawa and Kingston while studying law, earning his law degree from Queen's University.

He jumped at the chance to play for the Canadian Olympic team in 1980, turning down a contract offer from the Minnesota North Stars. Davidson, centering a line with future NHL stars Glenn Anderson and Jim Nill, scored a goal and five points in six Olympic contests.

Unlike his linemates there was no NHL future for Davidson. He played several seasons in Sweden, Switzerland and France before returning to Ontario to practice law in Ottawa and then Lindsay.

All the way through Davidson loved to teach the game of hockey. As a teenager he worked as an assistant at Howie Meeker's hockey schools. He later was asked by Meeker to design the whole program.

"Howie came to me after I'd been with him for about six years," Davidson said. "He was concerned that players could come every year to his hockey school and after a while they would have covered all the skills he was teaching and then they wouldn't be interested in coming back. He wanted me to develop a program that would attract the player that had been involved in his development program and would still be interested in learning."

Davidson's hockey career exposed him to some more great teachers, rounding him out as a hockey teacher.

"I was involved with the Olympic team, I was going through some great coaching with some of the top coaches in Canada," Davidson said. "Then I played hockey in Europe for five years and I was exposed to some of the best coaches in Europe."

"Your whole role as a coach is to inspire that passion in the game itself," he said. "It's not the jackets and the score and the tournament trophies ... it's moving on the ice and making plays and feeling the puck on your stick and creating situations."

Davidson became such a noted coach in the area that Ottawa Senators hired him to become director of hockey programming, but he could only secure two years leave from work and had to give up the position.

Legends of Team Canada: Dan D'Alvise

While many members of the 1980 Canadian Olympic team went on to at least a stint in the National Hockey League, Dan D'Alvise was not among them.

D'Alvise is the younger brother of Bob D'Alvise, a star with Michigan Tech who went on to play in the WHA.

Dan followed a similar route. He played at the University of Toronto, where he studied business, before joining the Olympic program. He was even drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs, 179th overall in the 1975.

Dan had a strong showing at the Olympics, scoring three goals and six points in six games. He scored twice in a game against the Dutch, and added a breakaway goal against the Soviets, tying the score at 4-4. Unfortunately the Russians pulled ahead and won that game 6-4 and buried Canada's medal hopes.

Following the Olympics D'Alvise played a couple of seasons in Italy. He later became a rink manager in Etobicoke, Ontario.

Super Series '76

The National Hockey League never really supported the idea of the 1972 showdown between Russia's best and Canada's best. They didn't like the fact that their assets - the players - were being used in a series they had little control over. There was even a movement by some American NHL owners to not allow their players to play in the games. However it quickly became apparent that there was little the owners would be able to do to stop the series thanks to the Alan Eagleson led NHLPA. In the end the owners hammered out the best deal they could get for themselves.

The NHL went looking for ways to capitalize on the commercial success of these early games against the Soviets. The Soviets packed NHL buildings to capacity, which generated a lot of revenue for the owners not only in ticket sales but also food and souvenir purchases, as well as television and radio rights and commercials.

Although the NHL's bottom line is always their bottom line, their objections weren't entirely profit-driven - or at least it wasn't spun that way in promotion of their own series. They felt the 1972 Summit Series was not the best way to showcase their players. There was a growing sentiment that a truer test of hockey supremacy could be to face the Soviets against NHL club teams in mid-winter. The idea was that that way the Russians would have to face top NHL players in prime game shape and with teammates that they played with regularly. The NHL was highly critical of the hastily put together 1972 Team Canada featuring a brief training camp and unfamiliar line combinations.

The NHL originally planned on a series in the 1972-73 season. Details were leaking out as the 1972 Summit Series was winding down, however no final deal could ever be reached.

That changed in the summer of 1975. Soviet negotiators and NHL governors met in Montreal in June 1975 and after three deals had an agreement.

The agreement became known as Super Series '76. Just after Christmas 1975 two Soviet teams - Moscow Central Red Army featuring a couple of additions from Moscow Dynamo, and the Wings of the Soviet, featuring 5 national team members from Moscow Spartak - would arrive for an 8 game series against the NHL.

The opening game was a convincing 7-3 Red Army victory in one of hockey's holiest shrines - Madison Square Gardens, home of the New York Rangers. The Rangers had the unfortunate task of being the first team to faceoff against the Russians. The rest of the NHL was using this game as it's first real look at them for scouting purposes. The Rangers never had that advanced knowledge and, despite opening the scoring just 17 seconds into the game, were smoked!

"They (the Soviets) are like a team of Yvan Cournoyers, with Gordie Howe's hit," said Rangers defenseman Doug Jarrett, an first hand admirer of the speed and strength of the Soviets.

The following night the Wings of the Soviet pulled off a similarly convincing victory in Pittsburgh. The Wings jumped out to a 5-0 lead early in the second period en route to a 7-4 win. The game was significant for NHL teams as Pittsburgh employed a heavy forechecking system in the second half of the game which produced great results - outscoring the Russians 4-2. Unfortunately it was too little too late for the Penguins on that night.

