The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.

October 8, 1976

The Hockey News October 8, 1976

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0035-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01303/4128085-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0035-01

IN THIS ISSUSE

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE

SYRACUSE&mdash;The North American Hockey League is approaching the starting line for the 1976 eight-team horse race.Jack Timmins, commissioner of the NAHL, said his league will open Oct. 22 with a one division format and each team will play a 74-game schedule, 37 at home and 37 on the road.Timmins is excited about the new campaign which runs from Oct. 22 to Mar 17 and he views the decision of the board of governors at their summer meeting in Cooperstown. N.Y. to start with a onedivision league as a sound move.With the Buffalo franchise going into limbo for a year while the Norsemen await the completion of their own new ice rink, the NAHL moved to set up the two division champs of last year - Beauce Jaros in the East and Johnstown Jets in the West along with the Lockhart Cup champs, the Philadelphia Firebirds, in one division. Throw in the Maine Nordiques, Binghamton Dusters. Mohawk.Valley Comets. Erie Blades and the Syracuse Blazers and the NAHL is in for a blistering league race comprising eight teams.Timmins said he regretted the move by Buffalo to sit out a year but he felt confident it was a good thing for the NAHL He said he was extremely optimistic about the calibre of play, which has continually improved With the recent league draft, all clubs are now in a position to offer the fans what they want to see-good competitive hockey with a parity throughout the league.The NAHL teams will play an 18-game pre-season schedule beginning Oct. 8 before launching into a 296-game league schedule.Here&rsquo;s how the teams will meet in exhibition action:Beauce has three games with Maine. Oct. 8 in Riviere du Loup. Oct 9 in Rimouski and Oct. 10 in Sept Iles, all Quebec province centers.Binghamton meets Syracuse Oct. 13, Mohawk Valley Oct. 17 and Erie on Oct. 19. All games will be in Binghamton.Erie Blades play three at home, Oct 13 with Johnston. Oct. 16 against Syracuse and Oct 20 with Binghamton. Johnstown has only one game Oct. 17 at home with Erie.Maine Nordiques host Philadelphia Oct. 15 and 16 in Lewiston and meet Beauce Oct. 19. also at home. Mohawk Valley plays two pre-season games Oct. 16 against Binghamton and Oct. 20 with Philly. The Firebirds have no home exhibition dates.Syracuse has three in their own rink Oct. 12 against Erie. Oct. 15 against Binghamton and the windup Oct. 19 with Philadelphia coming in. &#9632;

NAHL Ready With Eight At The Gate

<div class="byline">BY ALAN TRUEX</div>ATLANTA&mdash;If familiarity breeds contempt, the Atlanta Flames may be in trouble. They entered training camp in Atlanta as a team little different from last year.At press time, general manager Cliff Fletcher had yet to conclude his first off-season trade. His summer transactions were limited to releasing Claude St. Sauveur and Dave Kryskow and to signing rookies.it remains to be judged if this will strengthen the club. Fletcher and coach Fred Creighton had hoped for more. The dumping of St. Sauveur and Kryskow. both young players who made contributions last year, can hardly be viewed as positive moves.&rsquo;"If were going to improve.&rdquo; Creighton said, &ldquo;young players will have to make us better.&rdquo;Fortunately, the Flames do have some promising young players. Guy Chouinard. 19-year-old center, is Creighton&rsquo;s choice as rookie most likely to succeed. He scored 40 goals and 80 points last season in Nova Scotia.But what the Flames need far more than a center is aid at right wing. &ldquo;The area historically has been our weakness,&rdquo; Creighton admits.Creighton and Fletcher are counting on Rick Bowness or Bill Plett, or both, to help here. Both are coming off productive seasons in Tulsa in their first chance at pro hockey.If neither is NHL calibre yet, and if such holdovers as Bill Flett, Hilliard Graves, Larry Romanchych and Ken Houston again fail to deliver high-volume scoring, Creighton says he &ldquo;could consider&rdquo; moving all-star left winger Curt Bennett to the right side.Bennett has played right wing before, as well as center, and there&rsquo;s little doubt he could adapt to such a transfer.It is clearly essential that the Flames find a goal-scoring right winger to install on the power play which ranked 11th in the National Hockey League last season. Flett, Graves, Romanchych, Houston and Tim Ecclestone, who did most of the right winging last year, totalled only 11 power play goals.Aside from right wing, the Flames have few serious problems.Creighton said, &ldquo;I think we played pretty good defensively, which is the cornerstone you have to build around.&rdquo;The club ranked fourth in the league&rsquo;s defensive standings, but there are still some areas of concern.Biggest question is Pat Quinn. 33-year-old defenseman and team captain. It is far less than definite that he can recover completely from a broken leg and resume a regular shift.If he can&rsquo;t &mdash; or maybe even if he can &mdash; the Flames have alternatives in rookies Rich Mulhern and Dave Shand. Mulhern was the team&rsquo;s No. 1 draft choice two years ago. After a satisfactory season in the Central Hockey League, he may be ready now for the NHL.Shand, a strong and fast-skating defenseman, was chosen on the first round this summer and is given a good chance of playing with the Flames this season.In goal, the Flames return with Dan Bouchard, who was appointed to Team Canada but was cut, and Phil Myre, an inconsistent performer last season in Atlanta.By the end of last year, Bouchard appeared to be the No. 1 goaltender on the team &mdash; and one of the two or three best in the league.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think Phil would be happy with his overall year,&rdquo; Creighton said. &ldquo;He played some excellent games and some bad ones. But on the other hand, so did Dan,&rdquo; the coach added.Bouchard is 25 and Myre 27, and Creighton feels, &ldquo;They&rsquo;re both at an age when we can look at better play from both of them.&rdquo;Creighton&rsquo;s worries are more with the offense, which produced only one goal in the Stanley Cup playoffs.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04446/4127413-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="610" height="917"><figcaption class="caption-body">DOUG FAVELL &hellip; Another Chance</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0014-04

