september 2003 - vol 7 - no 4 · careers are remembered by olympic success photo: edward groeger...

September 2003 - Vol 7 - No 4Publisher: International Ice Hockey Federation, Editor-in-Chief: Jan-Ake EdvinssonEditors: Kimmo Leinonen, Szymon Szemberg Layout: Szymon Szemberg, Assistant Editor: Jenny Wiedeke

HOME OPENER. IIHF President René Fasel (left) is all smiles as IOC President Jacques Rogge drops the puck for the inaugural face-off between Fasel and the Mayor of Zurich, ElmarLedergerber. The August 21 ceremony, which officially inaugurated the new IIHF offices, is witnessed by Christian Huber, the President Councillor of the Government of KantonZurich, and by Juan Antonio Samaranch, Lifetime IOC Honorary President. See more on the inauguration on page 11.

Careers are remembered by Olympic successPh

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The 115th IOC Session in Prague, Czech Republic on July 1 wasthrilling for sports fans and ice hockey fans in particular. And justlike in hockey, there could only be one winner. Out of three verygood bids for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Vancouver came outvictorious.

■■ As president of theInternational Ice HockeyFederation, I cannot deny that going to Canada with an Olympic ice hockey tourna-ment presents a huge opportunity for our sport. At the same time, it must be pointedout that both the Austrian and the Korean bids were extremely well put together.I know how many resources and what effort was put behind the candidacies andpresentations from Salzburg and PyeongChang. They each deserve respect.

On a personal note, I was very honoured and proud when IOC President JacquesRogge, at the same IOC Session, offered me the position as chairman of the IOC’sCo-ordination Committee for the 2010 games in Vancouver.

■■ The IOC President said in his speech at the inauguration of the new IIHF officesin Zurich on August 21, that ice hockey has always been the backbone of the

Olympic Winter Games. Indeed, the Olympics - and the Olympic ice hockey tourna-ment - have an inner strength that goes beyond individual participation.

Heroes are made in the Olympics, regardless of what merit you bring with youcoming into the Games. On August 11, a shock hit the world of hockey when HerbBrooks died in a car accident. In February 1980 a virtually unknown Brooks broughta group of college no-names to Lake Placid and proved that miracles can happen.

■■ None of his players became superstars and Brooks never won a championship inthe pro-ranks after Lake Placid, but their careers will always be measured by whatthey accomplished in the Olympics. Most observers would claim that the USA couldhave assembled bigger names for Lake Placid, but would that team have wonagainst the virtually unbeatable Soviets? Twenty-two years later that team wasbestowed the highest honour, lighting the Olympic torch in Salt Lake City.

Olympic heroes don’t become bigger than Peter Forsberg in Lillehammer in 1994 andOlympic miseries don’t get any deeper than Paul Kariya’s in the same Gold Medalgame between Sweden and Canada.While Forsberg executed his penalty shot into immortality, Kariya’s attempt wasthwarted by goalie Tommy Salo and Sweden won its first Olympic hockey gold.

RENÉ FASEL EDITORIAL

Continued on next page

September 2003 - Vol 7 - No 4

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Olympic final in 2010 could host 55,000 fansContinued from page one:

Pop Quiz: What do comedian Mike Meyers, theRolling Stones and Canadian forward AnsonCarter have in common?

Answer: They all have the key tothe city of Toronto.

■■ Toronto-born Carter joinedelite company at the end of Julywhen he was presented with thekey to Canada’s largest city.Carter was awarded the key afternetting the gold medal-winninggoal in overtime against Sweden atthe 2003 IIHF World Championship.

“It's a tremendous thrill,” Cartersaid during the presentation inMayor Mel Lastman’s office. “Ireally don’t see myself in the samelight as these people. They’veaccomplished much more over thecourse of time.”

■■ Carter may be selling himselfshort. His game-winning goalagainst Sweden will go down in Canadian hockeyhistory as a crowing achievement for the national

team, which was not a favourite going into this year’sworld championship.

“Everyone remembers what PaulHenderson did for Team Canada,”Mayor Lastman said referring toHenderson’s heroics in the 1972Summit Series against the SovietUnion. “Well, that’s what we’regoing to be seeing for I don’tknow how many years -- AnsonCarter scoring that overtime goal."

■■ Carter has spent his summertrying to avoid the glare of thespotlight, but more often thannot, the spotlight finds him.People repeatedly thank and con-gratulate him for putting Canadaback on top at the WorldChampionship.

“All of those guys were reallyproud,” Carter said of fellow NHLplayers calling to offer their congra-tulations. “I think and I hope that itwill change a lot of guys’ minds

when it comes time to play in the World Championships.That it is fun time and a great opportunity.”

THE GOAL makes Carter the new key-figure

ALL DOORS OPEN: Anson Carter hasbecome a celebrity in his home town afterscoring the gold medal winner in Helsinki.

Vancouver could set an Olympicrecord for attendance in men’sice hockey in just one day.

■■ After being awarded the 2010Winter Olympic Games by theInternational Olympic Committee, theVancouver Organizing Committeestarted looking into the possibility ofplaying the Men’s Gold Medal Gameat B.C. Place Stadium, a domed facili-ty which seats 55,000.

John Furlong, president ofVancouver’s bid committee said thatthe idea came to light when IIHFPresident Rene Fasel asked if hockeycould be played at the B.C. Place,which is home of the CanadianFootball League's B.C. Lions.

“What this is about is the notion of putting one of thepremier events in front of one of the largest crowdsever to create an atmosphere of excellence,” Furlongsaid.

■■ It would be the largest audience to see anOlympic men’s ice hockey game and would follow onthe heels of the ‘Cold War’ game between theUniversity of Michigan and Michigan State University,which had 74,554 spectators at Spartan Stadium.

This year the NHL is diving into the outdoor genre aswell with a game scheduled between Edmonton andMontreal, which will be played on Nov. 22 in the55,000-seat Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.

But the Olympic Gold Medal Game will hold thedistinction of having the largest indoor audience asB.C. Place Stadium is a domed venue.

“Because we have exceptional technology today, andin seven years much better, clearly we are up to thechallenge,” Furlong said.

B.C. Stadium is already slated to host the opening andclosing ceremonies. The stadium’s round roof mightalso serve as the Game’s olympic torch.

■■ The rest of the men’s and women’s Olympic tour-nament will be held at G.M. Place, the current home ofthe NHL Vancouver Canucks. It is planned to receive a$9 million facelift for the Olympic Games.

WATER, HOCKEY, MOUNTAINS: This scenery awaits the fans who willvisit Vancouver in 2010. The GM Place, home of the NHL VancouverCanucks, will get a nine million dollar facelift for the Olympics.

■■ IIHF President René Fasel was appointed asthe chairman of the IOC’s Co-ordinationCommittee for the Games in Vancouver after thecity won hosting rights for the 2010 Olympics.

This means that Fasel will oversee the co-ordinationbetween all Olympic winter sports leading up to the2010 games. This will imply continuous meetings withthe national organizers regarding venues, schedules

and infrastructure surrounding the games. Fasel is alsothe head of the Olympic Winter Sport Federation.

“I am of course very proud of this appointment”, saidRené Fasel. “I did not expect it and I was a bit hesitantwhen I was approached about this by IOC PresidentJacques Rogge. But I realized that I couldn’t say no tosuch an honour. This will mean lot’s of work and lot’sof travel, but it will also be very stimulating.”