The Montreal Canadiens took note of Pittsburgh's success and employed it in their game against the Red Army on New Year's Eve 1975. To say there was great anticipation for this game is almost an understatement, as the two greatest club teams in the world were about to faceoff for the first time. And hockey fans on either side of the political drawing line were treated to what many call the greatest hockey game ever played. The Canadiens doggedly pursued not only the Soviet puck carrier but all of his opponents, and the strategy seemed to work. The Habs outplayed the Soviets thoroughly, and outshot them 38-13. But the headlines the following day would read "Canadiens good, but still can't beat Russians" as the Soviets managed to earn a 3-3 tie.

The Buffalo Sabres were the next opponent for the Wings. They perfected the Montreal game plan and earned a memorable 12-6 victory! The Sabres plugged up the neutral zone and physically zeroed in on the Soviet defensemen with great success. The French Connection line of Gilbert Perreault, Rene Robert and Rick Martin had a field day with the frazzled Soviets, while gigantic defenseman Jerry Korab rocked any Soviet intruder into the Buffalo zone. The biggest difference between the Wings and the Red Army was the goaltending. Alexander Sidelnikov tended the nets for the Wings, and often backed up Red Army's great Vladislav Tretiak on the national team.

Three nights later the Wings, who were kept under heavy seclusion by their coach following the humiliating loss, attempted to redeem themselves against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Hawks employed the same physical game plan against the Soviets, but ultimately that plan backfired as they drew several costly penalties. The Soviets would capitalize on their extra-man advantages, winning 4-2

The Red Army returned to action on January 8th against the Boston Bruins. The Bruins fired 19 shots in the first period alone, but could not beat Tretiak who was again stifling NHL shooters. He was so good in this game that Bruins' coach Don Cherry admitted "Tretiak is incredible." After two periods the game remained tight, but the Soviets pulled away in the third to win 5-2.

The Red Army win meant the Soviet's could celebrate. The win gave them a 4-1-1 record with 2 games remaining, meaning the Soviets had won the 8 game showdown. But there was still two very important hockey games remaining.

The Wings finished their series by playing against the up-and-coming New York Islanders. The Isles were a couple of years away from their NHL dynasty years, but were still a top NHL team in 1976. They were unfortunate not to get a win against the Soviet Wings. The Isles didn't seem to get untracked offensively in this game - they sported the most feared power play in the NHL but could only muster 1 goal on 8 opportunities against the Wings. That would prove to be the only goal they would score. Their defense had a strong game, but a couple of "flukey" goals by the Soviets gave them another victory, this time by the score of 2-1.

The final game saw the Red Army - the best team outside of the NHL - suit up against the Philadelphia Flyers. While many will say that Montreal was still the best team in the NHL at the time, the fact is the Flyers were the two time defending Stanley Cup champions and thus earned the right to call themselves the NHL's best.

The Soviets had already handily won the series against the NHL, but the Flyers were determined to make sure the Soviets wouldn't defeat the Stanley Cup champions under any circumstance. The Flyers roared out in typical Broad Street Bully fashion - physically punishing, often by bending or outright breaking the rules, any Soviet in sight.

The Flyers dominated the opening period, and were very disciplined. But late in the period defenseman Ed Van Impe tried to decapitate Soviet superstar Valeri Kharlamov with a vicious elbow. The Soviets protested what they felt was a deliberate attempt to injure, and actually left the ice for a period of time. They would return, but never re-emerged as the Red Army team we grew to hate and secretly love. The Flyers dominated the game - out shooting the Soviets 49-13 and outscoring them 4-1.

Other than the Van Impe incident, the Flyers had represented the NHL valiantly as the Stanley Cup champions in one of the most memorable and talked about games in hockey history. They saved the NHL some prestige in an otherwise disappointing 2-5-1 tournament. They even went as far as to proclaim themselves as the undisputed world hockey champions.

Philadelphia Flyers vs CSKA Moscow, January 11th 1976

Sun. Jan. 11/76
SOVIET ARMY 1
at PHILADELPHIA 4

FIRST PERIOD
1. PHI - Leach (Barber) 11:38
2. PHI - MacLeish (Lonsberry) 17:37.

Penalties: Aleksandrov 2:24, Dornhoefer, Glazov, 3:34,
Dupont 7:00, Van Impe 9:10, Army (bench - delay of game) 11:21,
Dornhoefer 17:56.

SECOND PERIOD
3. PHI - Joe Watson (Saleski, Kindrachuk) 2:44
4. Army - Kutyergin (Popov) 10:48.

Penalties: Dupont 1:08, Van Impe 11:31, Aleksandrov (double minor), Leach 17:08.

THIRD PERIOD
5. PHI - Goodenough (Clarke, Dornhoefer) 4:07

Penalty; Volchenkov 3:14.

Shots:
Stephenson (Phi.) 2 8 3 - 13
Tretiak (Army) 17 14 18 - 49

Attendance: 17,077

Boston Bruins vs CSKA Moscow, January 8th 1976

Thu. Jan. 8/76
SOVIET ARMY 5
at BOSTON 2

FIRST PERIOD
No Scoring

Penalties: Smith 16:03, Aleksandrov 17:20.