Youths Carry Flames’ Hopes

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div>LOS ANGELES&mdash;Competition for forward positions has highlighted the Kings&rsquo; pre-season training this summer. Seeking bigger, younger, more aggressive performers up front, the club brought in Glenn Goldup. Russ Walker. Lome Stamler and Steve Clippingdale to try to take some spots away from some veterans.Stamler is 25, Goldup and Walker 23, and Clippingdale 21. Walker is right-handed, the others lefties. Clippingale comes from amateur ranks, the 21st player picked in this year&rsquo;s draft. Stamler and Goldup come from the minors&mdash;Stamler from the Kings&rsquo; system. Goldup from Montreal&rsquo;s. Walker is out of the WHA.A number of forward veterans were vulnerable.Bob Nevin and Mike Corrigan were not in camp when training started. Both were free agents, free to sign with other teams if offered contracts.The Kings were considering offering Nevin a new contract as they evaluated their players in the early drills.The Kings had made two contract offers to Corrigan. He rejected them and said he was taking them to arbitration. Because they had offered him a contract they would be bound by an arbitration decision on his salary. They could not release him without paying him. but could trade him.Any other players who had to be signed to new contracts have been.The club has only two players who could become free agents after this season, both centers.Gene Carr, returning to the center spot this season, has not yet signed a new contract but is currently on the option year of his old contract. Juha Widing is on the last year of a contract without an option clause.Widing did not improve his popularity with management when he did not report to camp as soon as his Swedish team was eliminated from the Canada Cup series. Young defenseman Gary Sargent flew down as soon as his USA team was finished.Bob Pulford was there to welcome an unusually small roster as soon as he had completed an impressive coaching chore with the USA team with one win and one tie more than expected. The club was competitive, which was more than anyone expected. Sargent was one of his top players.The Kings had only 31 players rostered&mdash;20 major leaguers, seven minor leaguers, three amateur draft choices, and one free agent&mdash;six foot four. 215-pound defenseman Per Karlison, a Swedish senior-leaguer who came over on his own for a tryout. And many were missing at the outset.Center Marcel Dionne and goaltender Roggie Vachon, who played every game of the Canada Cup series for the victorious Canadian team, were among the missing at first, but were in peak condition because of that series. Vachon may have been MVP of the series, though Bobby Orr was given the prize.Center Butch Goring was found tc have &ldquo;walking phuemonia&rdquo; during the pre-camp physical exams anc was flown to Centinella Vallej Hospital in Inglewood for a week oi so of rest, treatment and recovery His spot was not one of those ir danger, however.One spot was opened when spart Frank St. Marseille was shifted tc the Fort Worth farm as a player-coach.The Kings conducted camp at El Cajon Ice Palace near San Diego foi one week before returning to home base at the Inglewood Forum and opening their seven-game exhibition schedule with the first of three home dates Sept. 22.Their regular season opens Oct. f in Cleveland and they play five road contests before returning for theii first home games &mdash; Oct. 16 with Washington and Oct. 17 with St Louis.KINGS THINGS: Every game from the exhibitions on was to be radiocast over KTLA again, but the club took KTLA to court in an effort to increase the road telecasts from 15 to 25. Bob Miller will be back as play-by-play man, but Dan Avey will not return as colorman. Dan&rsquo;s departure was amicable. Tired of travel, he took a job as an announcer at all-news KFWB. His replacement must double as travelling secretary. KTLA did not carry the Canada Cup series, but KCET, a UHF TV station, did.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01371/4127799-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="630" height="999"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOB NEVIN &hellip; Mav Get Contract</figcaption></div><h2>Penguins Settle Goalie Battle</h2>PITTSBURGH&mdash;The Pittsburgh Penguins went to training camp with the idea of bolstering their defense and making a run at second place in the National Hockey League&rsquo;s Norris Division.The acquisition of veteran defenseman Don Awrey from the Montreal Canadiens in the offseason is expected to improve the stability of the Pittsburgh defense. Awrey will move into the spot vacated by Barry Wilkins, who jumped to Edmonton of the WHA.Also, the Penguins have made it clear that they will go with Denis Herron and Gordie Laxton in nets this year, with Herron handling the bulk of the duty.The Penguins re-acquired Herron as a free agent after he spent the last two seasons with the Kansas City Scouts (now Colorado Rockies). The Penguins had traded him to KC.When the Penguins opened their training camp, they made it clear that Laxton would be the number two netminder behind Herron, despite the fact that Laxton has only one year of professional experience.Club president Wren Blair told writers attending the Penguins&rsquo; camp that the team had decided not to go after a veteran substitute for Herron.&ldquo;We have the utmost confidence in Herron as our main goaltender and feel that Laxton has developed and progressed enough to earn a spot on the team,&rdquo; said Blair.&ldquo;It would be nice to have a more experienced player behind Herron, but in another year when Gordie is ready to step in, we would have three goalies and have to move one or keep Gordie from moving up the ladder.&rdquo;Laxton, 21. is a Montreal native who was Pittsburgh&rsquo;s top draft choice in 1975.Herron played in 64 games with Kansas City last season. He is still young at 24.The Penguins still rate as one of the most explosive clubs offensively in the National Hockey League. They finished in a thirdplace tie with the Montreal Canadiens last season for total goals scored.Syl Apps. Lowell MacDonald and Jean Pronovost, a 50-goal scorer last year, return for a third season together.Pierre Larouche, who made tremendous strides last year and scored 50 goals in only his second pro season, is still developing what appears to be unlimited potential.There may be one new face among the forwards this year and that is Blair Champman, Pittsburgh&rsquo;s No. 1 draft choice last year.Champman was being rated by many as the best junior forward to come out of last year&rsquo;s junior hockey set-up in Canada. &#9632;