Is this game less memorable because neither teamiced their necessarily most merited players? Of coursenot. This was an epic of a final and it will always beremembered as an Olympic classic in its own right.

■■ With those two examples in mind, we can restassured that we will have great Olympic hockey tour-naments in Turin 2006 and also in Vancouver 2010,regardless of which players will be eligible for thenational teams.

The depth in international hockey today is so greatthat any of the top nations have solid pools of morethan 50 players of more or less equal quality.

At this stage, without a collective bargaining agree-ment between the NHL and the players’ associationafter September 15, 2004, it’s anybody’s guess if NHLplayers will be able to participate in Turin 2006.

■■ The playing format for Turin will be set regardlessof NHL players’ participation because the IIHF mustnotify the IOC and the Turin organizers about our play-ing modus very soon, while the NHL and the NHLPAare in a labour situation where very little can be saidabout the future.

The upcoming IIHF Semi-Annual Congress in Crete(September 17 - 21) will discuss several of these issuesand we will be able to make concrete announcementsregarding the format and the number of participatingteams following the congress.

■■ Whichever format will be chosen, we can almostassure everyone that the two-stage format fromNagano 1998 and Salt Lake City 2002, where someteams started early and had to qualify for the mainevent, will not be repeated. And we can be assuredthat the Olympic spirit will continue to thrive.

René FaselIIHF President

■■ One year ago, Alexander Ovechkin was virtuallyan unknown 16-year old junior hockey player fromRussia. On a global scale, only full-time scouts knewthe kind of a player that was developing through theDynamo Moscow ranks.

Ovechkin, who led Russia to the gold medal last sea-son in Halifax, Canada in his first IIHF World U20Championship, was selected in mid-August to Russia’snational senior team for the annual Ceska PojistovnaCup in Pardubice, Czech Republic by “new” nationalteam coach Viktor Tikhonov. (See page 12)Ovechkin, who will be 18 on September 17, will makehis senior international debut against host CzechRepublic, Finland and Sweden.

Ovechkin, not yet 18, picked for Russian national team

International Ice Hockey FederationBrandschenkestrasse 50Postfach 8039 Zürich, SwitzerlandPhone: +41-1-562 22 00, Fax: +41-1-562 22 29Internet: www.iihf.com E-mail: [email protected]

■■ Mike Pelino, the coach and manager of Canada’snational team for the last four years will leave his postwith Hockey Canada to join the NHL’s Florida Panthersas an assistant coach.

■■ The Icelandic Ice Hockey Association has named anew board. Vidar Gardarsson is the new President,while Bjarni Bjarnason is the new Vice President.Sveinn Bjarki Sigurdsson was also named GeneralSecretary.

■■ The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has selec-ted IIHF Chief Medical Officer Marc Aubry to be apart of a group that is collecting information across allsports regarding positive doping cases since 2001. Thegroup will focus on factors that constitute “exceptio-nal circumstances” in positive doping tests.

■■ The German Ice Hockey Association appointedFranz Reindl as its new General Secretary, which willinclude duties as the sport director and with marke-ting. Michael Pfuhl was named the Technical Directorand will mainly oversee junior hockey.

■■ USA Hockey announced that Jim Johannson waspromoted to Senior Director of Hockey Operations.Johannson will be responsible for the day-to-daymanagement and integration of all sport-related issueswithin USA Hockey.

■■ The Hungarian Ice Hockey Association electedFerenc Studniczky as its new President on June 11.

■■ Shoichi Tomita, the IIHF Vice-President and longtime council member was elected as the new Presidentof the Japanese Ice Hockey Association.

■■ As of July 23, the Ice Hockey Association of Serbiaand Montenegro replaces the former Yugoslav IceHockey Association. The country code for the re-namedassociation is SCG.


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IIHF News & AppointmentsWe are the champions of the WorldAll national (men’s) champions from IIHF member associations:Armenia: Dinamo YeravanAustralia: Sydney BearsAustria: Black Wings LinzBelarus: HC GomelBelgium: Phantoms DeurneBosnia: HC Bosna, SarajevoBulgaria: Levski SofiaCanada: Ottawa Senators (highest Canadian NHL finisher)

Kitchener Rangers (Memorial Cup)Ile-des-Chenes North Stars (Allan Cup Champions)

China: Harbin AChinese Taipei: TBDCroatia: HK Medvescak, ZagrebCzech Republic: HC Slavia PrahaDenmark: Herning IKDPR Korea: PhyongcholEstonia: Välk 494 TartuFinland: Tappara TampereFrance: Rouen Dragons Germany: Krefeld PinguineGreat Britain: Belfast GiantsHungary: Alba-Volan SCIceland: Skautafelag AkureyrarIreland: TBDIsrael: HC MaalotItaly: Milano VipersJapan: Kokudo TokioKazakstan: Kazzinc Torpedo, Ust KamenogorskKorea: Halla WiniaLatvia: Liepajas MetalurgsLithuania: Energija ElektrenaiLuxembourg: Tornado LuxembourgMexico: TBDMongolia: Economical UniversityNetherlands: Tigers Amsterdam New Zealand: AucklandNorway: Valerenga OsloPoland: Unia OswiecimPortugal: Lisbon HCP PiratesRomania: Steaua BucurestiRussia: Lokomotiv YaroslavlSingapore: TBDSlovakia: Slovan BratislavaSlovenia: Olimpija LjubljanaSouth Africa: TBD in OctoberSpain: Club Hielo JacaSweden: Frölunda, GöteborgSwiterland: HC LuganoThailand: TBDTurkey: Ankara BBUkraine: Sokol KievUnited Arab Em: TBDUSA: NHL- New Jersey Devils

NCAA- University of MinnesotaYugoslavia: Vojvodina Novi Sad

CROATIA: Seventh consecutivechampionship for Medvescak.

SWEDEN: Frölunda back on topafter 38 years.

SPAIN: CH Jaca 2010 back onthe Spanish throne.

AUSTRALIA: The Sydney Bearswent all the way down-under.

FINLAND: Tappara surprised allexperts - and foes.

BELARUS: HC Gomel’s first evernational title.

LOOKING AHEAD TO HALIFAX AGAIN.Last season, Halifax organized the mostsuccessful IIHF World U20Championship in the tournament’s 28-year history. This season, the hockeyworld will again turns its eyes to theCanadian province of Nova Scotia asHalifax hosts the 2004 IIHF World

Women’s Championship. This will be thefirst women’s world championship inthree years. There was no WorldWomen’s in 2002 (Olympic year) and the2003 championship in Bejing, China wascancelled due to the SARS epidemic.Visit www.hockeycanada.ca for moreinformation on the tournament.

Claire Robinson is the newassistant to Federico Saviozziin the Special ProjectsDepartment. Claire comes tothe IIHF from Price WaterhouseCooper. Claire is originallyfrom England and will workpart time with special projectsand the Continental Cup.

Jenny Wiedeke joined theIIHF as a part of the PublicRelations and MarketingDepartment on August 15.Wiedeke comes to the IIHFafter spending four years withUSA Hockey. She will assistwith publications, writing andthe IIHF.com website.

Simone Micheletti joinedthe IIHF Sport Department onAugust 18 as an assistant.Simone will focus on thetransfers and the coordinationof medical issues like the IIHFanti-doping procedure as wellas the WADA program. Shecomes to the IIHF from theKloten Flyers hockey club.