SECOND PERIOD
1. BOS - Forbes 2:54
2. Army - Kharlamov (Maltsev) 4:41
3. Army - Kharlamov (Maltsev) 11:00
4. Army - Maltsev (Vasilyev) 13:19
5. BOS - Ratelle (Hodge) 17:31

Penalties: Schmautz 3:31, Cashman 11:00, Shluktov 17:26.

THIRD PERIOD
6. Army - Tsygankov (Aleksandrov, Vikulov) 0:43
7. Army - Aleksandrov (Shluktov) 8:58

Penalties: Tsygankov, Hodge 4:30, Schmautz 9:22

Shots:
Gilbert (Bos.) 8 5 6 - 19
Tretiak (Army) 19 8 13 - 40

Attendance: 15,003.

Chicago Blackhawks vs Soviet Wings, January 7th 1976

Wed. Jan. 7, 1976
SOVIET WINGS 4
at CHICAGO 2

FIRTS PERIOD
1. Wings - Tyerhin (Yakushev, Risqunov) 8:46
2. CHI - Redmond (Mulvey) 9:11

Penalties: White 3:21, Rota 7:41, Redmond, Rasko 20:00.

SECOND PERIOD
3. Wings - Kapustin (Rasko, Kuznetsov) 4:03
4. Wings - Schlalimov (Tyerhin, Liapkin) 8:41
5. Wings - Liapkin (Turin, Yakushev) 17:13

Penalties: Russell 3:15, Resynyev 3:15, Tallon 7:33, Russell 7:57,
Kapustin 9:25, Redmond 9:31, Schlalimov 10:49, Mulvey 16:22, Tyerhin 17:38.

THIRD PERIOD
6. CHI - Hull (Mikita, Mulvey) 7:44

Penalties: Rota 5:25, Redmond, Shadrin 7:53, Redmond 13:28, Mulvey 18:18.

Shots:
Esposito (Chi) 9 12 9 - 30
Sidelnikov (Wings) 8 6 4 - 18

Attendance 18,500.

Buffalo Sabres vs Soviet Wings, January 4th 1976

Sun. Jan. 4, 1976
SOVIET WINGS 6
at BUFFALO 12

FIRST PERIOD
1. BUF - Guevremont (Spencer, Hajt) 6:10
2. BUF - Perreault (Korab) 7:10
3. BUF - Martin (Stanfield) 11:32
4. Wings - Repnyev (Schalimov, Yakushev) 13:45
5. BUF - Martin 14:23
6. Wings - Kapustin (Kotov) 19:16

Penalties: Shadrin, Ramsay 0:36, Repnyev, Fogolin 11:21, Korab 11:45.

SECOND PERIOD
7. BUF - Lorentz (Gare, Guevremont) 4:32
8. BUF - Robert (McNab) 5:32
9. Wings - Repnyev (Kopvstin, Kuznetsov) 5:59
10. BUF - Korab (Martin, Perreault) 8:26
11. Wings - Schalimov 8:40
12. BUF - Gare (Stanfield, Korab) 11:44
13. BUF - McNab (Martin, Spencer) 13:17

Penalties: Kapustin 2:49, Tyerhin 7:55, Korab 14:41, 19:45.

THIRD PERIOD
14. Wings - Kapustin (Kuznetsov) 3:28
15. BUF - Stanfieid (Martin, Perreault) 9:41
16. Wings - Lebedev, (Bobinov, Krikunov) 11:32
17. BUF - Gare (Stanfield, Ramsay) 14:04
18. BUF - Spencer (McNab, Robert) 18:04

Penalties: Shadrin 6:08, Sidelnikov (served by Schalimov),
Spencer 6:30, Guevremont 6:52, Kuznetsov 7:20, Turin 17:14.

Shots:
Sidelnikov - Kylikov (Wings) 17 17 12 - 46
Desjardins (Buf) 9 7 6 - 25

Attendance: 16,433.

Montreal Canadiens vs CSKA Moscow, December 31st, 1975

Wed. Dec. 31, 1975
RED ARMY 3
at MONTREAL 3

FIRST PERIOD
1. MTL - Shutt (Mahovlich) 3:16
2. MTL - Lambert (Risebrough, Savard) 7:25

Penalties: Wilson 0:38, Vasilyev 4:43, Cournoyer 16:33, Shluktov 19:45.

SECOND PERIOD
3. Army - Mikhailov, (Vasilyev) 3:54
4. MTL - Covrnoyer (Lafleur, Lemaire) 9:39
5. Army - Kharlamov(Petrov, Mikhailov) 16:21

Penalties; Solodukhin 7:38, Gusev 8:23, Savard 9:52.

THIRD PERIOD
6. Army - Aleksandrov (Shluktov, Tsygankov) 4:04

Penalty: Vasilyev 0:27

Shots
Dryden (Mtl) 4 3 6 - 13
Tretiak (Army) 11 11 16 - 38

Attendance: 18,975

Pittsburgh Penguins vs Soviet Wings December 29th, 1975

Mon. Dec. 29, 1975
SOVIET WINGS 7
at PITTSBURGH 4

FIRST PERIOD
1. Wings - Anish (Bodunov) 1:45
2. Wings - (Shadrin, Sghalimov) 4:33
3. Wings - Schalimov (Liapkin) 12:10
4. Wings - Yakushev (Shadrin, Turin) 15:25

Penalty: Campbell 7:12.