f0025-01

Kinas Seek To Bolster Offense

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div>VANCOUVER-just a month before training camp opened, Phil Maloney hadn&rsquo;t solved any of his problems as general manager and coach of the Vancouver Canucks. Now he&rsquo;s completely cleaned house, and the leading adornment in the new habitat is B.C. native goalie Cesare Maniago, who came from the Minnesota North Stars in a one-for-one deal that moved Gary Smith from Vancouver.That doesn&rsquo;t really strengthen the Canucks that much, as goaltending has never really been a problem. But it does get rid of one of the alleged malcontents on the squad.The factor that makes the 37-year-old Maniago such a prize is that he was all that Maloney was able to get in return for giving up six players.Paulin Bordeleau and Andre Boudrias signed two-year contracts to play with the Quebec Nordiques, and rumor has it in Vancouver that the Canucks are even paying some of Boudrias&rsquo; first year with the WHA team. Ken Lockett, the spider as he was known to Vancouver fans, was released from his option year by the club so that he could sign with the San Diego Mariners of the WHA, and less than two weeks later he was joined by Gregg Boddy, who did likewise.Then there was the case of Tracy Pratt, who Maloney dealt to the Colorado Rockies for future considerations. All these players were part of the general sweep out by the Vancouver management, one that should help the attitude on the club apart from whatever Maniago is able to contribute.But given that Cesare is coming to the Canucks happy, he just may be able to combine with Curt Ridley to provide the club with a consistent one-two punch in goal.Maniago said that he talked with North Stars&rsquo; management after last season because he would have been entering his option year.&ldquo;I was at the point where I had to decide where I wanted to finish my career,&rdquo; said Maniago. &rsquo;&rsquo;I told them I&rsquo;d like to be traded to Vancouver if possible. I&rsquo;m very happy they made system, Vancouver&rsquo;s goaltending should be secure for a little while at least.Maloney was happy he got Maniago, saying &ldquo;He is going to be very helpful to our young goaltending staff. He&rsquo;s experienced and has a lot of talent.&rdquo;The Canucks may also have been thinking about not having to play against him when they play the North Stars as well. Everytime they did, Maniago was outstanding, frequently standing the Canucks forwards on their heels with outstanding saves.The other big news out of the Canucks camp, apart from all the defections and the little received in return, is the signing of Mike Walton to a three-year contract.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m really glad to have him here, he&rsquo;s the most exciting thing to hit here,&rdquo; said Maloney. &ldquo;He gets the people out of their seats one way or another.&rdquo;Maloney undoubtedly had to loosen the purse strings somewhat to get the 31-year-old forward, who signed for the remainder of last year in February and then said he wanted to get a three-year deal at least before he moved his wife and children. Canucks also signed winger Ron Sedlbauer to a new contract.The only real bad news the club got was when they discovered that left winger Brad Gassoff, the rookie of the year in the Central League last season, needed an operation and would miss most of this year&rsquo;s training camp. Gassoff, who the club is counting upon to add some aggressiveness up front, may miss some of the regular season as well, but even of more importance is the fact that he may not be in shape until much later. The main reason the rugged Gassoff didn&rsquo;t make the club last year was because he came to training camp overweight and couldn&rsquo;t show enough to impress Maloney right away.Meanwhile, Bob Manno, the team&rsquo;s top pick in the amateur draft in June, signed, but according to the scouts is not expected to make the team. A big rushing defenceman, Manno is considered an excellent puck carrier with a good shot, but he still has to learn a very great deal about defense.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-02925/4126576-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="663" height="3577"></div> &#9632;

f0002-02

Maniago Sole Return As Six Players Depart

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011021/4126607-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">BBlers Roggio Vachon of Canada and Czech netminder Kadimir Dzurilla embrace after final Canada Cup game out the two goaling stare had something else in mind when they met. For details see page 18. (Photo by Donis Brodeur)</figcaption></div><h2>STEPHENSON WANTS OUT</h2>PHILADELPHIA-Wayne Stephenson has become disenchanted with the Philadelphia Flyers. He has asked to be traded and has informed the NHL club that he wants his present contract renegotiated. To show his displeasure he has not shown up at the Flyers&rsquo; training camp.Stephenson came into hockey prominence last season when he was forced to step into the goaling breach with the Flyers after Bernie Parent was immptiiizcd by a neck injury and was unable to play. Stephenson claims his contract stipulated he was to be a backup netminder only and since he was thrust into a starting role that lasted all season, he felt the Flyers should have, rewritten his contract. Gary Inness is currently backing up Parent with Stephenson a no-show in camp.<h2>TARDIF BACK ON ICE</h2>QUEBEC CITY&mdash;Tardif&rsquo;s rehabilitation program after his near tragic head injury last showed early dividends for the Quebec Nordiques. The 1975-76 WHA scoring champion shot two goals as the Nords whomped Cincinnati Stingers 8-3 in a pre-season encounter.What made Tardif&rsquo;s performance all the more remarkable was the fact he wasn&rsquo;t expected to make it to training camp at all and possibly not play hockey ever again, so severe were his injuries. Rick Jodzio manhandled Tardif during the 1976 WHA playoffs against Calgary Cowboys sending him to hospital with severe injuries Jodzio is still facing criminal charges in civil court over the attack. In the game that saw Tardif return to action, two members of the Cincinnati Stingers were injured and both went to hospital. Dennis Sobchuk was feared to have sustained a broken arm and Bryan Maxwell a broken collarbone after being checked heavily_into the boards.<h2>CANADA DOMINATES STARS</h2>TOR0NTO-Members of the victorious Team Canada squad dominated the individual. &#9632;

