-

 

ee

or Nightmare?

Patrick Witwicki
Former OP Sports Editor

His mother was so excited, she nearly fell from the bleach-
ers.

Her son, Peter, had just scored to tie the game at one. This
was the Atom “A” hockey playoffs, and the team needed to
win. The goal itself could be called “typically Canadian”: a mad
scramble in front of the net, and Peter jamming in the
rebound, as he fell to the ice. A grinder’s goal, much like goals
Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames or Brendan Shanahan of
the Detroit Red Wings score on a regular basis. They epitomize
the bushel of future hockey players coming out of Canada’s
minor hockey program. But is that a good thing?

Coquitlam ends up winning the game, and Peter will get the
chance to lace up the skates at the provincials. He is only ten
years old, but anyone can tell he is just as excited as his moth-
er. “I can't wait,” he says, smiling in wonder. His mother ruf-
fles his hair, and says, “He works so hard. He's going to be
great.”

“I want to play for the Canucks with
Peter states. Lofty dreams, but he isn’t the
to dream of a future i
Canada, kids wearin:
that they're playing for
one percent of those d

The only way to the |
through the Can: /
player, even as
route he wants to
also known as “
Hockey League (BC
Boileau has been Preside
is also a hockey historian, and
ing back to 1932. He can even’
goal when Vancouver (at that tim
only Stanley Cup in 1915.

But his astute hockey knowledge has
else over the past decade: the skill level
players has declined. Where are the next
Mario Lemieuxs? “There's not a lot of skille
there,” admits Boileau. “This year’s [NHL] draft
the poorest ever. And we've heard that for the last
years. We should be getting stronger, shouldn't we

Even so, junior hockey has continued to
Boileau took over as President 12 years ago,
teams. Now the league has 17 in total. The
expanded, to the point where the league can now have a B
division by itself. Less than a decade ago, the only BC teams
were in Kamloops and Victoria. So, it appears that there are
more options for kids coming out of minor hockey. “There are
kids out there who do their homework, and research it proper-
ly,” says Boileau, commenting on how kids decide which
league to play in. “The ones who are most successful in life are
those with a good education.”

But what kind of education is happening at the grass-roots
level? According to a recent census by the Pacific Coast
Amateur Hockey Association (PCAHA), who govern minor
hockey in the Lower Mainland, over 19,000 kids were enrolled
in hockey in 2000. There are so many kids playing minor
hockey, some associations have waiting lists of over 500. Dave
Griffith has coached minor hockey for 11 years, and most
recently coached the Maple Ridge Midget B team. And he
agrees that minor hockey isn’t doing a good enough job devel-
oping young players. “There’s too much emphasis on games
over practice,” he sighs. “From the age of 10 and up, they add
more games, and the finer skills are lacking.” Many players,
uncertain of their skill level, don’t believe they're good enough
to even try out for a junior team. “I'd say 20 to 30 percent feel
they have the ability, but only 5 to 10 percent will try out,
unless they're asked,” Griffith says.

“Asking” happens from time to time. All WHL teams have

ninor hockey, it seems, is
. A young BC hockey
t thinking about which
ockey League (WHL —
), or the British Columbia
nown as Junior “A”). Ron
L for 12 years now. He
HL media guide dat-
ored the winning
ires) won their

huge scouting staffs, and they regularly attend rinks all over
BC, trying to find the next “great” 14 year-old (Bantam) hock-
ey player. The BCHL doesn’t follow this trend, and instead, lets
players come and try out instead. “We don’t have any protect-
ed lists,” says Boileau. “The players decide on their own who
they want to play for.” But nog oming kids are trying
out. Who's getting left behin

  
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
  
 
  

Director of

 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
   
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
    
  
  
   
    
   
  
 
 
    
  
 
 
 

playe
ected” list. Kelso is convinced the Bantam

o a winner.”
tement could be the main probl

g is probably empty. So, this pa
argument supports the Bantam draft. Get the kid while he’s
still young, and he can develop with the team. And the WHL
doesn’t shy away from their true mandate: their goal is to devel-
op players for the NHL. Boileau questions this perception. Just
because a player is in the WHL doesn’t guarantee he'll get
drafted by the NHL. “Every year, only 20 to 25 players [out of
approximately 500] get drafted,” he says. “And out of that,
maybe one will actually make it [to the NHL].”

So, are kids being pushed into junior hockey too quickly?
Don Cherry, host of “Coach’s Corner” on Hockey Night in
Canada, recently said, “They're bringing these kids up too fast.
They bring them up so they can sit on the bench all game? It’s
sad, really sad.” But Laurence Heinen, editor for BC Hockey
Now, disagrees. He covers various minor hockey tournaments
every year for his publication. “I hear people say minor hock-
ey is in trouble, but the rinks are always full. Minor hockey
tournaments get huge turnouts.” Right, because there’s a prize.
Someone will win something.

