Hello there. This is Tim Wharnsby, a former sports reporter with the Toronto Sun, Globe and Mail, as well as Hockey Night in Canada. I've written my first book called Gold, an inside story on how executive director Wayne Gretzky, captain Mario Lemieux, Joe Sakic and Co. ended a 50-year Olympic gold-medal drought in 2002 at Salt Lake City.
This is Canada's forgotten excellent hockey team. There was no Paul Henderson goal in 1972 or Gretzky to Lemieux dramatic moment like in 1987. But there was tremendous pressure on this group after Canada flamed out in the semifinals of the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan, the first time NHLers participated.
The tournament did not start well, but Canada persevered and prevailed through the calm, confident leadership from Lemieux, Sakic, Steve Yzerman, Al MacInnis, Rob Blake, Brendan Shanahan, Adam Foote, and others.
Thirty-five players, coaches, management team members and others like the late Pat Quinn's daughter Kalli, Trent Evans and Ian Leggatt shared their stories for the book. Evans was the man who planted the lucky loonie underneath the centre ice spot at the E-Center. On the same day Canada claimed gold, Leggatt won his only PGA Tour event and had an extraordinary tale to tell about that Sunday afternoon.
You can purchase the book at Amazon and Indigo, but if you're inclined to support a small bookstore, Ben McNally Books is around the corner from where I live in the Corktown neighbourhood of Toronto. I will gladly walk the 267 steps to sign a personalized copy for you by ordering through [email protected].
After Canada survived a 3-3 tie in its third game against the Czech Republic, Gretzky was emotional in a postgame tirade to reporters. Canadian referee Bill McCreary was among his targets, who didn't call a Roman Hamrlik crosscheck on Theo Fleury late in the game.
McCreary's daughter Melissa was the target of some bullying from her classmates back in Guelph, Ont.
Here is an excerpt about a Gretzky-McCreary confrontation the next day:
McCreary had taken a call from his wife, Mary Ann, the day after Gretzky's postgame presser. The McCrearys' 12-year-old daughter, Melissa, was mocked and teased by her classmates at St. Paul Elementary School back in Guelph. Mary Ann was upset. Melissa was upset. Her classmates had labeled her dad a cheater.
One of McCreary's traits as an official was his tremendous communication skills with the players during the heat of a game. So he decided the best course of action would be to meet with Gretzky to let him know what had happened. McCreary glanced at the practice schedule that day, found out the time Canada had slated for its on-ice session, and waited outside the rink for Gretzky.
"I asked to speak to him for a moment," McCreary said. "I told him what had happened. I told him his voice carried so much weight. He didn't miss a beat. He offered to phone my daughter immediately to apologize and phone the kids at the school.
"His offer took me aback so quickly because I thought we were to have a confrontation, more than anything. I was ready for that. He probably wasn't ready for me. But his professionalism was amazing."
McCreary wanted to make sure he never accused Gretzky of calling him a cheater.
"He didn't use the word cheat or cheater," said McCreary, a Hockey Hall of Fame inductee in 2014, who also refereed the 1998 and 2010 Olympic gold-medal games. "But he wasn't happy with my work. He brought that specific play to the attention of the media.
"I just think Wayne was hot with the criticism in the media about the way some of the players had been playing, and he felt that Canada had been on the wrong end of some of the calls. He brought that up with the non-call on Theo.
"It was a very aggressive game. There was a lot going on. I don't know how many penalties were called, but not a lot. There was no question when you have a competitive guy like Theo things like that happen. I loved watching him play. He's a small man in terms of stature in the game but he played much bigger than most people within the game."
For his part, Gretzky still feels horrible about the angst his words inadvertently caused the McCrearys.
"I felt so bad," Gretzky said. "It wasn't him I meant to single out. He mentioned to me that kids in his daughter's school were picking on her. So I offered to call the school and talk to the kids to let them know it wasn't the referee's fault.
"I don't think I ever felt that bad after that. It wasn't personal. I was just trying to defend our team and our country. You get so emotional." There were a pair of happy endings to this episode. Not only did
Gretzky exhibit remorse and grace with McCreary, but the referee was also at his best once again in the gold-medal game a few days later.
There were no complaints from either side. In fact, if you review a video of the gold-medal match, amid the on-ice mayhem after the game, Canadian head coach Pat Quinn can be seen seeking out McCreary to shake his hand. As the United States team waited for the medal ceremony, 13 players wearing the Stars and Stripes shook the referee's hand.