f0002-01

DEADLINE STOPPERS

<div class="byline">BY NORMAN MacLEAN</div>NEW YORK&mdash;The Philadelphia Flyers did not win unni the arrival of Fred Shero and even then they blew the playoff on the l ist weekend of his season. The Isl&auml;nders emerged with the recruiting of Al Arbour and his discipline. Phil Maloney s pride has given the Vancouver Canucks character. The Kings were losers until Bob Pulford came along. And the Boston Bruins won a divisional title with Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito and with Don Cherry calling the shots. &mdash;To a large extent once a coach settles in and receives a form of security, via a multi-year contract, the team he coaches becomes his team. Shero started with a three-year contract in Philadelphia and didn&rsquo;t have to worry about getting fired, when he missed the post-season frolics in 1971-72.I told them it takes three years to put in a system. They gave me a contract of that length. The players knew 1 would be around. We tried different things, made life interesting with tennis balls and new drills in practice, but essentially we were successful because of hard work and a system.&rdquo; said Freddie.The innovative Shero had the support of his key players, men such as Bobby Clarke. Joe Watson and Ed Van Impe right from the start. In the NHL of the seventies, this is vital. No longer does a coach rule with an iron hand and a minor league clause in every players contract The old days of the six-team NHL establishment when a $12.000 salary could be halved by a trip to the AHL are gone forever.Coaches have been told to &ldquo;get lost", when certain super stars didn&rsquo;t like a particular line change. Motivation, conditioning, and a system the particular team&rsquo;s per-sonnel is suited to have become the three R&rsquo;s of the profession.As the 1976-77 season got underway five NHL teams had different coaches than a year ago.John Ferguson was embarking upon his first full season after relieving Ron Stewart in January of 1976. at the helm of the Rangers. Emile Francis, the general manager of the Rangers a year ago. was back in harness, doubling as both GM and coach of the St. Louis Blues. Ken Schinkel had replaced Marc Boileau at Pittsburgh, and the Washington Capitals&rsquo; Tom McVie was starting his first full season after debuting in mid-campaign.BEST COACHES STILL PRODUCING CUP CONTENDERS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03596/4126659-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="929" height="953"><figcaption class="caption-body">Scotty Bowman has the best hockey talent. (Photos by Bruce Bennett)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011028/4126652-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="650" height="1336"><figcaption class="caption-body">Coaches like Billy Reay of Chicago, left, and L.A.&rsquo;s Bob Pulford, right, haven&rsquo;t won a cup but their clubs were contenders last year. Philly&rsquo;s Fred Shero has twice sipped from the Stanley Cup and has the kind of hockey club that could do it again this or next year.</figcaption></div>The newly mined Colorado Rockies tapped Johnny Wilson, former Red Wing and WHA coach, to direct their team. In the offseason Wilson had bounced from Cleveland to Florida to St. Paul. When the opportunity came to return to the senior league, he jumped at it.Despite the five coaching changes the NHL scene seems relatively stable in comparison to some seasons. Only Ferguson and McVie were complete rookies when they were hired last year. Francis, who likes to coach even when his duties in the front office don&rsquo;t really call for bench duty, had been the Rangers mentor on and off since 1965-66. Schinkel was merely coming to the rescue of a team he had previously coached, and with whom he was scouting.Coaches&hellip;Without attempting to rate the masterminds. Scotty Bowman. Fred Shero, Bob Pulford. Phil Maloney and Al Arbour are head and shoulders over the field This may seem unfair to such veterans as Francis and Billy Reay. but the question remains&mdash;has hockey changed and passed these men by?Bowman, never easy to understand. works with the best personnel in hockey, the loaded Montreal Canadiens. But he has a pressurefilled, must-win-at-all-costs situation, in an ethnic situation which demands French heroes. His juggling act with 34 lines in the final game against Philadelphia last spring, and his plethora of combinations in Team Canada&rsquo;s win over the gallant Czechs, demonstrates his technical grasp.The Shero system beat the Russians in January of 1976 and it stood the NHL on its collective heads for three seasons. Shero&rsquo;s forechecking style of play, copied from the Toronto Maple Leafs of the late forties, forced Bowman and the Canadiens to opt for more defense in order to win last year.Freddie is not afraid of hiring assistant coaches to help him. Many NHL types don&rsquo;t want the rival in the wings, but Freddie pushed for Mike Nykoluk and embraced Barry Ashbee. His players believe in him &mdash; even when he gets tough on them. He is a winner who won everywhere he coached m thirteen years in the minors, before he got his chance. In a sense, the Shero emergence signalled the begining of a new era of recognition for coaching in North America.Bob Pulford&rsquo;s genius gained recognition when he did such a fine job with a forest of nobodies who populated Team USA in the Canada Cup. He applies the Toronto system and makes the other guys make the mistake first. It is perfect for a team with a limited attack, which is the situation with Los Angeles.Al Arbour made the Islanders a contender by meshing conditioning with a system built on a mini-Flyer approach. Defense is first with Al, but he shows good appreciation for attack&mdash;and developed the line of Bryan Trottier. Billy Harris and Clark Gillies.There is pressure to win in New York, unlike even Montreal, because of the Rangers failure since 1940. Although the Islanders are now number one, they inherit some of the pressure of the Rangers&rsquo; misses in the eyes of the fans.Phil Maloney took over a chaotic situation in Vancouver, restored order, and &ldquo;stole&rdquo; a pennant in the weak Smythe Division in 1974-75. He has built desire, team character and his defense all at once. His decision to gamble on rookie Curt Ridley in goal in the playoffs last year took courage &mdash; and it may be the cornerstone of the Canucks&rsquo; chances this year.<h2>WHO WILL WIN THE NHL. WHA RACES?</h2>Next week in THE HOCKEY NEWS we will publish the results of our yearly poll of hockey experts in both the NHL and WHA on how the 1976-77 league races will turn out. See how the best hockey writers in the country rate the teams and races. DON&rsquo;T MISS IT!!!<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-02883/4126645-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="1352" height="1331"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-04357/4126638-1-eng-US/f0003-042.jpg" title="f0003-04" width="654" height="1336"></div> &#9632;

