WINIH Blog
Hayley Wickenheiser: A Crowd of 243 fans.
Here is the opposite of the University of Wisconsin story of 12,402 fans for their NCAA game. Hayley Wickenheiser plays in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport League. There are a host of reasons why the CIS doesn't attract many fans. Read on.
REGINA -- The score was two-nothing. The crowd was next to nothing.
Saturday's (Jan, 29) attendance at Co-operators Arena — 243 — was but a blip compared to the largest gatherings Hayley Wickenheiser has seen and experienced.
While donning a national-team jersey, Wickenheiser has performed before sellout crowds at some of Canada’s premier hockey venues. In 2010, for example, Wickenheiser captained Canada to a 2-0 victory over the United States in the Olympic women’s hockey gold-medal game at a jam-packed GM Place in Vancouver.
Wickenheiser played an integral role in another 2-0 victory on Saturday, when she powered the University of Calgary Dinos past the host University of Regina Cougars in Canada West action. Watching her play in person for the first time, I marvelled at the incongruity of seeing a Canadian sporting legend — someone who has been labelled the Wayne Gretzky of women’s hockey — play in front of a small audience.
“It is a very extreme type of existence that you live as a female hockey player,’’ the Shaunavon-born Wickenheiser said after the game. “You’re playing in front of 20,000 people at the Air Canada Centre and then you’ve got 200 in Regina.
“Whether it’s 20,000 or one, you try and play the same way. You always think that there are people there who have never seen women play hockey before and you want to showcase the game and try and be the best you can be. That’s kind of how I look at it. You don’t really notice the crowd all that much, except that 20,000 people can give you a lift every once in a while.’’
Wickenheiser provided the necessary lift on Saturday, snapping a scoreless tie with 5:28 left in the third period. She also set up Tanya Morgan’s empty-net goal with 27 seconds remaining.
Off the ice, there was also evidence of Wickenheiser’s fame — such as fans wearing Canadian hockey jerseys that included her good name. But, overall, it was a low-key appearance by a three-time Olympic gold medallist, who in November was invested in the Order of Canada.
“I think with the CIS in general, it’s disappointing with the crowds that teams get,’’ Wickenheiser said. “Even on the men’s hockey side, people don’t realize that it’s better hockey than Western Hockey League hockey. People should come out and appreciate it, I think. From that standpoint, I think it’s undermarketed, so women’s hockey gets a piece of that, too.’’
Canadian university sport has never had a marquee player quite like Wickenheiser. At 33, she is more than 10 years older than most of the other players. Her resume of sporting achievements is a scroll.
Yet, she does meet the criteria for admission into the CIS ranks. A second-year member of the Dinos, she is working toward a degree in kinesiology. She expects to complete that degree next year, meaning that another full season of Canada West hockey is likely in her future.
The 2013-14 season will be spent concentrating on the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. After that, Wickenheiser will assess her situation. Post-hockey, she plans to study medicine.
Although Wickenheiser is just what the doctor ordered when it comes to enhancing the visibility of university sport, there are inherent challenges. The myriad demands upon her time make it impractical for her to play in every game.
While appearing in 15 of the Dinos’ 20 games this season, Wickenheiser has amassed 14 goals and 15 assists. Last season, she had 17 goals and 23 assists in 15 games en route to earning player-of-the-year honours in Canada West and the CIS.
“It’s not the highest level I’ve played at, for sure, but in a tight game like this — with six minutes left and nobody had scored — there’s the pressure,’’ Wickenheiser said.
“You get in tight situations. Every game’s kind of a dogfight, whether you’re last or first in this league, so I like that challenge every night. I have to try and bring it, and my team’s relying on me, so it works out well. I also like the fact that we skate every day and train like you would be if you were a pro player.’’
Ideally, there would be a professional women’s league in which Wickenheiser and her peers could compete. However, reality dictates that the CIS ranks are the best option. As a result, the Dinos/Cougars game was the best option for a Regina sports fan on Saturday night.
It was certainly an evening well-spent — even if there was a little too much elbow room.
rvanstone@leaderpost.com
© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post
Jan. 30th 2012.
Behind The Moves:The Top NHL GMs Book.
Behind the Moves: NHL Managers Tell How Winners Are Built. (reviewed from partial proofs)
By Jason Farris.
Jason Farris has created a unique look at leadership in Behind the Moves: NHL Managers Tell How Winners Are Built. Top NHL managers who made it to the Stanley Cup finals, in their own words, describe their approach to the business, culture and philosophy of managing a professional hockey team. Farris supplements the managers’ words, with quotes from an agent and a sports writer and gives each manager a historical context.
The central question answered by the book intrigued me? How has the NHL created such a strong network and community of managers who support and mentor each other in such a highly competitive arena?
Farris attributes it to lineage. "Behind the Moves originated with my view that GMs are connected by a lineage. Unlike other industries, they weren't just leaders recruited into their role; rather, they all played, coached, scouted or worked for or alongside other GMs on their way to the GM chair. This project began by tracing the professional genealogy of general management to understand how connected each one is, and determining which managers and organizations have been epicenters of executive development in the NHL."
Farris brings a business background to hockey; his last job was President and CEO of Citizens Bank of Canada. But this is his fourth book on hockey. Farris decided the key to understanding successful leadership in the NHL was to develop "executive-level relationships" with 35 Stanley Cup finalists:
“Through preparation and lines of inquiry that demonstrated an understanding of the subtleties of the challenges they confront, I set out to build executive-level relationships with each of them, so that they would in turn respond with long-form insights they haven’t articulated publicly before, thus giving fans and students of the game a true sense of their leadership experiences and process.”