■■ IIHF Sport Development Manager, MagnusEriksson is leaving after three years in Zurich. Erikssonfocused on youth hockey while with the IIHF. He andhis wife Maria are moving to Canada.

IIHF Association News

BELGIUM: Phantoms Deurnehaunted the opposition.

■■ Legendary USA Hockey Olympic Coach HerbBrooks died in a car crash on August 11 inMinneapolis, Minnesota. He was 66 years old. Brookswill go down in hockey history as an innovator and asthe architect of the most celebrated moment in thehistory of USA Hockey.

His direction of the gold-medal winning team at the1980 Olympic Games was achieved with a 6-0-1 ove-rall record and a stunning 4-3 victory against the hea-vily favoured Soviet Union, which is considered bymost experts as the biggest upset in the history ofinternational hockey.

Most recently he led the 2002 U.S. Olympic Men’s Teamto the silver medal in Salt Lake City. In 1980, Sports

Illustrated named him the Sportsman of the Year and20 years later called the 1980’s team’s performancethe “Greatest Sports Moment of the Century.”

Brooks was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1999and into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990.

■■ “For me, Herb Brooks personified USA Hockey’scommitment to Olympic and international hockey”,said IIHF René Fasel. “Brooks was ahead of his time, aninnovator. He was probably the first one in internatio-nal hockey who introduced a mix of the NorthAmerican and the European game and that was one ofthe reasons why his college team could win theOlympic gold in 1980. Many coaches followed whatHerb Brooks introduced back then.”

The American game, at thetime, was based on power.Brooks taught his players tocontrol the puck, encouragingthem to hang on to it as longas possible and attempt high-percentage passes as theycycled across the ice.

■■ “When we played, hockeywas a north-and-south game,”said Mike Eruzione, who scored the game winning goalagainst the Soviets. “You stayed on your wing. Onceyou got over the red line, you’d dump it in the zone.Herb would say, 'You worked so hard to get the puck.Why would you give it back to him?”'


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European players who have signed with NHL teams during the 2003 off-season. List is still tentative.

April 8, David Turon (CZE), 19, D From HC Havirov to Toronto Maple Leafs (via Portland Winter Hawks, WHL)

April 29, Mikael Holmqvist (SWE), 23, F From TPS Turku (FIN) to Anaheim Mighty DucksMay 28, Pierre Hedin (SWE), 25, D From MoDo to Toronto Maple LeafsMay 30, Jonas Fiedler (CZE), 19, F From Dukla Jihlava to San José Sharks

(via Plymouth Whalers, OHL)May 31, Milan Jurcina (SVK), 20, D From Liptovsky Mikulas to Boston Bruins

(via Halifax Mooseheads, QMJHL)June 1, Igor Pohanka (SVK), 20, F From Slovan Bratislava to Anaheim Mighty Ducks

(via Prince Albert, WHL)June 2, Pavel Vorobiev (RUS), 21, F From Lokomotiv Yaroslavl to Chicago BlackhawksJune 4, Eero Somervuori (FIN), 24, F From HPK Hameenlinna to Tampa Bay LightningJune 4, Kari Lehtonen (FIN), 20, G From Jokerit Helsinki to Atlanta ThrashersJune 5, Frantisek Lukes (CZE), 21, F From Litvinov to Phoenix Coyotes

(via Toronto St. Mikes, OHL)June 16, Mikko Luoma (FIN), 27, D From Tappara Tampere to Edmonton OilersJune 22, Christian Ehrhoff (GER), 21, D From Krefeld Pinguine to San José SharksJune 22, Dimitri Patzold (GER), 19, G From Adler Mannheim to San José SharksJune 23, Mikko Viitanen (FIN), 21, D From Espoo Blues to Colorado AvalancheJune 25, Libor Pivko (CZE), 23, F From HC Zlin to Nashville PredatorsJune 25, Timofei Shishkanov (RUS), 20, F From CSKA Moscow to Nashville Predators

(via Quebec Remparts, QMJHL)June 26, Petr Kanko (CZE), 19, F From Sparta Prague to Los Angeles Kings

(via Kitchener Rangers, OHL)June 28, Mika Hannula (SWE), 24, F From MIF Malmo to Minnesota WildJuly 1, Maxim Kondratiev (RUS), 20, D From Lada Togliatti to Toronto Maple LeafsJuly 2, Mathias Tjarnqvist (SWE), 24, F From Djurgarden to Dallas StarsJuly 4, Kiril Koltsov (RUS), 20, D From Avangard Omsk to Vancouver CanucksJuly 7, Jiri Hudler (CZE), 19, F From Vsetin to Detroit Red Wings

(via AK Bars Kazan, RUS)July 7, Thomas Pihlman (FIN), 20, F From JYP Jyvaskyla to New Jersey DevilsJuly 7, Ilkka Pikkarainen (FIN), 22, F From HIFK Helsinki to New Jersey DevilsJuly 7, Aleksander Suglobov (RUS), 21, F From Lokomotiv Yaroslavl to New Jersey DevilsJuly 8, Marek Zidlicky (CZE), 26, D From HIFK Helsinki (FIN) to Nashville PredatorsJuly 9, Hannu Toivonen (FIN), 19, G From HPK Hameenlinna to Boston BruinsJuly 9, Sergei Zinovyev (RUS), 23, F From AK Bars Kazan to Boston BruinsJuly 11, Andreas Holmqvist (SWE), 22, D From Linkoping to Tampa Bay LightningJuly 11, Tommy Santala (FIN), 24, F From HPK Hameenlinna to Atlanta ThrashersJuly 11, Alexander Perezhogin (RUS), 19, F From Avangard Omsk to Montreal CanadiensJuly 15, Evgeni Artyukhin (RUS), 20, F From Vityaz Podolsk to Tampa Bay

(via Moncton Wildcats, QMJHL)July 15, Michal Barinka (CZE), 19, D From Ceske Budejovice to Chicago BlackhawksJuly 15, Sean Bergenheim (FIN), 19, F From Jokerit Helsinki to NY IslandersJuly 15, Christoph Brandner (AUT), 28, F From Krefeld Pinguine (GER) to Minnesota WildJuly 15, Marcel Goc (GER), 19, F From Adler Mannheim to San José SharksJuly 15, Denis Grebeshkov (RUS), 19, D From Lokomotiv Yaroslavl to Los Angeles KingsJuly 15, Vladimir Gusev (RUS), 19, D From Sibir Novosibirsk to Chicago BlackhawksJuly 15, Petr Kadlec (CZE), 26, D From Slavia Praha to Florida PanthersJuly 15, Mikko Koivu (FIN), 20, F From TPS Turku to Minnesota WildJuly 15, Alexander Kozhevnikov (RUS), 19, F From Krylia Sovetov to Chicago BlackhawksJuly 15, Jakub Koreis (CZE), 19, D From HC Plzen to Phoenix CoyotesJuly 15, Niklas Kronvall (SWE), 22, F From Djurgarden Stockholm to Detroit Red WingsJuly 15, Lasse Kukkonen (FIN), 21, D From Karpat Oulu to Chicago BlackhawksJuly 15, Esa Pirnes (FIN), 26, F From Tappara Tampere to Los Angeles KingsJuly 15, Joni Pitkanen (FIN), 20, D From Karpat Oulu to Philadelphia FlyersJuly 15, Roman Rozakov, (RUS) 23, F From VVS Samara to Calgary FlamesJuly 15, Denis Platonov (RUS) 22, F From AK Bars Kazan to Nashville PredatorsJuly 15, Tomas Slovak (SVK), 20, D From HC Kosice to Colorado Avalanche

(via Kelowna Rockers, WHL)July 15, Martin Strebak (SVK) 28, D From HPK Hameenlinna (FIN) to Los Angeles KingsJuly 15, Antti Mietinen (FIN) 23, F From HPK Hameenlinna to Dallas StarsAug 15, Milan Michalek (CZE) 18, F From Ceske Budejovice to San José SharksAug 15, Nikolai Zherdev (RUS) 19, F From CSKA Moscow to Columbus Blue Jackets

This year’s crop of European NHL hopefulls

Lehtonen: A newThrasher

Ehrhoff: Thrown tothe Sharks

Hudler: From redCzechs to Red Wings

Hannula: Swedegoes Wild.