f0003-03

NHL Coaching Becoming More Stable, But…

<div class="byline">Ken McKenzie&#x2019;s</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011079/4126711-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="500" height="501"></div>&bull; THE FIRST CANADA CUP tournament held last month proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that international hockey is the coming thing. It&rsquo;s what the fans want and now that they&rsquo;ve had the opportunity to witness such play, they will demand an inter-national series of some kind on a regular basis. To be a truly international series additional nations will have to be added. Countries such as Poland. West jf and East Germany, possibly Austria, Yugoslavia and Switzerland will have to be in&rsquo;&rsquo; eluded in time. Whether the &aelig; tourney should be played every four or two years is someting else that will have to be decided in&rsquo; time. Anyway the 1976 H tourney was a success &hellip;. Close to 10 million Canadians or nearly half of the entire &Iacute; population of the country witnessed the Russia-Canada game on Sept. 11 over the CTV network. This is the largest audience ever to watch a television program in Canada&hellip; Rookie Paul is Holmgren made such an impression at the I Philadelphia Flyers training camp that he&rsquo;s the sole newcomer likely to crash the club&rsquo;s lineup. The six foot three inch, 215 pound right winger played briefly with the Flyers last March before he reinjured an eye. &ldquo;I can count on one hand guys I&rsquo;ve either coached or played against who, on their very first shift I knew would make it,&rdquo; said coach Fred Shero. &ldquo;Mel Bridgman was one. Jean Rateile is two. Gordie Howe and Doug Harvey make four. And Holmgren is five".. Bobby Hull of the Winnipeg Jets proved once again during the Canada Cup series that he&rsquo;s still the most popular player in the game today&hellip; Washington Capitals might easily be the most improved team in the NHL this season&hellip;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021034/4126704-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="308" height="509"><figcaption class="caption-body">Blaine Stoughton</figcaption></div>&bull; AN UNUSUAL happening in major league sports took place this season when the Cincinnati Stingers lowered their ticket prices in the upper level of the Coliseum from $4.25 to $3.25 and also from $6.25 to $5 25 on the sides&hellip;The NHL should look into the playoff formula which would make the 12th team in the playoffs a wild card, rather than providing entry into the playoffs for the first three teams in each of the four divisions, regardless of the points they accumulate. It makes for greater fan interest&hellip; Bill Torrey, general manager of the New York I Islanders, says: &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to get better because our division rivals are going to be better&rdquo; Torrey has done an outstanding job in building up the Islanders..Tom Osenton, newly appointed public relations director of the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States. Tom will contribute a column to THE HOCKEY NEWS on the Amateur Scene&hellip;Bill MacFarland, former president of the Western Hockey League and recently the top executive of the Phoenix Roadrunners, should do an outstanding job as president of the World Hockey Association. The WHA is in much stronger shape right now than it ever has been in the past&hellip;Toronto-Dominion Bank, one of the sponsors of the Canada Cup telecasts, is still remembered in advertising circles for the original commercials it did featuring Russian dialogue and English sub-titles in the Soviet-Team Canada series of 1974. The T-D Bank was one of the major sponsors of that series&hellip;Even though they have no club to cheer for the California Seals Booster Club is still active. In fact they&rsquo;re making junkets to Los Angeles and Vancouver to see Cleveland Barons (the old Seals) play during the upcoming season&hellip;Koho and Finair sponsored a charity golf tournament for the benefit of the Huntington Long Island Hospital. Koho prexy, Warren Amendola reports several thousand dollars earned, and with Rangers and Islanders invited, more than 30 players attended.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-03929/4126697-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="331" height="481"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bill Torrey</figcaption></div>&bull; TORONTO MAPLE LEAF followers look for Darryl Sittler to have his greatest season yet and lead the team to the Stanley Cup finals&hellip; Munson Campbell, president of the Colorado Rockies (nee Kansas City Scouts) says that if anyone had asked him if he could organize a National Hockey League team in six weeks, he would have suggested the cuckoo&rsquo;s nest. Nevertheless, the team will be ready as the season starts and Campbell maintains they&rsquo;ll give a good account of themselves&hellip; Lefty McFadden, longtime general manager of the Dayton Gems and more recently assistant general manager of the Washington Capitals. is back in Dayton again and was named to the club&rsquo;s board of directors recently&hellip; Don Ruck was named to the board of directors of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Ruck, vice-president of the National Hockey League, is responsible for the NHL&rsquo;s television marketing and licensing divisions&hellip; Gilles Gratton has looked good at the New York Rangers&rsquo; training camp. He and John Davidson will battle for goalkeeping position Bill Dewitt Jr. of the Cincinnati Stingers thinks Blaine Stoughton has the potential to be one of the outstand performers in the World Hockey Association. The Stingers signed the former Toronto Leaf to a long-term contract.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04827/4126690-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="326" height="481"><figcaption class="caption-body">Darryl Sittler</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0004-01