It is also interesting to note that Jason Farris began a new job in January 2012 as executive vice-president of business operations and development for the NHL team, the Dallas Stars, a position which blends both his passions.
What does this book offer the women’s elite hockey world? I think a lot. While the Canadian Women’s Hockey League has a long way to go before its players are vying for million dollar contracts, there are some strong unifying concepts that the women’s league can model today. Lead. Mentor and be mentored. Collaborate and work together. Build a community. And develop those executive level relationships and include some of the NHL managers who have figured it out.
Photo: Jason Farris (left) with Brian Burke, General Manager of Maple Leafs at the Rotman School of Business in Toronto discussing Behind the Moves...
Quick facts
Pages: 252
Size: 10x 12 inch hardcover.
Photos: approximately 60 colour and 20 b/w.
Price: $99.95
Orders: books only available through web site: www.nhlgms.com
Table of Contents
2
Essay on NHL General Management by John Ziegler
NHL President (1977 — 1992)
4
Introduction to the GM Community
Plus, An owner’s guide to hiring and evaluating a GM • The GM community •
Paths to the GM chair • Off the record • GM lingo and unwritten rules
20
Part I The Modern Era GMs who built Stanley Cup Contenders
Plus, Expansion tales • Coaching versus managing •
Then versus now • The business and growth of the game
132
Part II The Challenges of being a GM
Getting hired and succeeding as an NHL GM • Dealing with Ownership •
Agents • Players • Coaches • The media • Scouting and drafting • Free agency and
arbitration • Information clearinghouse • Managing under the salary cap • Addressing
the team • Fostering team chemistry • Building for the playoffs • Wheeling and dealing •
Espionage, conspiracy and tomfoolery • High stakes negotiations
154
Part III The GM Godfathers
170
Part IV Other GMs who Shaped the Game
Early GM pioneers • Tenured GMs • Honored GM builders
186
Part V The all-time NHL GM Roster
Biographies of the 174 men who have been an NHL GM
220
Afterword The Last Word to Ownership
Mike & Marian Ilitch, Owners, Detroit Red Wings
Tim Leiweke, President & CEO, AEG (LA Kings parent company)
226
Appendix GM Statistical Records
242
Index
Behind the Moves Coming Feb.3, 2012
Coming Friday Feb. 3, 2012.
A review of the new book Behind the Moves, NHL Managers Tell How Winners Are Built by Jason Farris, recently appointed executive vice president of business operations and development for the Dallas Stars. Behind the Moves is based on in-person interviews with all but one (Mike Keenan declined) of the 35 living GMs who have taken their team to the Stanley Cup finals.
Jason Farris interviewed Brian Burke at the Rotman School of Business on Jan.25th which WINIH attended so will post a peak into the “Den of Thieves,” a term used to describe the hockey business according to Behind the Moves.
Swedish Elite League Launch: A Look Back.
The Swedish women’s elite league launched in 2008.Emilia Andersson on Team Sweden talks about how important this league has become for the ongoing development of players in her country. (see Players section) This column ran in The Hockey News in Oct. 2008
“Maybe this will be the NHL of women hockey,” says Peter Elander, Swedish national team coach, about the new Swedish national league launched in October. The six teams will carry 17 foreign players from nine countries including Denmark, Finland, Norway, Switzerland, US, Canada, Slovakia, Austria, and Germany. The most dominant teams are Aik, European champions for the last 4 years and Segeltorp, Swedish champions in 2008 plus four teams Modo, Brynäs, Linköping and Leksand who are part of large male hockey organizations. The clubs provide the foreign players with an apartment and a job. So far there are no salaries but Elander says that will happen in a couple years. In his opinion no other countries (except Finland) has such a competitive league like this with 100 quality players.
Elizabeth Etue
Coaching: A Snapshot of Sweden and Canada.
Elizabeth Etue wrote a women's hockey column for The Hockey News from 2006-2008. Here are stories on two coaches from Canada and Sweden.
Keep It Light Coach's Quest
November 27, 2007 issue The Hockey News.
Peter Smith, Canada’s newest national women's team coach, waxed poetic about his young squad this season. "The younger players bring g a sense of fearlessness," Smith said. "They haven't thought of the consequences, so they an energetic innocence."
He likes the combination of skills and experience the veterans add, plus the "renewed energy and excitement of the young players." Smith uses humour to keep the team relaxed. "Players play their best when they're happy, "he said. "We use video a lot and one time we did a skit about one coach driving a bus making it look like he ran over the other coaches."
Peter Smith has been head coach of the McGill Martlets since 1999. Smith’s team has won two gold, a pair of silvers and four bronze medals at the Cdn college championships. He has been involved with Team Canada as a coach since 2005
Aiming High for Vancouver.
The Hockey News column November 13, 2008
There is no question that Sweden will be the team to watch in the countdown to the Olympics. Sweden won its first international game 2-1 against Canada at the recent 4 Nations Cup. According to coach Peter Elander the win against Canada was part of a long term plan. "We dared to attack," says Elander, "We dared to be a lion not a lamb. We took more and better shots and that created energy in the team."
That energy and attitude is part of the strategy heading towards the Vancouver Olympics. "The players believe in our plan," confirms Elander, "If you can do something once, you should be able to do it
again and again. Our goal is to be the hardest working team all the way to 2010."
Sweden lost in overtime to Finland at the Vancouver Olympics coming fourth. Peter is in his second year at University of North Dakota as associate head coach. He spent 9 years as head coach of Team Sweden winning two Olympic medals including beating the USA for a silver in 2006.