SECOND PERIOD
5. Wings - Shadrin (Liapkin, Shlalimov) 1:39
6. PIT - Larouche (Kehoe, Faubert) 5:35
7. Wings - Repnyev (Kapustin) 6:02
8. PIT - Schock (Hadfield, Arnason) 6:53
9. PIT - Wilkins (Pronovost, Gilbertson) 14:52

Penalties: Wings (bench) 3:31, Larouche (misconduct) 12:26.

THIRD PERIOD
10. Wings - Liapkin (Schalimov, Shadrin) 0;30
11. PIT - Morrison (Hadfield) 3:02

Penalties: Stackhouse 9:41, Yakushev 4:18, Kapustin 17:23, Schock 17:32.

Shots:
Plasse (Pitt) 15 8 12 - 35
Sidelenikov (Wings) 5 7 18 - 30

Attendance 13,218

New York Rangers vs CSKA Moscow, December 28th 1975

Rangers impressed by Russians

New Yorkers had a first hand glimpse at the amazing Soviet hockey teams as they humiliated the NHL Rangers before a packed house at Madison Square Gardens.

The smooth-skating Russians awed 17,500 Garden fans with their blazing speed and pinpoint passing as they ran up a 7-1 lead on the seventh-ranked NHL team before calling it a night early. The Rangers scored a couple of late goals to make it 7-3.

Almost every Ranger had nothing but awestruck praise to heap on the Russians.

The Rangers' veteran Rod Gilbert may have said it best when he commented, "I thought we were high enough for the game. I also thought that most of us played our best. But it wasn't nearly good enough."

The Rangers made all the classic mistakes against the Russians, and were burned for it. John Davidson was sub-par in his goaltending performance while his teammates spent too much time uselessly trying to intimidate the Russians, only to find themselves in deep penalty trouble - for example Ron Greschner went to the penalty box three times in the first period alone. Attempting to beat the Russians is a tough enough task, but trying to do it with one less player much of the night is even tougher, and the Rangers learned that lesson on that night.

Sun. Dec. 28, 1975
RED ARMY 7
at N.Y. RANGERS 3

FIRST PERIOD
1. NYR - Vickers (Esposito, Gilbert) O:21
2. Army - Aleksandrov (Petrov, Gusev) 4:04
3. Army - Vikulov (Shluktov, Aleksandrov) 5:19
4. Army - Kharlamov, (Vasilyev, Petrov) 19:42

Penalties: Jarrett 2:46; Greschner 7:20, 10:13, 18:16.

SECOND PERIOD
5. Army - Petrov (Kharlamov, Mikhailov) 1:26
6. Army - Vikulov (Shlutkov, Alesandrov) 14:21
7. Army - Mikhailov (Kharlamov. Gusev) 16:54

Penalties: Popov 7:34, Gusev 8:46, Johnstone 19:11

THIRD PERIOD
8. Army - Petrov (Mikhailov, Kharlamov) 3:16
9. NYR - Gilbert (Esposito) 15:31
10. NYR - Esposito (Vickers, Sacharuk) 17:47

Penalties: Vasilyev 0:38, Esposito 1:40, Fairbairn 8:04, 12:42.
Volchkov 16:04, Polis 19:38, Vadnais, (major) 19:38.

Shots
Tretiak (Army) 10 14 17 - 41
Davidson (NYR) 12 9 8 - 29

Attendance: 17,500.

New York Islanders vs Soviet Wings, January 10th 1976

Sat. Jan. 10/76
SOVIET WINGS 2
at ISLANDERS 1

FIRST PERIOD
No Scoring

Penalties: Drouin 2:24, Anisin 5:25, Repnyev, Marshall 7:48,
Lebedev, St. Laurent 8:46, St. Laurent 10:56, Hart 16:35.

SECOND PERIOD
1. Wings - Schlalimov 6:31
2. NYI - Trottier (D. Potvin, Gillies) 14:59
3. Wings - Anisin 19:46

Penalties; Gostyuslev 2:27, Krikunov 5:30, Bobinov 10:00, 14:54, Harris 10:17.

THIRD PERIOD
No Scoring.

Penalties: Kuznetsov 1:58, Kvznetsov 11:41, Bobinov, Parise 15:10, Tyerhin
18:30.

Shots:
Resch (NYI) 7 9 4 - 20
Sidelnikov (Wings) 11 6 8 - 25

Attendance: 14,865.

Jean Ratelle

Jean Ratelle is about as perfect a hockey player as there as we have ever seen. His professionalism and sportsmanship are as rare as his elite puck handling and skating skills.

While his road to the NHL wasn't the smoothest, but once he got there he quickly established himself as smooth operator. He split the first four pro seasons between the New York Rangers and the minor leagues. At one point while enduring a contract dispute he almost quit hockey to try out with the Milwaukee Braves baseball team.