Suglobov: Russianbecomes Devil

IIHF Hall of Famer Brooks changed the North American game

Brooks: Will be remem-bered as a great coachand innovator.

Former Soviet goaltenderAlexander Sidelnikov died onMonday, June 23, at the age of52. Sidelnikov was the back-upfor Russian great VladislavTretiak for much of his career,including the 1972 SummitSeries between Team Canadaand the Soviet National Team.Sidelnikov won one Olympicgold medal and two IIHF WorldChampionships. He retired in1984.

❑❑❑

Russian national team playerRoman Lyashenko died onMonday,July 7 at theage of 24.Lyashenkohad twoassists inRussia’s sil-ver medalfinish at the2002 IIHFWorldChampionship and was a partof Russia's gold medal-winningteam at the 1999 IIHF WorldU20 Championship. Lyashenkoplayed two seasons with theNHL Dallas Stars and was tra-ded to the New York Rangersduring the 2001-02 season.Lyashenko was vacationing inTurkey when he died.

❑❑❑

Famed NHL Coach RogerNeilson died on June 21 aftera lengthy battle with skin andbone marrow cancer. He was69. Neilson coached Toronto,Buffalo, Vancouver, LosAngeles, Florida, Philadelphia,Ottawa and the New YorkRangers during his career andwas inducted into the HockeyHall of Fame last November. Hewas also invested as a Memberof the Order of Canada in May.In Peterborough, Ontario, atwo-block stretch of GeorgeStreet was renamed in hishonour.

Roman Lyashenko

OBITUARIES

Finland returned to the top of the podium at the2003 IIHF In-Line Hockey World Championship, claim-ing the gold medal with a 5-3 victory over Sweden.It is the third time in four years that Finland has wonthe gold medal at the world championship.

■■ The game was a highly anticipated re-match of lastyear's gold medal game between the two nations. Lastyear, Sweden earned bragging rights with an overtime vic-tory.

After missing the podium for the first time ever at the IIHFIn-Line Hockey World Championships last year, Team USAfound it's way back to familiar territory, winning the bron-ze medal at this year’s world championship with an 11-6win over the Czech Republic.

In the Division I In-Line Championship, Japan edged Brazilin the gold-medal game by a final score of 11-6. Australiawon the bronze medal at the Div. I World Championshipwith a 12-3 victory over defending champions, Hungary.

■■ The format of this year’s IIHF In-Line Hockey WorldChampionship was groundbreaking for the tournament.The 16 participating nations were split into the fourgroups. The top eight teams, Finland, Sweden. USA, CzechRepublic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Germany and Austria wereplaced in the A and B Groups. While the remaining eightteams, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Hungary,Great Britain, Japan and New Zealand were in the C and DGroups.

A round-robin preliminary round was played and the lastplace finisher from the A and B Groups played a qualifica-tion game against the first place finisher from the C and DGroups, giving the emerging nations a chance to crack thetop eight. Both Japan and Brazil came close to winningtheir qualification games, with one and two-goal losses,respectively but in the end, the eight teams remained inthe same clusters.

■■ 2003 was a year of firsts for the IIHF In-Line HockeyWorld Championship. Besides a new format, the tourna-ment had its first-ever female referee, Bianca Walter fromGermany. Australia's third-place finish was also its first-evermedal at the event. South Africa won its first-ever game atthe tournament in its final game against Argentina, andJapan struck gold for the first time.

Other themes at this year’s World Championship weremore familiar. It was the second All-Scandinavian final,and the third gold medal for Finland. It was also TeamUSA’s sixth overall medal at the World Championship andthe second consecutive year that Germany played host tothe Championship.

Final Standings Pool A(Win-Loss record)1. Finland 6-02. Sweden 3-33. USA 4-24. Czech Republic 3-35. Germany 3-26. Slovakia 1-47. Slovenia 2-48. Austria 1-5

Final Standings Division I1. Japan 6-12. Brazil 5-23. Australia 3-34. Hungary 2-45. Great Britain 3-26. New Zealand 2-37. South Africa 1-48. Argentina 0-5


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Photos: KARI VATANENHOW ABOUT THOSE FLYING FINNS: When it comes to In-Line, Finland has ruled the 21st century winning threegold medals in the last four years. In Nurnberg they defeated rival Sweden, 5-3, in the gold medal game.

Finland keeps rolling in the World of In-Line

PRELIMINARY ROUNDSat July 12th Germany - Slovenia 10-7 Group BSun July 13th Great Britain - Brazil 7-9 Group C

N Zealand - Argentina 8-4 Group DHungary - South Africa 6-3 Group CGermany - Slovakia 8-5 Group BCzech Rep. - USA 5-6 ot Group AJapan - Australia 14-2 Group DFinland - Slovenia 17-3 Group BSweden - Austria 3-0 Group A

Mon July 14th Great Britain - S Africa 16-1 Group CArgentina - Japan 3-10 Group DBrazil - Hungary 6-5 Group CCzech Rep. - Austria 11-2 Group AN Zealand - Australia 6-5 Group DSlovakia - Finland 5-6 Group BUSA - Sweden 3-2 Group A

Tue July 15th South Africa - Brazil 1-14 Group CJapan - New Zealand 9-5 Group DArgentina - Australia 1-6 Group DSlovenia - Slovakia 7-8 Group BUSA - Austria 15-3 Group AHungary - Gr Britain 2-6 Group CFinland - Germany 7-3 Group BSweden - Czech Rep. 6-7 Group A

QUALIFICATION ROUNDWed July 16th Slovenia - Japan 9-8 ot

Austria - Brazil 8-6

QUARTERFINAL ROUNDThu July 17th N Zealand - Hungary 4-9 Div. I

Finland - Austria 26-2 Pool AGr. Britain - Australia 4-9 Div. IUSA - Slovenia 8-5 Pool AJapan - South Africa 15-3 Div. ICzech Rep. - Slovakia 13-3 Pool AGermany - Sweden 5-9 Pool ABrazil - Argentina 5-3 Div. I

SEMI-FINALS AND PLACING GAMESFri July 18th SF: Finland-Czech Rep. 13-3 Pool A

P: S. Africa-Argentina 7-8 Div. IP: Austria-Slovenia 5-6 Pool ASF: Sweden-USA 7-4 Pool ASF: Australia-Japan 4-5 Div. I P: Gr Britain-N. Zealand 9-5 Div. IP: Germany-Slovakia 9-8 Pool ASF: Hungary-Brazil 3-10 Div. I

FINAL GAMESSat. July 19thBronze: Australia - Hungary 12-3 Div. IBronze: Czech Rep. - USA 6-11 Pool AGold: Japan - Brazil 11-6 Div. IGold: Finland - Sweden 5-3 Pool A

HOME SWEET HOME? Germany takes advantage of home court sco-ring against Sweden, but the Swedes prevailed in the quarter-final.

