Another year, another Spengler... my sixth.  A few memories from the final game and the tournament overall:

 

-The old dog Cujo still has plenty to give to someone.  I’ll grant you that the Spengler isn’t the NHL, but the skill level of the shooters is pretty damn close and he didn’t look at all over his head.  In fact, he looked downright fantastic in the championship game against Ufa.  I said before, I wish him nothing but the best because he wants to go out on his own terms.  As a guaranteed Hall of Famer, he deserves this...

 

-Doug Gilmour would make a decent coach.  Speaking with him on a few occasions, I heard a guy who didn’t just play the game, but thought the game as well.  If he ever does coach in the NHL, I would imagine there would be a lot of Pat Burns and Pat Quinn in him - two coaches he loved playing for....

 

-I can’t figure the Swiss sometimes.  They were cheering for the Russian team (Ufa) in the championship game rather than Canada.  Here’s a country (and a city, Davos) whose hockey development has benefited immensely from the knowledge and input of Canadians.  Davos has won titles with Canadians as key players (Daigle, Thornton, St. Louis, Bohonus, Sarault and so on), the National team has been coached, for years, by a Canadian (Ralph Kruger), the captain of their National and Olympic Teams was a Canadian (Doug Honegger).  Comparatively, what has Russian hockey given the Swiss game?  Dick-all is the answer.  More numbered bank accounts, I would guess. Cheer for whoever you want - but I would have thought that Canada’s team would have been given a little more respect from the Davos fans...

 

-As a nation, there are none that develop players who can handle the puck (pass hard and accurately, dangle, stick handle) as well as the Russians - the AVERAGE Russian developed player has far superior puck handling skills than the AVERAGE Canadian developed player.  Sorry....

 

-Sean Simpson, the Canadian head coach, has a tough decision to make:  He’s won pretty much everything in Europe (Swiss League title, German League title, Spengler Cup) - he can stay in Switzerland, make a lot of money in the next few years (2 or 3 million SF) or come back to North America and try to get on the coaching ladder there.  He’d likely have to start in the minors or in the NHL as an assistant (making a couple of hundred thousand a year).  If it were me, it would be a simple decision:  stay in Switzerland.

 

-Having covered 11 World Junior Championship tournaments and 6 Spengler Cup tournaments, there is absolutely no question in my mind:  the Spengler is a better event (to cover) and the hockey is of a much higher level...

 

-When our group first attended the tournament, there were maybe  30 or 40 family members who made the journey; this year there were 140.  Why?  Hockey Canada treats the players and their families like kings...

 

-Doug Honegger, my broadcast partner, is excellent in his timing and broadcast ability. I’ve probably worked with over 100 “colour commentators” in various sports over the years; Doug is right up there in terms of raw talent.  He could be one of the best if he did it on a regular basis and had a chance to actually work with a producer (rather than re-act to a host feed as we do at the Spengler). Problem is, his real job pays him way more than he could make in Canadian television...

 

-Say what you want about the Swiss as a people (personally, I’m not sure how you can stay “neutral” in the Second World War, other than the fact that maybe you can see a financial benefit to your neutrality, but that’s another discussion and it was a long time ago), but, damn, they have an amazing country!  The natural beauty, an infrastructure that works amazingly well (trains, highways, the airports... all efficiently run), clean cities, wealth....

 

-approach traditional Swiss fondue with caution.....

 

-lose those black Canadian third jerseys.  The whole black, intimidating look thing was pretty cool when it was the Pittsburgh Steelers and it was Chuck Noll and it was the 1970s... now, to me, it’s just a tired cliché.... everyone and his brother has a black jersey, be different.....

 

-I don’t know how many more Spenglers I’ll be a part of, but I do know that age has taught me to cherish and enjoy each and every one I do.... I wasn’t as smart during the WJC - I thought I’d be doing it forever....