PASSING THE PUCK

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-05" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05688/4126742-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg"></div>Vachon Was Tops In Canada CupNot many goaltenders make it to the NHL. Not many are chosen to Team Canada. Not many start out as a fourth-string goalie and make it to No. 1. Not many play the full schedule in international championship competition. Not many record two shutouts in seven appearances. Not many play 139 consecutive minutes of shutout hockey. Not many save a team from &ldquo;sudden death&rdquo; and not many record a 1.43 goals against average for seven games.Yet. there was a man who did all this. It happened in the recent Canada Cup series. It happened against the best and it was accomplished by the best. The man was Rogatien Vachon.The Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; goalie, a Montreal Canadien castoff, probably played the best goal of his life. He did it i for his country, his team and his friends. Vachon knows in his heart that he i played the best of any Team Canada member. The fans know it, the players know it. Unfortunately, the fans and the &Iuml; players did not vote for the MVP of the series. The voting was left up to others.The &ldquo;others&rdquo; made a mistake, a grave I mistake. They awarded Bobby Orr the highest accolade for his two-goal perforai mance in a 6-0 rout of Czechoslavakia. Not too good for the &ldquo;best &rsquo; in a seven-game series. Whether this was an oversight or intentional, it was an error.The award belongs to Vachon and believe the most educated hockey fans realize this. This error must be rectified. I but how I don&rsquo;t know.A truly great person and athlete has been robbed and since we know who the &ldquo;thief&rdquo; is, we should make him return I the property to its rightful owner.LAURA RAPINO,New York, N.Y.Canada Cup Games Topped EverythingI would like to comment on the Canada Cup series. I am an avid hockey of the Philadelphia Flyers and have seen many hockey games, but the Canada Cup games topped all others.I have rarely seen such puck control, crisp passes, great skating and great teamwork.Team Canada played as though they had been together for a year. There was superb goaltending by Rogatien Vachon, who deserves much more recognition than he gets. Scotty Bowman did an excellent job coaching.Fighting, which is common in most WHA and NHL games was almost non-existent There was just good, clean hockey, played the way hockey should be playedFRANCES BORTZ,Reading, Pa.Anthem Singer Valuable ResourceI enjoyed the Canada Cup series, as was available on TV over the Public Broadcast System. The New York papers gave this important event very little coverage, which is disappointing.On a positive note, I was astounded and pleased to see Roger Doucet singing the Czech national anthem from memory. Judging by the TV closeups. I think the Czech players were also impressedOver the years, I have always looked forward to his stirring renditions of the Canadian and American national anthems prior to games in Montreal.Is Mr. Doucet a professional entertainer? If he ever decides to start a religion and as long as he continues to sing, he would have at least one disciple. Mr. Doucet is a valuable Canadian natural resource.TOM UNGER, Pelham. N.Y.Potvin Wrong Choice For Norris TrophyI think the NHL made an error in naming Denis Potvin the winner of the Norris Trophy as the most effective defenseman.I feel that the Norris Trophy should go to the best all-around defenseman. not the best offensive one or, for that matter, the best defensive one.It should not have been given to Potvin because he is defensively weak. With all due respect to the man, he can play strong two-way defense. But, he has lit-&mdash;1 tie or no effect on the Islanders when he does play two-way defense. He is at his best when he is all offense. I can prove all these points with some minor statistics.Denis Potvin had a plus 12 in his plus-minus rating, but plus-minus ratings really don&rsquo;t mean a thing when you&rsquo;re on a strong contending team. So. in order to backup what I say about Potvin s weakness. I will use another set of statistics.Ron Andrews, the chief statistician of the NHL. figured out a way to measure the effectiveness of a player without it having any bearing on his club&rsquo;s effectiveness.He took the percentages of goals scored when each player is on the ice compared to the total number of goals scored. Then, he subtracted the percentage of goals scored against the team when each player was on the ice.Do that to Potvin&rsquo;s stats and you&rsquo;ll find that two years ago when the Islanders were only in third place and Potvin had 76 points, he had a plus 4.9 per cent.But, last year when the Islanders fin-sihed first, and Potvin had over 90 points, he had a woeful minus 9.4 per cent.That proves my theory. When Denis Potvin plays good all-around hockey, he does not move the Islanders. When he plays more offensively, he boosts the Islanders but loses on defense.Let us not forget that the past Norris winner, Bobby Orr, lifted his team on both strong offensive and defensive hockey.TERRY PARKER, Washington. D.C.Winnipeg Line Best In WorldThere is little doubt in the minds of people who have seen them play that the line of Bobby Hull. Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson is the most exciting is not the best line in the world.Their passing has been compared with the Russians, as is their style of play and zig-zagging all over the ice. But. for raw speed, they are unmatchable.Led by the Golden Jet. the line certainly has the potential to score everytime they&rsquo;re on the ice and often make the opposing team appear shorthanded when they have their passing in gear.When it comes to shooting, Hull and Hedberg have two of the deadliest shots in the game.Ulf Nilsson, the center, is usually the architect of many of his linemates&rsquo; goals and is not overlooked as one of hockey&rsquo;s finest playmakers. He has an incredible 170 assists in his first two seasons.His wingers are usually the ones who cash in on his passes and the two have a combined total of 233 goals in two seasons.In fact. Anders Hedberg may have more raw talent than anyone in the game besides Bobby Orr. Besides being able to shoot like Hull, he is probably the fastest player on the planet, a superb backchecker. a deadly powerplay man as well as the most feared penalty killer in the league. His over-all performance on and off the ice have already made him a superstar.DUKE ASMUNDSON,Winnipeg, Man.Blaine Stoughton &#9632;