CLOSE CALL: Slovenia held off a hungry Japan teamwith a 9-8 overtime win in the qualification game.

Campers from all around the worldconverged on Vierumaki, Finland inJuly for the 2003 IIHF DevelopmentCamp.

More than 400 participants from 49countries and five continents tookpart in 15 different programs bothon and off the ice. The programsincluded: Learn to Play, RefereeInstructors, Coach Instructors, Pressand Media, Medical, and of course,on-ice development for 1988-bornplayers.

“This camp is really something veryspecial for everyone involved,” IIHFPresident Rene Fasel said. “It’sgreat to get all of these countriestogether to exchange ideas andknowledge.”

Players from all over the worldwere divided into eight teams head-ed by top-level international coa-ches. Among the coaches wereRafael Ishmatov, who led theRussian Junior National Team to thegold medal at the IIHF World U20Championship in Canada last year;Pat Cortina, who was a NationalCoach of Team Italy; and TimoTuomi, a Finland native who wasmost recently the Head Coach ofthe Japanese national team. TommyBoustedt, who is the Director ofSport Development at the SwedishIce Hockey Association, was one ofthe coach instructors.

“When you see kids from all overthe world together on one team it’samazing,” IIHF Sport Director DaveFitzpatrick said. “You see kids tea-ching each other and friendshipsforming that will last a long timeafter the camp is over.”

Players weren't the only oneslearning in Vierumaki. Coaches,

Referees and Media representativeswere also all treated to seminarsand hands-on practice throughoutthe camp. But the highlight was theon-ice action, which featuredgames between the eight teamsand a Learn-To-Play tournamentwith local Finnish youth players onthe final day of the camp.

Campers were also introduced tomany Finnish traditions during theirstay, including saunas, fish and jum-

ping into lakes. For many, the two-rink facility at Vierumkai was aforeignconcept.

“Wehaveplayersfromsomecountrieshere thatonly

have five rinks in their entirenation,” Fitzpatrick said. “So to

come to a hockeycenter likeVierumaki is such atreat for thoseplayers.”

Throughout thecamp the IIHF’sconcept of 'FairPlay and Respect'was integrated.

The IIHF brought players,referees, coaches andinstructors from all overthe globe together inFinland for one week oflearning, playing and fun.The result was an exper-ience that the 400 partici-pants will not soon forget.


6

IIHF DEVELOPMENT CAMP IN VIERUMAKI, FINLAND

IIHF Development Camp brin

ONE GROUP, ONE PHOTO, ONE WORLD. The 400 participants of the 2003 IIHF Development Camp pose for the traditional group camp ppers came together to spell IIHF. Insert: Sam Liebkind, left, student of the degree program at the Centre of Excellence, instructs Finnish go

“When you see kidsfrom all over the worldtogether on one team,

it’s amazing.”Dave Fitzpatrick, IIHF


7

IIHF ASIAN DEVELOPMENT CAMP IN CHIANG MAI, THAILAND

gs the hockey world together

Photos: JUKKA RAUTIOphoto in Vierumaki, Finland. This year, the cam-oalie Jarno Arponen during practice.

Photo: SAKCHAI CHINANUYATANAONE GROUP, ONE PHOTO, SIX ELEPHANTS. The participants of the IIHF Asian Development Camp in Thailand put their own spin onthe traditional group photo inviting some local animals to help hold up the IIHF banner.

■■ One month after the IIHF hosted itsInternational Development Camp in Vierumaki,it held the Asian Development Camp in ChiangMai, Thailand.

While the Vierumaki Camp was an multi-conti-nental affair, the Asian Development Camp hada regional flare with five countries, India,Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Singapore and HongKong, participating. This was the first year thatthe IIHF hosted the Asian Development Camp,which had 111 participants making up fourteams.

■■ Like in Vierumaki, the U16 players fromthe nations were mixed on each team. Eachteam also featured a “Demonstrator Player”from New Zealand. The demonstrator playeracted as a team captain and helped demon-strate drills and guide the teams on and offthe ice.

The IIHF has made a five-year commitment tothe Asian nations to host the AsianDevelopment Camp in hopes that focusing onthe region will strengthen its internationalhockey programs.

■■ By regionalizing the camp, the IIHF is ableto give the Asian Nations more assistance intheir overall development and ultimately helpthem to meet the standards to participate inIIHF World Championship events.

It was just one of the many les-sons that IIHF officials hoped thecamp participants would takehome.

“This week we’ve reached out to400 players,” Fitzpatrick said.“We hope it’s just the beginningand these 400 players go homearmed with their knowledgefrom this camp and reach out toeven more people. It’s the firstsmall step in helping to expandhockey throughout the world.”


8

Title: Players, theUltimate A-Z Guide

Author: AndrewPodnieks

Publisher:Doubleday Canada

Price: $60 CAD,Euro 40 (www.amazon.com)

■ Who was the first European-born player in theNHL?

■ What Norwegian-born NHL player changed thespelling of his name to make it easier to play in theNHL, and then had his son go on to play for theToronto Maple Leafs using the correct family spel-ling?

■ What member of Canada’s 1928 Olympic hockeyteam had a son make his NHL debut more than 50years later, in 1979?

These are just some of the questions which haveanswers in hockey historian Andrew Podnieks’ ama-zing book Players, the ultimate A-Z guide of everyo-ne who has ever played in the NHL.

For the first time ever there is a complete record -with biographies - of every player who has played atleast one game in the NHL since 1917. This brick ofa book takes the reader to the end of the 2002-2003 season. It features more than 5,600 biographi-cal entries, along with over 3,000 photographs, fromthe game’s superstars to its one-game wonders.

It’s a unique contribution to hockey history for fansboth in North America and Europe. The Europeanhockey fan will be amazed how little really is widelyknown about the early pioneers from the old conti-nent, about players like Sweden’s Ulf Sterner andThommie Bergman, the Finnish born Pentti Lund orCzechoslovakia’s almost forgotten ground breakerJaroslav Jirik.

Author Andrew Podnieks, who is one of Canada’sbest-known hockey historians and works closelywith the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, has produ-ced this must-have item for hockey diehards, provi-ding unusual anecdotes, little-known trivia andhundreds of obscure life histories in a manner neverbefore undertaken on this scale.

The fact that this book is a pure journalistic produc-tion, and not an official publication of any league orfederation, makes the reading even more exciting.

Look on page 11 for answers to the questions above.

The Hockey Book

The International Ice Hockey Federation willtake a groundbreaking step in informationtechnology with the introduction of theHydra System at the World U20Championship in Finland this December.

■■ At the IIHF World U20 Championship, Hydra 1.0will be tested and launched. The program will servemostly as a statistics and capturing tool. Fans ofIIHF.com will have enhanced statistical data, which isimproved from the “real time” reporting that was for-merly available on IIHF.com.

“Basically, the early version of the program that we’lluse for the 2003-04 season will give fans on the inter-net a chance to follow the games live,” the IT Managerof the Hydra Project Ken Inagaki said. “It will be shar-pened from the previous real time scoring and givefans even more information.”