Boileau considers this “winning” mentality as the main
problem. “Parents always get talked into chasing that [NHL]
WHL scouts],” he says. “Parents aren't int i

minor hockey has to
“We need to take the
focus on skill develop
During a game, they’r
puck once or twice.”

tice arent available,
“Kids that don’t pi
chance,” he says. “It’s
top 10 to 20 pera

way from winning, and just
they’re [at least] 13,” he says.
ucky if they get to touch the
e the opportunities for prac-
hat some kids are missing out.
t away aren't getting a proper
in school: if youre not in that
“not getting what you need to

develop.”
Kelso admits ¢ practice time at the minor league
level would help. filter down to our level. Pat Quinn

(co-owner of the Giants) once said that the kids coming out of
major junior were like robots,” he says. Two years ago, the
Canadian Hockey Association (CHA) held a summit, and con-
ducted studies on what was wrong with Canada’s game. Several
startling facts were discovered from that study. In Finland, for
example, a practice to game ratio was 3 to 1, completely the
opposite of most areas in Canada. Many European countries
had similar ratios to Finland. Is it any coincidence that over the
past decade, more and more European players are being draft-
ed for the NHL and fewer and fewer Canadians? Or, that most
current Canadian NHL players (like Iginla and Shanahan) are

  
 
 
 
 
 

  
 
   
    
   
    
  
     
   
    
 
   
   
  
   
  
   

 

referred to as “grinders,” while European players like Naslund
are considered as “skilled?”

The CHA is determined to make changes, and after that
summit, both Gretzky and Bob Nicholson (CHA President)
offered recommendations. The main one was to put more
emphasis on practice time. This will put more emphasis on
developing players’ skills, as opposed to always trying to “win.”
Some associations have already taken the necessary steps to put
those recommendations in motion. But not all associations are
doing enough. And if you add in the various problems with
parents abusing officials, or fighting each other in the stands,
minor hockey is far from being fixed. Recently, there have been
two separate incidents in Port Moody where fans fought, while
the kids on the ice simply looked on. And a separate incident
a few years ago in Port Coquitlam still stands out, where the
building had to be cleared, and the cops called in, before the
two Bantam teams on the ice could finish their game.

So, is there a solution? Yes, some will say, “What problem?”
ent victory at the 2002 Winter Olympics, it
id argument. But what can be done at the
ensure Canadian hockey doesn’t contin-
level of the Europeans? Well, until the rest

's recon dations, it’s up to
the extra time,”
e his backhand
d summer hock-
‘ow all year-round,”

   
    
   
 
 
  
 
   
    
     
  
  
 

he says. But the facts are obvi
on minor hockey standards

The future of Cana
person will probably
[Canadian Hockey] going

“They kind of lost track
caught up to us.” Fact

may seem confusing. Every
ent answer. “They're
»” Kelso claims.
d the Europeans
‘the women’s hockey
Ive to ten years could be

y Flames forward, claims, “Kids, and even more
so, parents get so caught up in the game, they forget to have
fun.” Fun. Hasn't minor hockey neglected that lately? Are the
ents who are fighting in the stands having fun? What about
h who is constantly yelling at the referee? Parents push
and spend a lot of money in the hopes that one day,
their little Johnny will sign that lucrative NHL contract.
Everyone is under so much pressure to win, the focus on a
player’s development is lost.

But if the practice to game ratio becomes a reality, maybe the
game can evolve and get back to the point where Canadians
can stand by the claim that “hockey is our game.” After all,
there are skilled Canadian players out there. Paul Kariya made
it. There must be others, right? “They are out there,” smiles
Boileau. “We just have to work harder to find them.” As for
him, he has no intention of stepping back from the BCHL any
time soon. “I would do it for free if I didn’t need the money to
support myself,” he laughs. And of course, he loves the game
of hockey, Isn’t that why we attend hockey games? Because we
love the game? Most of us watched that game on February 24,
and felt proud to be Canadian. So, maybe we can get hockey
back, and make it ours once again.

Peter has a similar opinion on the subject, but his future
concern is more current. He is thinking about the provincials.
“We can win,” he smiles. “I know we can.” His mother simply
beams with pride. She believes minor hockey is just fine, thank
you very much, and her dream is reflected in her son’s eyes that
maybe one day, after all his hard work and dedication, he will
live the Canadian dream, and play in the NHL.

 

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