"Management in New York put a lot of pressure on me. They wanted me to play a more aggressive brand of hockey. But that just wasn't the way I played the game. So pretty soon I found myself down in the minors again."

Ratelle finally got his chance to stay in 1964-65 when an injury to Phil Goyette allowed Ratelle the opportunity he needed. Immediately he was reunited with childhood friend and junior teammate Rod Gilbert. Ratelle scored 21 times and had finally proved he was an NHLer to stay.

Ratelle - a lanky centermen from Quebec - instantly was compared to Jean Beliveau. But he was quick to dismiss that notion.

"A lot of people saw my style as similar to Jean Beliveau's" Jean said in the book Heroes & History. "He was one of my heroes, but everyone is an individual. I don't think you can really copy anyone even if you try. You might pick up a little mannerism when you're a kid, but I didn't do that."

In another book, Rangers Fever by Marv Albert, Jean said "In a sense I was flattered. But I was realistic about it and I knew that part of the reason was for publicity. I never patterned my style after Beliveau's. So I as far as I was concerned, any comparisons were just to give the publicists something to do."

Beliveau however did acknowledge that their playing styles were very similar.

"Sure our styles are similar. We both play very cleanly, we're pretty quiet fellows, and we both have a long skating stride and a long reach," he said.

"The way I see it, Jean Ratelle is the quiet leader of the Rangers. It's a mistake to think that a player has to be noisy in order to command respect and lead a hockey club. Jean inspires by his behavior - on and off the ice. He's a fine family man and an inspiration to the other players, especially the younger ones. He reminds me of my self in the sense that neither of us were flashy or noisy or were quoted saying anything controversial, and because of that it took longer to get recognized."

Ratelle would get recognition though, thanks in large part to one of hockey's greatest line combinations in history. Ratelle and Gilbert's reunion was the turning point in both players' magnificent careers. Rugged Vic Hadfield was added to the right wing to form one of the most dangerous offensive trios in the late 1960s and the 1970s. The trio was dubbed the GAG line - Goal A Game line.

"The New York Rangers "GAG" line that I centered between Rod Gilbert and Vic Hadfield played together for 9 or 10 years, possibly the longest any line stayed together in the history of the NHL. Rod and Vic were great players, so it was fun and we had a lot of success together"

In 1971-72 Ratelle produced 109 points based on 46 goals and 63 assists. It was the first time a New York Ranger broke the century mark of NHL scoring. He actually broke his ankle with 16 games to play so his totals could have been even more impressive. Hadfield managed to get 50 goals, while Gilbert fell just short of 50 as he too got injured near the end of the year. Had Ratelle and Gilbert remained healthy, it would have been a good bet that all three linemates would have topped 50 goals that one season!

By this time Ratelle had cemented himself among the league's elite, but he had already been known as the league's nicest gentleman and most respected players.

"Jean commands so much respect because of his ability and his style, it's impossible to get yourself mad enough at him to try any dirty stuff," once said Derek Sanderson. Sanderson was one of the NHL's top checkers. It was his job to get a top player like Ratelle off of his game by any means necessary, including by breaking the rules.
Brad Park was a long time teammate of Ratelle, and an admirer.

"Ratty (Ratelle) is without a doubt the model hockey player, totally dedicated to the sport and the team. He plays hockey according to the rule book and would never even think of elbowing or smashing a guy or doing anything physical. He's just a beautiful player."

Ratelle was part of perhaps the biggest trade in NHL history in 1975-76 when he and Brad Park were the key components for a Boston Bruin package which featured Phil Esposito.

"There were indications that something was going to happen with the Rangers early in the 1975-76 season, but like most players I never thought it would affect me. I had been with New York since 1960 so my trade to Boston came as a shock. I'm sure it was even more surprising for Phil Esposito to be traded to New York."

While Espo initially struggled, Ratelle continued his excellence in his new surroundings, breaking the 100 point mark for a second time in 1976. He also played important roles in the Bruins Stanley Cup runs in 1977 and 1978. He would continue his scoring prowess until his retirement in 1981.

"As it turned out, it was a great move (going to Boston) for me and my family, because I was able to play six more years in Boston. If Bobby Orr hadn't been injured, we probably would have also won a Stanley Cup or two."

Like pretty much everyone else in the hockey world, Ratelle was a big fan of Bobby's, but rarely got to play with him.

"Unfortunately, I played only 10 games with Bobby. I sat beside him in the dressing room, and he assisted on my first goal with the Bruins. He's still the best ever, as far as I'm concerned," he said.

Always a clean and gentlemanly player, Ratelle won the Lady Byng twice and the Bill Masterton Trophy once. He was also presented with the Lester Pearson Trophy for his strong season in 1971-72. However he was never able to win hockey's greatest trophy - the Stanley Cup.

"In the NHL, my team worked hard every year and in every playoff series, but I never won the Stanley Cup. For that reason, I can't look back and say that any one year was really satisfying. In the end, we lost."

