Friday, May 21, 2011 /
By Andrew Chong, editor /
More than half the respondents of a Sun Media reader poll said the Vancouver Canucks are not Canada’s team.
“In interviewing Vancouver players during the past three playoff seasons, it’s clear they don’t see themselves as Canada’s Team,” said writer Terry Jones in a Sun article. “And, indeed, teams like the Chicago Blackhawks have had more Canadians, and particularly more Western Canadians in the lineup.”
The big question is, does any of this ‘Canada’s team’ talk really matter?
It may make for great media fodder but we probably all know deep down that it’s about as important a hockey question as, ‘will Donald Brashear win his first mixed martial arts fight?’
It will always be impossible to label ‘Canada’s team’ because Canada’s fans are a diverse group:
There are die-hard fans in the six Canadian NHL markets
There are fans still devoted to the Winnipeg Jets and Quebec Nordiques
There are fans in non-NHL provinces that pick and choose who they support
There are fans who, when their team is eliminated, just care about entertaining, good hockey
There are fans who, when their team is eliminated, cheer for teams who have lots of Canadian players
There are fans who cheer for the team of their favourite player(s)
There are fans who like hating on certain teams and automatically cheer for their opposition
And yes, there are fans who will support the last Canadian team still alive in the playoffs, just because they are a Canadian team
Canadians are a diverse bunch and the hockey fans are the same.
So, if the Canucks win, a Canadian team wins the Cup.
If the Lightning or Sharks win, a Canadian captain hoists the Cup.
And if the Bruins win, three-quarters of their team is Canadian, anyway.
Go Canada Go.
TEAM CANADA NO-SHOW
I understand guys are tired, guys are banged-up, and guys have families, but if Team Canada just had a couple more available players join the team in Slovakia, they probably would have been unstoppable en route to a gold medal.
Instead, Canada fell to Russia in the quarterfinal.
Do you think Getzlaf, Perry, Iginla, Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Sharp, Toews, Keith, Seabrook, Brodeur, Price, Subban, Brad Richards, Morrow, Hall, Cammalleri, Doan, Letang, or Doughty might have helped?
WHY JUNIOR HOCKEY IS GREAT
Kudos to the two Ontario Hockey League finalists for battling all the way to overtime of Game 7 in a series that—to the more cynical viewer—meant nothing.
With the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors hosting the Memorial Cup, the Owen Sound Attack were guaranteed a spot in the CHL championship.
Yet, the two teams went to war seven games with Owen Sound earning the right to go the Memorial Cup ‘through the front door.’
RBC CUP FINALLY HAS NEW CHAMP
Congrats to the Pembroke Lumber Kings for being the first team to stop the Vernon Vipers in three years.
Vernon entered the 2011 showdown in Camrose, Alta. having won two straight national titles.
And the Vipers reached the finals of this year’s RBC Cup having won every game on the way.
Kudos to Pembroke for knocking-off one of Junior A’s most exceptional franchises.
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Is There Such Thing As ‘Canada’s Team?’ Not Really. And There’s Nothing Wrong With That...
