Ken Dryden knew the Russians would be tough.



Tha Canadian Press ran a story in August 1972 just prior to the Summit Series titled; "Former Nats refuse to take Soviets lightly". In the article ex-Canadian national team member Ken Dryden expresses his knowledge of and concerns towards the Russians in the impending Summit Series. Dryden flat out warns his Team Canada teammates that they "could be in for a surprise if they continue underestimating the Russians".

Dryden is quoted; "You have to remember that a North American will appraise the Russians using his own standards. Just because a North American says that the Russians pass too much, doesn't necessarily mean that it's so. It may be true in our judgement but the Russians could still be right." He recalled how confused he was when facing the Russians in 1969 with the National team. "I'd get set for a shot. They wouldn't shoot. They'd pass instead. Against our National team they looked devastating by passing right in on the net."

Dryden had to admit it could prove to be a different matter against a team of professional all stars. "I realize that, but it still is possible to detect an attitude that could result in a surprise. Let's take the ban on the WHA players as an example. There is no way the NHL wants us to lose. If the NHL thought the addition of those WHA players represented the difference between our winning and losing, they would have played or the whole series would have been called off. So, the NHL takes it for granted that we will win." Some pretty harsh critique from Dryden. His concerns would of course be realized during the series when the Russians proved to be anything but pushovers.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WHA Ottawa Civics, The Two Week Franchise

Image
Tom Earl, Daryl Maggs, Mark Lomenda, Gary MacGregor, Garry Swain "Please let the fans make up their own minds," Henry Feller told a press gathering. "Let them decide if they want pro hockey here. We have to average 7,000 or 8,000 in the remaining 19 home games for a break-even point." Feller was a director of the Founders Club who had interest in buying the WHA's Denver Spurs club. Ivan Mullinex, owner of the Spurs had brought his team to Ottawa in an attempt to drum up interest and save his investment. The date was January 2, 1976 and Mullinex was in debt to a Denver bank to the tune of $1 million dollars. This same day, the newly christened Civics lost their first game under the new moniker by a score of 2-1 at Cincinnati. Star of the team, Ralph Backstrom said after the game, "Our first official notice of the move hit us when we entered the Cincinnati rink and the names on the big scoreboard read: Stingers and Civics. Until that moment we were un
Read more

Team Canada 1972, What Might have Been

Image
Guy Lafleur, if he had played in the 72 Summit Series "No way. Can you imagine what our fans would say if we allowed Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito to play for Canada in that series and either...suffered an injury that might prevent them from playing with us for a year or more?" This was the concern of Weston Adams Jr, president of the Boston Bruins as quoted on April 20, 1972. After being speculated and discussed since February 1972 at the Olympics in Sapporo Japan, the series was set to go. Early on however, controversy stirred as to who exactly would be representing Canada. Bruins GM, Milt Schmidt agreed with his boss saying, "My only interest would be to see the Russians play the Bruins for the world championship...or whatever team wins the Stanley Cup." In the Vancouver Sun a few days later, the legendary Jim Coleman responds to the American naysayers suggesting that Team Canada should be made up strictly of players from Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal
Read more

Ron Hextall and the stolen Conn Smythe Trophy

Image
Ron Hextall did not deserve the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1987....there, I said it. I recently caught game seven of the '87 finals on ESPN Classic, where the Oilers beat the Flyers 3-1. Hextall was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy to the disdain and boos of the Northlands Coliseum. Hextall was (and remains) the fourth player to win the trophy in a losing cause. Even as a teenager following these playoffs as they happened, I thought this was an injustice. Upon further inspection, I believe he only won because he was a rookie, and was the "sexy" pick as opposed to the proper pick. When looking at his numbers, it's hard to figure why he won. Hextall finished with 15 wins, 11 losses and a GAA of 2.77. Oilers, Grant Fuhr went 14 and 5 with an average of 2.46. I realize that stats cannot tell the whole story, but even if we dig further the award doesn't seem justified. His .908 Save Pct was the same as Fuhr's and tied for third behind Ken Wregget and Kelly Hrudey. Also,
Read more