If there was one year, it might have been his dream year 1971-72. Not only was he dominant in the NHL, but he was also named to the Summit Series for Team Canada where he scored 1 goal and 4 points against the Russians.

Pucks On The 'Net: Random Thoughts Edition

* Houston will get a NHL team. I'm certain of it, and was before there was any interest expressed from Texas. Obviously the odds of a team have greatly increased, but don't expect anything imminently. Gary Bettman will tell Houston to sit patiently and they will get a team. The league likes to have interested groups with deep pockets and a ready arena hanging around as leverage. Ottawa and Calgary are going through tough negotiations to get a new arena. So are the New York Islanders and, well, the Arizona Coyotes are forever a mess. Watch Bettman use this to his benefit to clean up a couple of messes and then milk $500,000,000 out of Houston as an expansion team in 3 or 4 years.

* What ever happened to the Quebec group that wanted an expansion team. They've gone very quiet.

* Winnipeg's Blake Wheeler really reminds me of Trevor Linden in his heyday. Big bodies, great leaders. Wheeler has the same look when using his body in the slot to drive the net. But Wheeler is a much better skater.

* If I had to pick the Stanley Cup finalists for 2018 right now, Tampa and St. Louis would be my choices. By no coincidence, those teams boast the top defensemen in the league - Victor Hedman and Alex Pietrangelo.

* I'm still upset that Jeremy Jacobs is in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Good to see growing support for Fran Rider. She is a true builder of hockey.

Murray Hall

It is debatable if Murray Hall was a better hockey player or a better golfer.

Hall was born in Kirkland Lake but he grew up in nearby rural Tarzwell where his family owned the general store. He grew up falling in love with the game on frozen Round lake before moving to town. The family moved to Oakville later so his father could work at the Ford plant.

That allowed Hall to opportunities to better both is hockey game and discover golf. Soon enough he was leaving home to play junior hockey with the St. Catherines Teepees. Soon enough he was close to being a scratch golfer, too.

Hall would help the Teepees win the Memorial Cup in 1960, scoring seven goals and 21 points in 14 playoff games. The following season he showed his promise over the whole season, scoring 35 goals and 76 points in just 48 games.

At the same time, thanks to Oakville's more forgiving winters, Hall also earned his Canadian Professional Golf Association card. The golf game came naturally to him, though his competitive career on the links would have to wait until he was done competing on the rinks.

Not that the NHL opportunities came easily. Despite brief appearances with Chicago, Detroit and Minnesota, Hall spent nearly a decade toiling in the minor leagues, while working as a golf pro in the summer time.

His most successful stop was in Vancouver with the WHL Canucks (plus he probably loved the year round golf in Vancouver!) When the Canucks became an NHL expansion franchise in 1970, the popular Hall was an easy choice to make the jump to the NHL.

Hall would spend a season and half with the NHL Canucks. His first season was quite strong, scoring 21 goals and 59 points while playing on a line with Orland Kurtenbach and Wayne Maki. Hall finished fourth on the team in scoring behind Andre Boudrias, Maki and Rosie Paiement.

Hall struggled in the first half of the 1971-72 season, scoring just six goals in 32 games. They demoted him to snowy Rochester.

Hall probably didn't like the golf in Rochester, nor the pay check. So he jumped at the opportunity to play with Gordie Howe and sons with the Houston Aeros. He enjoyed four strong seasons in the WHA, all while honing his golf game on the courses around Texas.

Hall played through to 1977, playing one last season with Oklahoma City of the Central Hockey League. He then returned to Ontario, setting up a skate sharpening business while playing senior hockey for the Alexanders.

Teemu Brought Skill, Passion, Enjoyment To The NHL

Teemu Selanne is set to become just the second Finnish player in hockey history to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Jari Kurri, of course, was the first, inducted in 2001.

Selanne grew up idolizing Kurri, who was the undisputed greatest player in Finnish hockey history. Now he will join his hero, though some say he surpassed him in the minds of many as the greatest Finn.

Selanne finished his career with 684 goals and 1,457 points in 23 NHL seasons with the Winnipeg Jets, Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche. He retired after the 2013-14 season as the all-time Finland-born leading NHL scorer, 83 goals and 59 points more than Kurri.

The personable Selanne won the Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, won four Olympic hockey medals with Finland (silver in 2006, bronze in 1998, 2010 and 2014) and ranks as the all-time leading scorer in Olympic hockey with 43 points (24 goals, 19 assists) in 37 games.

The ever lasting image of Teemu will be his ever-present smile. He is a man who truly seemed to enjoy every moment in the NHL, every moment in life.

Mighty Duck: Paul Kariya

Unable to recover from post-concussion symptoms that forced to him to miss all of the 2010-11 season and has left him with brain damage, star winger Paul Kariya announced his retirement from hockey. It was a whimper of an end to a great career. 

Known for his creative explosiveness, energy and great speed ends a stellar 15-year NHL career where he was undoubtedly one of the most skilled players of his generation.

Kariya, drafted by Anaheim with the fourth pick in the 1993 Entry Draft, had a long history of concussion troubles, including one that resulted from a crosscheck in the face made by Chicago’s Gary Suter that ended his dream of participating in the 1998 Olympics in Nagano Japan.