"As far as I was concerned there were 40 guys playing who I had refereed in the NHL before," McCreary said. "One team was in red and white and the other team was in blue and white."
This is Canada's forgotten excellent hockey team. There was no Paul Henderson goal in 1972 or Gretzky to Lemieux dramatic moment like in 1987. But there was tremendous pressure on this group after Canada flamed out in the semifinals of the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan, the first time NHLers participated.
The tournament did not start well, but Canada persevered and prevailed through the calm, confident leadership from Lemieux, Sakic, Steve Yzerman, Al MacInnis, Rob Blake, Brendan Shanahan, Adam Foote, and others.
Thirty-five players, coaches, management team members and others like the late Pat Quinn's daughter Kalli, Trent Evans and Ian Leggatt shared their stories for the book. Evans was the man who planted the lucky loonie underneath the centre ice spot at the E-Center. On the same day Canada claimed gold, Leggatt won his only PGA Tour event and had an extraordinary tale to tell about that Sunday afternoon.
You can purchase the book at Amazon and Indigo, but if you're inclined to support a small bookstore, Ben McNally Books is around the corner from where I live in the Corktown neighbourhood of Toronto. I will gladly walk the 267 steps to sign a personalized copy for you by ordering through [email protected].
After Canada survived a 3-3 tie in its third game against the Czech Republic, Gretzky was emotional in a postgame tirade to reporters. Canadian referee Bill McCreary was among his targets, who didn't call a Roman Hamrlik crosscheck on Theo Fleury late in the game.
McCreary's daughter Melissa was the target of some bullying from her classmates back in Guelph, Ont.
Here is an excerpt about a Gretzky-McCreary confrontation the next day:
McCreary had taken a call from his wife, Mary Ann, the day after Gretzky's postgame presser. The McCrearys' 12-year-old daughter, Melissa, was mocked and teased by her classmates at St. Paul Elementary School back in Guelph. Mary Ann was upset. Melissa was upset. Her classmates had labeled her dad a cheater.
One of McCreary's traits as an official was his tremendous communication skills with the players during the heat of a game. So he decided the best course of action would be to meet with Gretzky to let him know what had happened. McCreary glanced at the practice schedule that day, found out the time Canada had slated for its on-ice session, and waited outside the rink for Gretzky.
"I asked to speak to him for a moment," McCreary said. "I told him what had happened. I told him his voice carried so much weight. He didn't miss a beat. He offered to phone my daughter immediately to apologize and phone the kids at the school.
"His offer took me aback so quickly because I thought we were to have a confrontation, more than anything. I was ready for that. He probably wasn't ready for me. But his professionalism was amazing."
McCreary wanted to make sure he never accused Gretzky of calling him a cheater.
"He didn't use the word cheat or cheater," said McCreary, a Hockey Hall of Fame inductee in 2014, who also refereed the 1998 and 2010 Olympic gold-medal games. "But he wasn't happy with my work. He brought that specific play to the attention of the media.
"I just think Wayne was hot with the criticism in the media about the way some of the players had been playing, and he felt that Canada had been on the wrong end of some of the calls. He brought that up with the non-call on Theo.
"It was a very aggressive game. There was a lot going on. I don't know how many penalties were called, but not a lot. There was no question when you have a competitive guy like Theo things like that happen. I loved watching him play. He's a small man in terms of stature in the game but he played much bigger than most people within the game."
For his part, Gretzky still feels horrible about the angst his words inadvertently caused the McCrearys.
"I felt so bad," Gretzky said. "It wasn't him I meant to single out. He mentioned to me that kids in his daughter's school were picking on her. So I offered to call the school and talk to the kids to let them know it wasn't the referee's fault.
"I don't think I ever felt that bad after that. It wasn't personal. I was just trying to defend our team and our country. You get so emotional." There were a pair of happy endings to this episode. Not only did
Gretzky exhibit remorse and grace with McCreary, but the referee was also at his best once again in the gold-medal game a few days later.
There were no complaints from either side. In fact, if you review a video of the gold-medal match, amid the on-ice mayhem after the game, Canadian head coach Pat Quinn can be seen seeking out McCreary to shake his hand. As the United States team waited for the medal ceremony, 13 players wearing the Stars and Stripes shook the referee's hand.
"As far as I was concerned there were 40 guys playing who I had refereed in the NHL before," McCreary said. "One team was in red and white and the other team was in blue and white."