f0004-05

FAN FORUM

<div class="byline">BY BILL FLEISCHMAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011110/4126797-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">JIM WATSON&hellip; On Shelf With Broken Cheekbone</figcaption></div>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;After a lazy, non-news summer, the Flyers finally had some excitement. But it was the worst kind of news: Jimmy Watson, their most talented defenseman and one of the NHL&rsquo;s best, would miss the season opener.Watson&rsquo;s hope of helping lead Team Canada to the Canada Cup was crushed in the time it takes for a hockey puck travelling at Nolan Ryan - fastball speed to strike a face.Watson, 24, had worked all summer preparing for the long-awaited Canada Cup series. After a gruelling three-week training camp, he was perhaps Team Canada&rsquo;s steadiest defenseman.Then, in the second game against Team USA, a Gary Sargent shot smacked Watson near the right eye. The pride of Smithers, B.C., crumpled to the Montreal Forum ice. As he lay there bleeding, you knew the damage was more than just a cut.Two days later, following surgery to repair a fractured cheekbone, Watson recalled the terrifying moment from his Montreal General Hospital room.&ldquo;I felt like I&rsquo;d been hit by a tank. I just felt myself sinking, sort of dazed, waking up and drifting off. The pressure on the eye was unbearable.&ldquo;The thing is, I saw the shot coming. Rogie (Vachon) was shouting &rsquo;Get out of the way!&rsquo; But I didn&rsquo;t think it would rise so fast.&rdquo;&ldquo;This is more disappointing than anything else. I&rsquo;m very discouraged. I worked all summer to get into top shape. Then I worked another month to make the team. I&rsquo;m on top of the world with the honor of representing my country. But just as things get hot. I&rsquo;m out of it. The opportunity of a lifetime down the drain.&rdquo;Doctors were almost positive Watson&rsquo;s eyesight wouldn&rsquo;t be affected, which means there will be other Canada Cup type chances for Watson. The immediate problem for the Flyers was finding a temporary replacement to fit in with Joe Watson, Andre (Moose) Dupont. Larry Goodenough, Tom Bladon and Jack Mcllhargey.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing to panic about,&rdquo; said GM Keith Allen, who also served as Team Canada&rsquo;s GM. &ldquo;We think Terry Murray can fill in adequately. This should also give us a longer look at Mark Suzor.&rdquo;Murray is the efficient young defenseman who survived the shock of a California Golden Seals&rsquo; release to play like a AHL All-Star for Richmond. In nine games, including playoffs, with the Flyers. Murray proved he is NHL caliber.Suzor is the Flyers&rsquo; top draft choice. The lad with the Paul Bunyan build is touted as a smooth offensive player, but. like most young rearguards, his defense needs polishing.Other major questions as the Flyers launched their quest to relieve Montreal&rsquo;s Canadiens ot the Stanley Cup involved the health of Bernie Parent and Rick MacLeish.Both key players reported in good condition. Parent spent the summer in Wildwood, N.J., as skipper of his charter fishing boat. He was telling everyone that he hadn&rsquo;t been as anxious for camp to start since his rookie year.The Flyers planned to work Parent hard in exhibition games to determine if he has regained the timing that vanished with early season neck surgery and the chaotic quarter-final playoff series against Toronto. Presuming Parent will be at least close to the award-winning goaltender of not long ago, either Wayne Stephenson or Gary Inness would be available for trade.Stephenson, who played so well last season, moved to the head of the trade-bait class with a rare, Philadelphia holdout. Stephenson and his agent. Mark Stewart insisted the Flyers had agreed to renegotiate the contract that Stephenson had renegotiated early last season. The frequently glum goalie declined to report to camp on time.An optimistic report on MacLeish&rsquo;s knee injury was filed by Matt DiPaolo, the Flyers&rsquo; newly hired physical therapist. DiPaolo said MacLeish&rsquo;s knee, which required surgery last February, should be as strong as ever.During early workouts at the University of Pennsylvania, MacLeish was skating with his familiar grace and speed.Our MistakeIn the September issue of THE HOCKEY NEWS we regret that the price listed for the Super Stats lineup cards and the address both were incorrect. The price should have been $3.50 not $3.00. The address should have read: Super Stats, 11800 Brookdale Lane, Studio City, Calif., 90210.Also in the September issue, we printed under Cupolo&rsquo;s Mail Order House ad the information that buyers should add 50 for postage and handling. This was incorrect. Buyers should add 5% for postage and handling. &#9632;