■■ The IIHF built the Hydra system from scratch andmade it a hockey specific program. The Hydra 1.0 ver-sion is just the beginning for the team. In the Spring of2004, Version 2.0 will become available and will buildon the earlier version with TV graphics, accreditationand scoreboard and timing interfaces.

The final step will come with Version 3.0, which will beused for the 2004-05 season. If Hydra is proven to bestable, it will be released to member federations for

use in their various championships.“A program like Hydra is so dynamic that it can beused for many different purposes,” Inagaki said. “Itcould be a huge tool for our member federations togenerate consistent results and more fan interest onthe internet.”

The Hydra System consists of several modules:Mensa - Functions as both the central database loca-ted in Zurich as well as a smaller version found in theresults room at venues. This will store all system dataand settings.

Aquila - Game administration (players, officials, sche-dules etc). In addition it controls how, when, andwhere printed results and internet pages are sent to.

Orion - Data Entry for information collected at the sco-rekeeper’s bench. This includes goals, penalties, atten-dance etc.

Gemini - Data Entry from high up in the stands whichincludes assists, plus/minus, shots, face offs etc.

The IIHF is currently in discussions with Swatch, theofficial Olympic timekeeper, to use the Hydra System atthe 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino.

■■ A brief presentation of the Hydra System will bemade during the IIHF Semi-Annual Congress Meetingin Crete, Greece.

Hydra will be IIHF’s new statistics and information system

Photo: KEN INAGAKIAS GOOD AS BEING THERE: IIHF’s new information and live score system will provide everyone in the hockey community with thetotal info service from every game in the IIHF World Championship program and the Olympics. It will be introduced in late December.

■■ The players between the pipes may have to makesome minor changes to their equipment after the IIHFCouncil endorsed revised Goalkeeper EquipmentMeasurement Standards. The revised standards andprocedures will take effect at the start of the 2003-2004 season.

The Council approved the updated measurement stan-dards for goalkeeper’s equipment, which affect goaliesprimarily from the waist down. The changes limit thesize of leg guards and help to ensure that knee and

leg pads should follow the contour of the leg. Pantswill also need to follow the natural contour of the legto eliminate covering the ‘five hole’.

■■ In addition the Council included clarification tothe rule that prohibits a goalkeeper to adapt equip-ment in order to enhance performance such as addi-tional devices or grips to the skate that enable a goal-tender to rise more quickly.

For a complete listing of the revised measurements

standards and procedu-res, please visit the offici-al IIHF website atwww.iihf.com.

ARE YOU SURE those padsare okey? The IIHF is revisingthe standards of goalie equip-ment measurements whichwill, among other things, limitthe size of the leg pads.

Revised goalie measurement standards will take effect at the start of this season

■■ Jokerit Helsinki will not be back to defend its two consecutive titles at the IIHF Continental Cup, Europe’sprime club competition. However, 39 European teams will eagerly compete for bragging rights at the 2004Continental Cup, which will end with a Super Final in Belarus on January 11.

■■ The format will follow the established tradition and will consist of four rounds. (See schedule to the right.)

■■ Previous winners of the Continental Cup: Kosice (SVK-1997), Ambri-Piotta (SUI-1998,1999), ZSC Zurich Lions(SUI-2000, 2001), Jokerit Helsinki (FIN-2002-2003)


9

39 teams ready to play for 2004 IIHF Continental Cup

HARD HAT AREA: In less than a year the head gear at the new hockey arena in Prague will go from hard hats tohockey helmets. Sazka Arena in Prague, the main venue of the 2004 IIHF World Championship is moving rightalong. The exterior walls are now up and the next step is to install the roof and then move onto to working onthe interior of the state-of-the-art arena. To keep tabs on the progress of the arena, check out www.halasazka.cz

First round 26 - 28 September 2003GROUP AKHL Zagreb - CROAnkara BB - TURMiercurea Ciuc - ROMHK Vojvodina* - YUG

GROUP BOdense IK - DENGothiques Amiens* - FRASlavia Ljubljana - SLOSteaua Bucarest - ROM

GROUP CTigers Amsterdam - NEDFC Barcelona* - ESPCH Jaca 2010 - ESPPhantoms Deurne - BEL

GROUP DLevski Sofia - BULDunaferr Dunaujvaros - HUNMaalot/Maccabi - ISRMedvescak Zagreb* - CRO

GROUP EEnergija Elektrenai - LTUStoczniowiec Gdansk - POLKazakhmys Karaganda - KAZHK Riga 2000* - LAT

Second Round 17 - 19 October 2003GROUP FMilano Vipers - ITAUnia Oswiecim* - POLLiepajas Metalurgs - LATWinner A

GROUP GRouen* - FRAHC Asiago - ITAWinner BWinner C

GROUP HAlba Volan* - HUNOlimpija Ljubljana - SLOTorpedo Kazzinc - KAZWinner D

GROUP IJukurit Mikkeli - FINSokol Kiev - UKRHKm Zvolen* - SVKWinner E

Third Round 21 - 23 November 2003GROUP JValerenga Oslo - NORHerning IK* - DENWinner FWinner G

GROUP KBlack Wings Linz* - AUTKeramin Minsk - BLRWinner HWinner I

* Denotes organiser.

Super Final 8 - 11 January, 2004GROUP MHC Gomel BLRHC Lugano SUIWinner J

GROUP NSeverstal Cherepovets RUSSlovan Bratislava SVKWinner K

■■ The body of Duncan MacPherson, the 1984 firstround draft pick of the New York Islanders was foundon an Austrian glacier last month, 14 years after hedisappeared.

MacPherson left for a tour of Europe after his contractwith the Islanders expired in 1989. Before departingfor Europe, he had accepted an offer to become aplayer-coach for the Scottish Dundee Tigers.MacPherson played three seasons in the AmericanHockey League, but never made it to the NHL. He was23 when he disappeared.

■■ Detroit Red Wings prospect Igor Grigorenko’scondition has improved dramatically after being invol-ved in a serious car accident earlier this spring.

The 20-year-old forward, the Red Wings’ second-rounddraft pick in 2001, fractured his left tibia and hip inthe accident according to published reports. While nodate has been set for Grigorenko’s return to the ice, he

has started to work on his conditioning and improvinghis strength.

Grigorenko was voted the top forward of the 2003IIHF World U20 Championship in Halifax and playedfor Team Russia at the 2003 IIHF World Championshipin Finland.

■■ Jordin Tootoo could be the first Inuit Indian toplay in the NHL if he makes Nashville’s roster. The 20-year-old is from Nunavut, Canada, located on theCanadian tundra just below the arctic circle.

Tootoo played in the 2003 World Junior Championshipin front of a Canadian crowd in Halifax, where he net-ted a goal and an assist and became a huge fan favou-rite with his gritty style of play. Drafted 98th overall atthe 2001 NHL draft, the 5-9, 190-pound Tootoo is thefirst Inuit to be in the positionto play an NHL game.

DUMP AND CHASE FROM THE WORLD OF HOCKEY

RECOVERING: Igor Grigorenko, here receivingthe Best Forward Award at the 2003 IIHF WorldU20 Championship in Halifax, is on his way backafter a life threatning car accident.

THE TOOTOOTRAIN: JordinTootoo is aboutto write hockeyhistory thiscoming season.

