News from January 1991

Soviet games still magic Canadian players love playing their ole 'enemy'
by Frank Orr - - Toronto Star
5th January 1991

SASKATOON - The hockey ritual of game-day morning was observed at Saskatchewan Place yesterday - the skate to loosen the workers' bodies for the evening contest - but this time there was a difference.

Canada and the U.S.S.R. were meeting last night for all the biscuits in a big package - the gold medal in the 1991 world junior hockey championships - and if a little gamesmanship could be played in the a.m. for the p.m. confrontation, well, so much the better.

The Canadian team was on the ice when the Soviets filed in to the nifty new arena where workmen were finishing construction on a few dozen extra bleacher seats in one corner.

One chap revealed that he had been offered a seat for the game downtown by a scalper for $60, a price more likely to be asked on Church St., than on the Prairies. But while games between the Soviets and National Hockey League teams are the easiest ticket in sport these days, Canada and the "bloody Russians" as they still are called affectionately, for something big always will be a tough seat to acquire.

The Soviet players appeared small and young in civvies. There was little laughter at first because the young comrades had squandered a glittering chance to lock up the gold the previous evening in Regina when they gave Finland a tie on a soft goal 15 seconds from the end and turned last night's match back into the championship game.

Eric the great

The Soviet lads lined up quickly along the boards to watch the Canadians on the ice in an unstructured workout wearing varying amounts of equipment. Directly in front of them was Eric Lindros, the very large (both physically and starwise) centre, shooting pucks from the slot at goalie Felix Potvin.

The Soviets pointed at him, exchanged some conversation and laughed. No translator was present but when a lad of no more that 5- feet-7 pulled his mouth in a grim line and flexed his chest and biceps, bumping his pectorals against the protective glass, no English was needed to know he was telling the others that he would knock Lindros on the seat of his pants. His mates giggled, punching his arm, and obviously were not convinced.

Pavel Bure studied Lindros intently. Talking quietly to Viacheslav Kozlov, and stretching his arm straight up, hand at right angles, he indicated that he felt Lindros (6-foot-4) was, indeed, large.

Bure is short at 5-8 and not big enough at 170 pounds to be chunky and Kozlov is even smaller. But they're a superb pair of young players, fast, wiry and in possession of a full repertoire of skills. They're viewed for the '90s as Sergei Makarov and Vladimir Krutov were for the '80s a dozen years ago in world junior tournaments, the big future hope for Soviet hockey. Alexander Mogilny and Sergei Fedorov were in that category, too, but they went over the wall to the NHL.

Bure and Kozlov pointed to various Canadian players in an intense discussion as if trying to figure out which Canucks would have the uneviable assignment of checking them in the game. Bure is fine- featured from his German ancestry with none of the stolid appearance carried by a few of the Soviet kids.

When the Soviets went on the ice, there was nothing casual about their drill, no little games of shinny or "puck hog" such as the Canadians had played. They had allowed their No. 1 rivals off the hook and knew that getting them back on would be no easy challenge. That meant an organized, serious, quick workout.

The Canadian players quickly changed to civvies and replaced the Soviets as the railbirds, sitting and standing along the end boards while waiting for the bus to take them back to the hotel.

A second chance

"Look at them! The little beggars (approximate translation)," said Craig, waving his hand in the direction of the speeding Soviets.

"Funny, isn't it, I'm from St. Mary's, there's some guys from Moscow and we all want the same thing: To play in the NHL."

Craig talked of the previous two nights when the Canadians went from the depressive low of figuring they blew the gold by losing to Czechoslovakia to the euphoria of the Finns tying goal that pushed them back into the mainstream.

"Hey, we got a second chance and now we can't blow it," Craig said. "No, that's not right. We got a first chance for the gold medal. If we lost the chance by losing to the Czechs, then the Soviets did the same with that tie. When we beat them, we'll be going right in the front door for the gold medals, not sneaking in the side or rear doors."

The Soviets spotted the Canadians close to the boards and fired several pucks at the glass in front of their faces, then laughed when the Canucks cringed. Fists were shook, grimaces exchanged, then smiles broke out.