He was also devastated by hits from Scott Stevens and Patrick Kaleta. The multiple concussions hindered Kariya over the latter half of his career to the point where he was clearly not the same player as he was in his prime.

Kariya emerged as an NHL star with the expansion Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Teaming up with Teemu Selanne, the duo formed one of the most lethal tandems in the NHL. It is worth noting that Kariya's best years came with Selanne on his wing, but his scoring fell off without him. Whereas Selanne enjoyed several great seasons without Kariya.

Yet it was Kariya who was the face of the franchise and in some ways the face of Canadian hockey.

Always approachable and affable, Kariya was easy for both the fans and the media to like. Especially the Canadian media. In the 1990s, the Canadian media was looking for the super skilled Canadian nice guy to wave the Canadian flag. The media did this in the past with Bobby Orr and with Wayne Gretzky, who was on the down side of his career. They never warmed to the big brute and bully Eric Lindros, who was Canada's top player. Both Lindros and Kariya embraced Team Canada in the years before NHL players represented  national teams at the Olympics, but it was the nice guy Kariya that they wrapped the Canadian flag around and championed.

The two-time recipient of the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship, ends his career (which also saw stops in Colorado, Nashville and St. Louis) with 402 goals and 587 assists in 989 games. He also finished as the runner up to Dominik Hasek in Hart Trophy balloting in 1997, and finished top 5 in NHL scoring 3 times.

The question becomes is that enough to get him into the Hockey Hall of Fame? The answer came in 2017 - yes. He was inducted alongside his close friend Teemu Selanne. 

Kariya was a special player, certainly a top 10 player in his prime. His peak years were from 1995 through 2000 when he was mentioned in the same breath as Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Eric Lindros, Jaromir Jagr and Selanne as the best player in the game. He was the best skater and arguably the most intelligent hockey superstar of his time.

Estranged from hockey for years after his forced retirement, it's good to have Paul Kariya's smile back in the game again.

Hockey Hall of Fame 2017: Dave Andreychuk, Mark Recchi And The Value of Longevity

When it comes to Hockey Hall of Fame debates, I've always struggled with the value of longevity.

Obviously the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee has the same problem. That's why guys like Dino Ciccarelli, Dave Andreychuk, Adam Oates and Mark Recchi all had to await their phone call from the Hall.

I would argue that, of that list, only Oates was a truly dominant player at any point in his career and that was a relatively short period of time in the early 1990s. . I've always viewed these players as very good players with somewhat inflated career totals because they played so long.

Recchi in particular irks me, as I'm not sure he was ever the best player on his own team, let alone the league. Despite his lofty career totals due to how long he played, I consider Mark Recchi to be one of the weakest Hall of Fame inclusions yet.

While longevity should count for something, I don't know how much. I've been toying with the idea of coming up with some sort of formula to grade careers, with the idea of coming up with a Hall of Fame threshold or a way of comparing different players. Here's what I've bandied about, with a player's whole career (including international play) to be graded by:

Historical Importance 20
Offense 20
Defense 15
Honors 15
Clutch Play 10 (Stanley Cup playoffs, International play)
Intangibles 10 (physicality, toughness, leadership, character)
Longevity 10

Perhaps that is too simple? Are my priorities are wrong? Perhaps forwards and defensemen should be graded differently? (Obviously a goaltender's formula would need some adjusting). Is it too subjective? Should standard levels be automatically applied (ie 20 seasons or more automatically equals a 10 in longevity)?

I'd like to hear some feedback on this. If some sort of standard could be applied I think would open up a world of interesting study and debate.

Hockey Hall of Fame 2017: Jeremy Jacobs

Jeremy Jacobs, long time owner of the Boston Bruins, is going into the Hockey Hall of Fame this weekend. 

And the question everyone should be asking themselves is: why?

Bruins fans know all too well what I mean. Under Jacob's at-times absent ownership the Bruins have won one Stanley Cup in forty three years. His lasting legacy will be as an owner who was not always willing to spend the dollars to make the Bruins the best.

Whatever. Jacobs isn't going into the Hall of Fame for being a less-than-beloved owner of a team that didn't do a whole lot. He is going in as a builder of the sport of hockey (although owners getting in as building are almost always seen as slap-on-the-back patronage appointments).

What did Jacobs do to build the sport of hockey? He was behind the multiple labour stoppages that brought in the salary cap at the expense of an entire season plus many more games. While Gary Bettman takes all the hate and the heat for these dark moments in league history, fans should realize Gary is nothing more than the owner's puppet. And Jeremy Jacobs, the most powerful owner in the league and, since 2007, the Chairman of the Board of Governors, is the puppet master.

The salary cap came at great cost - too great of a cost many will say. The owners, not surprisingly, argue that was essential, and with some validity. The league insured all member franchises - especially small market teams - could compete on an equal level as the deep pocketed teams. And, thanks in part to the league's silly three point games including points for losing, the unparalleled parity looks great.