Photo: Martin Zoellner

■■ The United States U18 team claimed its first-ever victory at the annual U18 World Cup in earlyAugust in Slovakia as it rallied past Russia 3-2 in theGold Medal Game. USA finished the tournamentwith a perfect 5-0 record.The Czech Republic defeated defending champion,Canada, 8-2 to earn the bronze. Slovakia finishedfifth, ahead of Sweden, Finland and Switzerland.


10

IIHF OFFICIATING UPDATES

■■ Sometimes in the glare of the WorldChampionship and the Olympics, it becomes easy toforget the dedication that people in emerging nationshave for the sport of hockey. Irina Mogilnikova did notgrow up watching CSKA Moscow or the MontrealCanadiens. She grew up in the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk in Kazakhstan watching her father playfor the local Torpedo team.“My hometown is known for hockey,” Mogilnikovasaid. “There are cases where families devote their livesto hockey from generation to generation. This is the

case with my family. My father, two uncles and twobrothers are all involved in the sport.”

Moglinikova soon found herself added to the family listwhen she started to play hockey at the ageof 15. One year ago, she became the firstfemale official in her country. She started atthe junior level, but was quickly promotedto officiate the Kazakhstan NationalChampionship, the professional league thatMogilnikova grew up watching.

■■ Her officiating career blossomed afterher debut and she was soon on the inter-national stage. Her first global experiencewas at the Winter Asian Games in Japanwhere she received a positive evaluation.After that event, she was asked to officia-te the IIHF Division III World Women’sChampionship in Slovenia.

“I was filled with pride,” Moglinikovasaid. “I was given this huge opportunityfrom the IIHF and the Kazakhstan IceHockey Association. But I was also a litt-le nervous because I had this burden ofresponsibility on my shoulders.”

When Moglinikova arrived in Slovenia,she met up with the other officials whohad been assigned to work theWomen’s World Championship whowere from all over the globe.

“It was very interesting when morethan 10 women from different coun-tries gathered in one place to do onejob. Each had something to tell andto teach the rest.” Moglinikova said.

Before she arrived in SloveniaMoglinikova’s experience had beenlimited to mainly men’s games, but IIHF Referee

Supervisor Manuela Groeger helped Moglinikova andthe other referees make their transition at the WorldChampionship.

“Manuela told us from the beginning of the event thatwe are one team and should support and help eachother,” Moglinikova said. “We all did that and I am stillkeeping in touch with many of the women that I met.”

■■ At every IIHF Championship, there is a refereesupervisor. Depending on the event, the supervisor is

there to support and review the refe-rees. In an event such as the Division IIIWomen’s World Championship, thereferee supervisor play a critical role inhelping to develop the officials.

“Manuela was very communicative andcooperative during the championship,”Moglinikova said. “We could come toher with any questions and we weresure to get the right answer or informa-tion. Her attitude was equal towardseverybody, experienced game officialsand beginners.”

■■ After the IIHF Division III Women'sWorld Championship, Moglinikova

returned to Kazakhstan ready to use the experienceshe gained from the tournament and hopeful that shewill find herself at another IIHF World Championship inthe future.

Female referee from Kazakhstan blazes new trail

Irina Mogilnikova kept a diary of her three-day journey from herhomeland to the World Championship.Day One: I have a long journey today as I mustget from Ust-Kamenogorsk to Chelyabinsk and thenmove onto Moscow. I'm a little worried because Iam travelling alone without my instructor, whowent with me to the Asian Winter Games in Japan.It was nice to have someone to travel with and healso helped me once I was there by encouragingme, and prompting me when I did anything wrong.Since I have been travelling all day, I have hada lot of time to think about the tournament. Ihope that if I have good results there, it willhelp develop women's officiating in Kazakhstan notonly in the cities of Almaty and Ust-Kamenogorsk, butin other cities of the republic as well.Day Two: I was in Moscow once when I was a childand I always dreamed to look at the Capital ofRussia again. My dream came true today. Moscowmet me with snow and fuss. I was impressed withthe huge city and its large areas that were fil-led with people that always seemed to be in ahurry. I don't have much time to spend here as Ileave shortly for Slovenia, but I am happy thatI got to spend a little time in the city.Day Three: I arrived in Ljubljana, Slovenia. WhenI saw in movies that people were met at the air-port with a sign, I never thought that would beme. So when I was met with a man with a sign, Icouldn't believe it! On the way from Ljubljana toMaribor, I enjoyed the landscape. Three hoursafter being in snowy Moscow, I was greeted withsummer weather. At the hotel I met all of the otherreferees and went to my room in the hotel for a goodnight's sleep.

■■ The International Ice Hockey Federation hopes totake the first major step to help improve the level ofofficiating in Europe. With the proposed IIHF RefereeProject, a professional pool of top referees from thetop seven European National Associations will be putin place to become a part of an exchange and deve-lopment program.

“We hope that this program will improve the consi-stency of officiating in different countries and ultima-tely help place European referees at a higher level,”IIHF Officiating Sport Development ManagerKonstantin Komissarov said.

The referees involved would be selected through anomination process from their respective countries.Referee supervisors would also go through a similarprocess. Once chosen, those officials and supervisorswould be involved in special clinics and camps andwould then officiate professional league games invarious nations. The referees would also be givenassignments with international tournaments such asthe Deutschland Cup, Baltica Cup and Spengler Cup.

“Officials from various nations could learn so muchfrom each other,” Komissarov said. “We would be put-ting those officials directly into such an environmentand in a much better position to enhance that learningprocess. You just can’t imagine how much a Swiss offi-cial could gain by officiating a professional game inFinland and vice versa.”

■■ The program would also aim to bring consistencyto the officiating throughout Europe and establish arecognized standard of officiating within Europe.Currently, the number of referees in Europe is declining.The respect level and consistency has also dropped.

“This program will improve both the quality of officia-ting and games throughout Europe,” Komissarov said.“This will hopefully lead to more European assign-ments at the World Championships, Olympics andeventually in the NHL.”

The members of the seven nations involved in the pro-ject will nominate their representatives who will thenformally propose the project to the IIHF Council.

IIHF proposingnew officiating

programFROM FAR AND WIDE: Irina Mogilnikova from Kazakhstan (left) seentogether with Finland’s Anne Haanpaa and Nashida Kotoe from Japan.

REFS WITHOUT BORDERS: Norwegian referee TorOlav Johnsen might find himself calling games in theRussian league if the IIHF proposal is implemented.


11

INAUGURATION OF IIHF HEADQUARTERS

Donated equipment makes to across the world from USA to Romania■■ In the April 2003 issue ofthe IIHF News Release,we brought you thestory of Daniel Weignerfrom Warren New Jersey.Daniel wanted to performa community service pro-ject that related to hisfavorite sport, hockey. Hedecided to collect usedhockey equipment forunverpriveleged kids.

■■ For help, he turned to Lou Vairo andUSA Hockey. Vairo happened to know of a team in Romania that had an outdoorrink, but no equipment. Soon Daniel and Vairo were working together to get a pileof used hockey equipment to Romania. Vairo has been very active in sending used

ice hockey equipment to under-priveleged hockey programs inRomania, Latvia, Ukraine andBelarus.

■■ After gathering all of theequipment, Daniel and USAHockey sent the shipment toRomania where it was welco-med with open arms by a localyouth team.

A HAPPY ENDING: After receiving the donated equipment, there are smilesall around for the youth team that benefitted from the donated equipment.RIGHT: Daniel Weiniger stands among the massive pile of donated equip-ment and, beside, Lou Vairo receives thanks from the Romanian team.