"Which one is Bure?" asked Canadian winger Pat Falloon. "I'm going out on that ice right now and break his leg."

"Go ahead, Patty," Craig said, "and we'll arrange for you to take home two gold medals."

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Kidd turns aside critics and Soviets
- - Calgary Herald
5th January 1991

SASKATOON - They called Trevor Kidd everything under the sun. He preferred to call home.

No sooner did Canada's standout netminder in Friday's gold-medal showdown at the world junior hockey championship collect gold than he placed a collect call.

T.K. call home.

"It's good to get the monkey off my back," admitted the prized first-round Calgary Flames' draft choice who turned aside criticism and 28 shots in a dramatic 3-2 victory over the Soviet Union.

"Everywhere I went, people were wondering what I could do. It's something you have to live with, but it was a little tough."

It was tough for the 19-year-old Kidd and Team Canada to be written off after Wednesday's loss to Czechoslovakia.

The gold appeared to have slipped through their fingers along with the confidence of an entire nation.

"I couldn't believe how Kidd was treated," said centre Eric Lindros. "You don't point the finger at one guy for being the reason for a loss. I'm pretty ticked off at the local (Saskatoon) paper."

Kidd said he didn't do anything different last night in looking much sharper than 48 hours earlier.

"It was no one thing," said the six- foot-two, 183-pound St. Boniface, Man., native. "We knew what had to be done and the team just played so well in front of me.

"I was just battling out there and it all paid off.

"The experience I've gained in this tournament has really helped me. I've learned a lot - not so much on the ice, but how to handle all the off-ice stuff."

Canadian winger Mike Sillinger, a member of the Western League's Regina Pats, knows all about Kidd.

He faces the Brandon Wheat Kings' netminder eight times a season.

"He always stones me," said Sillinger with a laugh. "It's tough to get a puck past him - he's going to be a good one."

NOTES - The all-star team was comprised of Pauli Jaks (Switzerland), defencemen Scott Lachance (USA) and Dmitrij Iouschkevitch (USSR), left winger Martin Rucinsky (CSSR), right winger Mike Craig (Canada) and Lindros (centre) . . . Soviet star Pavel Bure, who led the tourney with 12 goals, was ineligible for all-star status because he was assessed a game misconduct for crosschecking a Swiss player . . . Jaks was named the top goalie, Jiri Slegr of Czechoslovakia top defenceman and Lindros top forward.

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Droves of Soviets on way, coach says
by Frank Orr - - Toronto Star
6th January 1991

SASKATOON - Robert Cherenkov, head coach of the Soviet junior hockey team, a vice-president of the Soviet hockey federation and a fellow who should know the subject, said something here Friday evening that's enough to make Don Cherry move to Sweden. After his team had lost to the Canadian nationals in the gold medal decider of the world junior hockey championships, Cherenkov was asked how many Soviets would be coming to the NHL in the near future. He replied: "A few years from now Canada will have so many Soviet players, they won't want to see any more." . . . Cherenkov wasn't happy with the schedule for his team in the tournament. The Soviets faced Finland Thursday evening in Regina while the Canadian team rested here. The Soviets were tied by the Finns to turn the next night's game with Canada into that memorable gold medal contest. "Young players should not travel too much," Cherenkov said. "Our players didn't have enough time to recover from a very tough game, a very difficult result and a three-hour bus ride . . . When this city landed the world junior hockey championships, the Cameco uranium company, a major backer of the event, agreed to pick up any difference between income from ticket sales and sponsors and cost. It's likely Cameco will be on the hook for $100,000, which the company claims it will pay gladly to make the event break even . . . The organizers had a $3 million budget - $2 million operation cost, $1 million profit. The profit is split between the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and the International Ice Hockey Federation.