The salary cap story line is one of the most influential aspects, both positive and negative, of modern NHL history I'm not so sure that merits the key hardliner on the owners side getting inducted

Owners being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as builders is one thing, but there are so many others who have dedicated their lives to hockey and should be considered Hall of Famer builders. Perhaps owner inductions would be easier to take if there were more Clare Drakes going into the Hockey Hall of Fame every year. 

Jeremy Jacobs is a lot of great things. He is a very successful businessman and incredible philanthropist. He is a very powerful man in the National Hockey League. And now he is a Hockey Hall of Famer.

Hockey Hall of Fame 2017: Danielle Goyette

The Hockey Hall of Fame is set to induct it's class of 2017. The outstanding class features Dave Andreychuk, Paul Kariya, Mark Recchi, Teemu Selanne, Jeremy Jacobs, and former University of Alberta head coach Clare Drake.

Over the next few days we will look at each of the honourees, starting with the female pioneer Danielle Goyette. Goyette becomes just the fifth woman to be enshrined as an honoured member — joining Angela Ruggiero (2015), Geraldine Heaney (2013), Cammi Granato (2010), and Angela James (2010).

In 15 seasons with Canada's national team, Goyette became one of the most accomplished players ever, despite not playing at any serious level until the age of 25.  The St-Nazaire, Que. native played 171 career games for Canada, scoring 113 goals and tallying 105 assists. She scored 15 goals in her three Olympic games, winning a pair of gold medals to go with one silver, and was Canada's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy.  She was also part of eight gold medal-winning teams at the World Championships.

Hayley Wickenheiser penned a great article on NHL.com about Goyette which really highlighted the realities of women's hockey compared to unreal world of the National Hockey League.

"They will talk about how she worked as a janitor at night at the Olympic Oval and trained by day. Or the part-time job at Home Depot working in the plumbing section at night after long days of training. Steel-toed boots and concrete floors for 6 to 8 hours a day just to play the game she loved. Yup, she did all of that, and more. I can't tell you how many times myself and other teammates had her over to fix our plumbing, or lay flooring or do general contractor work."

Over at The Athletic (sorry, it's behind a paywall), Cassie Campbell Pascal talks more about Goyette the hockey player in a fantastic article by another Hall of Famer, Eric Duhatschek.

“The one thing about Danielle that people don’t know is, she was the smartest player – ever – to play the game,” said Campbell-Pascall. “She made it look so easy out there that sometimes we questioned her effort – because she was just always in the right position at the right time. She played with Nancy Drolet. They were a tandem for many years; and she made Nancy better. She made Wick better. Then I got to play with her – and she made me better. Vicky and I and her finished as a line together – the Old Dogs, they called us, because we were 110 years old – and she made everyone better, everyone she ever played with.”

I will continue adding to this Goyette piece as more feature articles are published in the coming days.

Nine Lessons I Learned From My Father

One of the top hockey books of 2017 is Nine Lessons I Learned From My Father by Murray Howe. Yes, Howe. As in Gordie Howe was his father. Murray, a doctor, may not be as well known as his NHL playing brothers Marty and Mark (who came out with his own book, Gordie Howe's Son, in 2013) but he is a gifted writer who, perhaps because he didn't play hockey at a high level, had a special vantage point of Gordie Howe than others did.

I have not read this book yet, but it promises to be, unlike most hockey books, a true gem.

Check out this MacLean's article featuring Wayne Gretzky interviewing Murray Howe. It in itself is a fantastic read. Be sure to watch for the bookstore on shelves this holiday season.

Pucks On The 'Net: Old Canada

With less than 100 days to go until the Pyeongchang Olympics, lots of people are trying to forecast the various Olympic hockey team rosters.

Of course that has become a much more difficult - and less fun - task ever since the NHL and IOC parted ways.

Canada's roster is particularly tough for us fans to get in on, as most of the players to be selected play in Europe. Many are players we may never have heard of, with a sprinkling of "he's still playing?!" types.

I thought CBC's Tim Wharnsby came up with a pretty good prediction roster here. Barring injuries, I think Wharnsby's predictions will largely come to fruition.

One thing that really jumped out at me is the age of the Canadians. It seems the average age of the players Wharnsby mentions is quite high, most pushing 30 years or higher.

At first glance this surprised me. Hockey seems to be more than ever a young man's game now. The NHL may see the average age of it's players this season dip below 27 for the first time ever. Moreover, Canada's brain trust - Sean Burke and Dave King in particular - should remember the pre-NHL Olympic teams were built largely on youth.

Canada largely has no choice, barring a late minute deal to land a couple junior stars. The Canadians playing in Europe tend to be older, as they trade their youth for minor league bus rides and a shot at the Canadian dream of playing in the big leagues. Not too many young Canadians hockey players head to Europe without first trying the North American pro scene.

Besides, European-league veterans are a little better acquainted with the bigger international ice surface and coaching tactics.

Beyond that, the fact that so few of those players are known to us fans actually excites me. There will be many great stories about our new cast of heroes. No, it won't be the same as Sidney Crosby and Carey Price going for gold, and the stories may prove more interesting than the games themselves.

But Olympic hockey is always interesting.