THREE AMIGOS: People from all walks of life gathered to celebratethe grand opening of the IIHF offices. Former German football great,Gunther Netzer (left) attended the August 21 festivities at the newpremises. He is joined by Oscar Frei (center), CEO of Infront Sport &Media, the IIHF’s marketing partner, and Dr. Hans Dobida, the IIHFtreasurer and chairman of the Building Committee, which oversawthe construction and planning of the buildings.

HALLELUJAH: Minister Ernst Hellerblessed the new offices and premisesas part of the opening celebrations.

HALLELUJAH PART II:After 10 months thenew IIHF offices arecomplete. In the bak-kground to the left isthe new office buil-ding, which houses 16of the IIHF staff mem-bers. The villa (pictu-red in the foreground)hosts the remainingstaff. Between thetwo is the tent whichhoused the celebra-tion.

■■ The Infront Sports & Media Group announcedthat it has reached an agreement with the Germanfree-to-air broadcaster DSF for the broadcast rights tothe annual IIHF World Championship in 2004, whichwill be hosted in the Czech Republic. It also has therights to the 2005 World Championship in Austria.

DSF has exclusive rights to all 54 games and willshow at least all live games of the German nationalteam, plus one qualifying game, both semi-finalsand the final game within the German territory.

“We very much welcome the deal with DSF, whichwill ensure superb coverage of the IIHF WorldChampionships on free-to-air television in Europe’sbiggest market,” said Oscar Frei, CEO of InfrontSports & Media. “This will further build the audiencefor the sport and will also be good news for spon-sors who value the German market.”

Infront, the International Ice Hockey Federation’sexclusive marketing partner, has built up televisioncoverage of the event to include 35 countries and aglobal television audience in excess of 700 million.In the last five years, television coverage of theevent has more than doubled.

■■ The International Olympic Committee has a newpublication that is written by athletes for athletes.The Athlete’s Bulletin is a semi-annual publicationthat will aim to improve communication betweenathletes. The publication is produced by the IOCAthlete’s Commission and is free of charge. Athletesthat are interested in receiving a copy of Athlete’sBulletin are encouraged to contact the IOC.

HOCKEY SHORTS

Answers from page 8:1. Sweden’s Gus Forslund who played for Ottawa in 1932-33.2. Bill “Red” Johnson and son Trevor Johansen.3. Frank and Peter Sullivan.

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er

IIHF Exclusive: Viktor Tikhonov

Mission: Bring back Russia to old gloryPhoto: ALLSPORT, Olympic Museum

NEVER COUNT HIM OUT: The most successful coach in international hockey is 73 years old, but Viktor Tikhonov came back for another ride with the Big Red Machine.

By Szymon Szemberg, IIHF■■ Why did you agree to come back to coach theRussian national team?

“In recent years many countries have bypassed us. Wehave to come back. It was not an easy decision, but Iwant our national team to regain our lost positions. Forme it is a challenge and I want to get those positionsback.”

■■ How exited are you to be back in internatio-nal hockey?

“Young coaches get excited. For me it’s a job and I amused to new challenges. But I will be excited andhappy if we achieve good results.”

■■ According to you, how has internationalhockey changed since you left it following the1994 Olympic Games?

“The international scene has changed dramatically.Small countries are making big progress. For example,a small country like Slovakia is ahead of the Czechs. Itwas not possible before. But as far as the game is con-cerned, hockey is still the same game with sticks and apuck. Players are basically the same. Only the coachesare trying to create something new.”

■■ Some coaches of your generation, for exam-ple Scotty Bowman, have said that you cannot beas hard on players as you could in the 70s and inthe 80s and that coaches need to have a softerapproach. Do you agree with this and have youchanged?

“No, I do not agree with that. The difference is that

most of the players have moved to where the moneyis. But at the same time the coaches can rule playerswith contracts. The players know exactly what is expec-ted of them.”

■■ What will you demand from a player whowants to wear the Russian national jersey?

“Those players who want to play for our team have tofollow the rules of the Russian national team. Not therules of the German team, not the rules of the Swedishor Canadian team, but the rules of our team. When youcome to play for our team, you have to follow thediscipline which is the same for all. There will be nospecial treatment.”

■■ Will you rely mostly on domestic playerswhen selecting the 2004 World Championshipteam or will it be a blend between domestictalent and NHL players?

“My opinion is that the best players -- and it doesn’tmatter from where they are -- will play on the nationalteam. We are not going to create something newhere.”

■■ How will you use the European Hockey Tourtournaments in order to get the best possibleteam for the 2004 World Championship in theCzech Republic?

“At this stage we know pretty much who our coreplayers from the Russian League are. I won’t be usingthem in the early stages of the tour because I want touse the tournaments to test younger players. The worldchampionship team will start developing at the BalticaCup in Moscow in December.”

■■ Have you already started to plan for the 2006Olympics in Turin? What are your thoughts onwhat will be your sixth Olympic games?

“It's still far too early to speculate about Turin 2006.My task is to start moving, step by step. We have beenlosing ground and now we want to come back towhere Russian hockey once was. At every stage of thepreparations for 2006 we will solve the problems andissues as they occur.”

■■ You make a comeback into internationalhockey virtually at the same time as Herb Brookspasses away. How do you remember CoachBrooks?

“We were obviously rivals, but at this moment I consi-der him as my colleague and I want to express mydeep condolences to his family. All coaches are mem-bers of one society. I did never get to know him verywell and we never spent much time together.”

■■ In your first national team selection of theseason you picked the 18-year old AlexanderOvechkin. How do you rank him among the for-mer all-time great Russian talents?

“Ovechkin is one of the most talented boys that I haveseen in recent times. I have seen players who aretalented in skating, others in stick handling and othersin passing. He is talented in virtually every aspect ofsport, including coordination. Now it depends on himwhether he develops into a real player. He has to workcontinuously and not stop in his development.”

❑ Translation by Seva Kukushkin (Sport-Express, Moscow)exclusively for the IIHF News Release.

On February 22, 1980 USA coach Herb Brooks outfoxed Soviet ViktorTikhonov in the deciding game of the Olympic hockey tournament inLake Placid. In an ironic twist of fate, 23 years later during the sameweek, the 66 year-old Brooks passed away in a car accident while the

73 year-old Tikhonov announced his first Russian national team roster,after returning from an eleven year absence on the international hockeystage.The IIHF spoke with Viktor Tikhonov at the start of the season.

The Tikhonov File

Born: June, 4, 1930 in Moscow.■ Begins his 27th consecutiveseason as head coach of CSKAMoscow.■ Started to coach the Sovietnational team in the 1976Canada Cup and finally tookover as head coach at the 1978IIHF World Championship.■ Won gold at the 1984, 1988and the 1992 Olympic WinterGames. Won silver at the 1980Olympics and finished 4th in1994.■ Will coach in his sixthOlympic Winter Games in 2006in Turin providing he fulfils hiscontract.■ Won eight IIHF WorldChampionships (1978, 1979,1981, 1982, 1983, 1986,1989, 1990)■ Won 12 Soviet nationalchampionships with CSKA.■ Won the 1981 Canada Cup.■ Has a 147-12-23 (win-tied-lost) record in 182 internationalgames including IIHF WorldChampionships, Olympics andCanada Cup.

september 2003 - vol 7 - no 4 · careers are remembered by olympic success photo: edward groeger...

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