Bure wants NHL shot: Pavel Bure of the Soviets, the top gunner in the championship with 12 goals, told a Canadian acquaintance that he wants badly to try the NHL but only through official channels. Vancouver Canucks own his NHL rights and would welcome him with open arms, despite the expensive flop/ordinary status of Vladimir Krutov and Igor Larionov. Feeling is that Bure will be a Canuck after the '92 Olympics . . . Bure and Soviet junior teammates Boris Mironov, Oleg Petrov and Dmitrij Motkov likely will join their club team, Central Red Army, for the duration of their NHL exhibition tour . . . Cherenkov says the Canucks should have known that Krutov would be a problem. "The Soviets said that Krutov had a drinking problem but the NHL didn't pay attention," the Soviet junior coach said . . . Saskatoon might have missed on an NHL franchise but it is one of the best sports cities in the country. The Storm of the World Basketball League had a very successful first season, averaging 3,500 spectators, the junior tournament was a big success and to come this winter are the Canadian figure skating championships next month and the national women's curling championships in March . . . Latest Regina joke regarding its archrival Saskatoon: Regina is the only hole in the world that's above the ground . . . Bure's size (5-foot- 8, 170 pounds) would seem to make him a risk for NHL success but a scout points out that three players passed over because of their small stature are stars this season - Theoren Fleury (5-6, 155 pounds) of Calgary Flames, John Cullen and Mark Recchi, both 5-10 and 180 of Pittsburgh Penguins . . . More than 65 officials and scouts of NHL teams were on hand for the tournament. "For one thing, the hockey in the world junior is great entertainment and we all love good hockey," Montreal Canadiens' official Andre Boudrias said. "Most importantly, over the years a great many players who were good in this tournament became good NHL players. That makes it an ideal place to check them out."

Flames draft four stars: The Flames obviously agree with Boudrias because they drafted four good NHL prospects who starred in this tournament - goalie Trevor Kidd and Kent Manderville of Canada, forwards Ted Drury of the U.S. and Vesa Viitakoski of Finland . . . Culture shock! When a Soviet lad received a player-of-the-game award for his team, some fans whistled, a tribute here. However, in the U.S.S.R., shrill whistling by the fans is their way of booing, notably decisions by the referee. When a Soviet official asked a tournament organizer what was going on, he was told that the whistle was a tribute, not a putdown . . . Any Canadian hockey team heading into international competition should add Ottawa sports medicine specialist Dr. Rudy Gittens to its staff, both his specialty and good luck. He's been the club doctor for three world championship teams in 365 days - two junior kings and the world women's gold medalists . . . Canadian junior star Eric Lindros, who played at 224 pounds on his 6-foot-4 frame, wants to add six to eight pounds of muscle, mostly to his upper body, by the time he tries the NHL next season.

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Canucks could get Soviet superstar Bure soon - for a price
by Frank Luba - - The Province (Vancouver)
6th January 1991

SASKATOON - At long last, the Soviet Union allowed superstar Pavel Bure to be interviewed at the world junior hockey championship.

But head coach Robert Cherenkov, who also happens to be a vice- president of the Soviet hockey federation, did most of the talking Friday night.

"I really feel quite well about my personal play," said Bure, speaking through an interpreter.

But when Bure, who led the tournament in goals with 12, was asked about playing in the NHL, Cherenkov said the query, "isn't quite appropriate."

"It's not a matter of whether he wants or doesn't want," said Cherenkov, also speaking through an interpreter.

"It is quite possible after 1994 to see him (in the NHL) if he decides to choose that route."

"Bure could probably play on our team right now," said Vancouver Canucks general manager Pat Quinn of his team's 1989 draft pick. "There's not the freedom to do that right now."

"Probably in a few years from now Canada will have so many Soviet players they're not going to look forward to any new ones," joked Cherenkov.

SCHEDULING WAS OF more concern to Cherenkov than the NHL.

"There is a mistake in the organization of the championship. Young players are travelling too much from one city to another city."

Canada had the day off Thursday while the Soviets played in Regina. The Americans also had a tough schedule, playing in six different sites while the Soviets were in four communities and the Canadians just in Saskatoon and Regina.

"What could I say about emotions when we arrived at 3 a.m. after the hard game with Finland and had to play tonight's game?" said Cherenkov when asked about his team's emotional state. "Things should be really balanced out for all the teams and then that's more the fair game."

