Wednesday, February 20, 2002
Tourney will be a dogfight
By GREG Di CRESCE -- Winnipeg Sun
Listening to the Great One gripe about the reffing in the Olympics reminded local ex-NHLer Carey Wilson of old times.
"It sounded like Gretzky during a Flames game," chuckled Wilson, who played for Calgary over eight seasons. "We know what it sounds like when Wayne whines."
Joking aside, the former Canadian Olympian understood why a siege mentality may be taking hold of the 2002 Canuck squad.
"There's certainly some truth to the idea that everyone wants to knock the big dog off the top of the hill and Canada is usually viewed as that dog. But I don't think that's anything new," said Wilson, who played in the Red and White at the 1984 Games in Yugoslavia. That year the Canucks finished fourth, losing the bronze medal game to Sweden.
"What you quickly learn when you play international games is that it's not the North American game. It's the European's game and we're the ones playing someone else's game," Wilson said yesterday. "This is not the Canada Cup, this is not clutch-and-grab hockey. This is a different brand of hockey and maybe it's more of a young man's game."
NOTHING'S BEEN DECIDED
However, the 39-year-old Fort Garry resident wasn't about to write the 1-1-1 Canadian team off.
"Look, we don't need to jump off the bandwagon. Nothing has been decided yet," Wilson said. "Still, I'd be lying if I said that what I've seen in the last three games hasn't got me worried a bit. Right now, I think everyone understands that this tournament is going to be a dogfight the rest of the way and any one of six teams could win this thing."
Regarding Canuck forward Theo Fleury getting cross checked by the Czech's Roman Hamrlik, Carey was sure "you could find clips in that game where Fleury wasn't acting on his best behaviour."
NOT A PLOY:
Moose president and former NHLer Randy Carlyle had his own take on Wayne Gretzky's recent controversial comments.
"I think he said what he believed," Carlyle said yesterday. "I don't think it was a ploy. He along with the rest of the team is under a tremendous amount of pressure and I think that is what we saw (on Monday night)."
Further, Carlyle didn't think the comments ought to be viewed in the same light as Phil Esposito's in 1972.
"The situation was different then. The fans were booing the team after the game in Vancouver," the former Jet said. "I don't think people in Canada are booing this team, though, I do think people want to see better results. People should know, however, that the line between winning and losing at his level is a lot finer that they'd like to think."
2002 Games Men's Hockey Coverage