WHILE NOT NAMED to the all-star team picked by a media panel, Czechoslovakian captain and Vancouver Canucks draft Jiri Slegr wasn't ignored. He had to be content with the International Ice Hockey Federation Directorate award as best defenceman.

TICKETS TO THE final cost $18 but one was sold before the game by someone who clearly wasn't a professional for $40. The high reported paid before game time was $100.

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Canucks could get Soviet superstar Bure soon - for a price
by Mike Beamish - - Vancouver Sun
10th January 1991

AS the world shrinks, so, too, has the fascination with Soviet-NHL exhibition games.

With the old mystique gone, and the hockey pendululm swinging back in Canada's favor, the midwinter tours by visiting Soviet teams are bombing like Henny Youngman's one-liners.

The worst fears of the Vancouver Canucks' marketing department were realized Wednesday when Central Red Army and national team coach Viktor Tikhonov informed the NHL that Pavel Bure had been sent home following the world junior tournament in Saskatoon. Bure, the stunning Soviet left winger who ended the tournament with 12 goals in seven games, might have persuaded reluctant ticket buyers to hike out to Sunday's tour-ender between the Canucks and Red Army to see what all the fuss is about. About 5,000 tickets have been sold for the game at Pacific Coliseum, 11,000 short of capacity.

"Bure's played so much hockey of late that Tikhonov decided he should go back to rest up for the playoffs and the world tournament (in April)," said Darcy Rota, the former Canuck player and p.r. director, now special assistant to NHL president John Ziegler. Rota, who was in Winnipeg for Wednesday's game against Red Army, is chaperoning the Soviets on the tour.

Of course, maybe Tikhonov is fearful that Bure, 19, might sneak out the back door in Vancouver and sign with the Canucks, who drafted him two years ago.

The defection of Alexander Mogilny to play for the Buffalo Sabres, and Sergei Fedorov's unsanctioned exit to join the Detroit Red Wings, undoubtedly have given the USSR's sports leadership pause to ponder further losses of their top young talent.

But the Canucks, who spent years knocking on bureaucratic doors to get the release of Igor Larionov and Vladimir Krutov, say that Bure must come to them through the front door. He must have permisson to play here, or he won't be coming.

Naturally, it all sounds very proper and noble. Yet the Canucks' stance really reflects a team that has been burned before by the Soviet experiment, still hasn't settled the messy buyout of Krutov's contract and already has one overhyped phemom (Petr Nedved) too many.

Officially, the Canucks say Bure could be here in 1992, at the earliest, but more likely in 1994. The truth is he could be playing in Vancouver much earlier - if the Canucks want him badly enough.

"To tell you the truth, a lot of variables come in to play," says hockey agent Ron Salcer, who has signed papers to act as Bure's representative in negotiations. "Pavel has certain goals he'd like to accomplish, but money talks. If Vancouver wants him bad enough, something can be arranged."

Bure would command a signing bonus of about $400,000 (considering that Eric Lindros will get about $1 million to sign next year) and a three-year contract of $800,000. Add in a payment of $200,000 to the Soviet federation for his playing rights and the Canucks can have Bure, signed and delivered, for about $1.5 million.

Considering that Bure's youth will allow him to adjust more easily than older Soviets to both NHL hockey and its lifestyle, the downside factor is limited. For the right price, the Canucks could have a player of superstar potential who is at least as good as the flashy Mogilny - just now in the middle of his second year in Buffalo and starting to play up to expectation.

Though Lindros may be better suited for the pros, on a natural skills level few doubt the Russian is superior to the Canadian behemoth who plays with the subtlety of tavern bouncer.

"Lindros is a good player and I respect him," Canuck draft Jiri Slegr, voted top defenceman in Saskatoon, told me. "But there's been too much ado (in Canada) made about him. His popularity is artificially made. I don't think he's a better player than Bure. Bure is a player with wonderful capacities. He was the best player in our tournament."

Anyone who witnessed Bure's brilliance in Saskatoon has a hard time believing this kid can flop in the NHL.

He's available if the Canucks want him. It's just a matter of how much - and how soon.

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