f0006-01

Flyers Choose Newcomer Murray To Replace Injured Jim Watson

Following are the latest player movements in hockey:NATIONAL LEAGUETORONTO - Doug Favell, goaler, sold outright to Colorado. Mike Pelyk, defenseman. returned to Leafs from Cincinnati of WHA after NHL club agreed to take over remaining four years of his contract. In exchange Cincinnati withdrew all claims to amateur defenseman, Randy Carlyle, who signed pro contract with Leafs.MONTREAL - Maurice Barrette, goaler, Mike Busniuk, Gilles Lupien, Brian Engblom and Chuck Luksa, defensemen, Don Bowse, Pat Hughes, Kelly Greenbank, Pierre Mondou, Dennis Polich, Rod Schutt, Gord McTavish, Ron Wilson and Cliff Cox, forwards, assigned to Nova Scotia of AHL. Richard Gosselin, forward, left camp to play in Switzerland. John Tavella, forward, returned to Sault Ste. Marie of OHA Junior League. Ed Clarey, Pierre Brossard, Bill Wells and Mike Wanchuk, forwards, assigned to Kalamazoo of IHL.COLORADO - Ron Andruff and Sean Shanahan, forwards, purchased outright from Montreal. Tom Edur, defenseman, signed as free agent from WHA. Ken Murray, defenseman. sold to Rhode Island of AHLDETROIT - Mickey Redmond, forward, placed on voluntary retired list. Pete McDuffe, goaler. Frank Bathe, Larry Giroux and Jim Nahrgang, defensmen, Don Martineau, Mike Korney, Ken Mann and Bob Krieger, forwards, assigned to Kansas City of CHL.ATLANTA - Ken Nilsson, forward, signed to NHL contract from Djurgardens Team of Swedish Hockey League. Mark Earp and Lornt M&ouml;lleken, goalers, Larry Carriere, Peter Brown, Dick Spannbauer, Dave Hanson, Rick Hodgson, Tom Lingskog and Glen Surbey, defensemen. Mike Bradbury, Dale McMullin and John Sturges, forwards, assigned to Tulsa of CHL.VANCOUVER - Gary Smith, goaler, traded to Minnesota in exchange for Cesare Maniago, goaler. Tracy Pratt, defenseman. traded to Colorado for future considerations. Bob Manno, forward, first amateur draft pick, signed to pro contract. Danny Seguin, forward, sold outright to Rhode Island of AHL.LOS ANGELES - Steve Clippingdale, forward, first amateur draft pick, signed to pro contract.MINNESOTA - Dennis Giannini, forward, sent to Rhode Island of AHLST. LOUIS - Rod Seiling, defenseman, signed as free agent after failing to agree to contract with Toronto.CHICAGO - Bobby Sheehan, forward, released outright.N.Y. RANGERS - Mike McEwen, defenseman, third amateur draft pick, signed to pro contract.WASHINGTON - Guy Charron, forward, signed to new contract after being placed on free agent list. Nelson Pyatt, forward, signed by Colorado after failing to get contract with Caps WORLD HOCKEY ASSN.SAN DIEGO - Ken Lockett, goaler, and Gregg Boddy, defenseman, jumped NHL Vancouver club to sign with Mariners. Brad Rhiness, forward. 1975 first amateur draft pick, signed to pro contract from Kingston of OHA Major Junior. Tim O&rsquo;Connell, forward, signed to pro contract from Univ, of Vermont. Ray Adduono, forward, and Bob Wall, defenseman. traded to Minnesota in return for Paul Shmyr, defenseman. and Gerry Pinder; forward Mariners also gave cash in dealQUEBEC - Andre Boudrias and Paulin Bordeleau, forwards, jumped NHL Vancouver club to sign with Nordiques. Gord Gallant, forward, trade to Minnesota in exchange for WHA rights to Boudrias.INDIANAPOLIS - Dave Keon, forward, traded to Minnesota in return for Gary MacGregor, forward, and future considerations. Leif Holmquist, goaler, announced he as staying at home in Sweden and was retiring.EDMONTON - Ken Broderick, goaler, jumped NHL Boston club as free agent to sign with Oilers. Barry Wilkins, defenseman. jumped NHL Pittsburgh club, to sign with Oilers. Glen Sather, forward, jumped NHL St. Louis club to sign with Oilers. Following players were signed as free agents by Oilers: Barry Merrell, Pete Laframboise, Tony Featherstone and Bob Walton, Don Borgeson, forwards Doug Kerslake, defenseman. and Wayne Carleton, forward, released outright. Wayne Muloin, defenseman, sent to Hershey of AHL. Dennis Patterson, defenseman, signed as free agent from Kansas City Scouts. Dave Kryskow, forward, signed as free agent from Atlanta Flames. Larry Hornung, defenseman, acquired from Winnipeg of WHA. Larry Langevin, defenseman. signed from Univ, of MinnesotaCALGARY - Francois Lacombe, defenseman. traded to Quebec for future considerations. Jack Carlson, Mike Antonovich and Butch Deadmarsh, forwards, traded to Minnesota in exchange for Jim Harrison, forward. Antonovich jumped back from Minnesota North Stars to join Fighting Saints. Harrison refused to report to Cowboys claiming his WHA contract was breached by trade from Cleveland to Calgary. Don Tannahill, forward, failed to report to training camp and placed on suspended list. Gavin Kirk, forwards, also refused to report and was released and claimed by Birmingham Bulls. Richard Lemieux, forward, jumped from NHL Atlanta club to sign WHA contract.MINNESOTA - Michel Belhumeur, goaler. jumped Washington NHL club to sign WHA contract with Fighting Saints. Louis Levasseur, goaler. secured from Birmingham. Bryan Maxwell, defenseman, traded to Cincinnati in return for John McKenzie, forward.CINCINNATI - Jamie Histop, forward, signed to pro contract from Univ, of New Hampshire. Blaine Stoughton, forward, jumped NHL Toronto club to sign with Stingers. &#9632;

Hockey Players On The Move…

<div class="byline">BY DONALD BERNS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-01990/4126852-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROD SEILING&hellip; Signed By Blues As Free Agent</figcaption></div>ST. LOUIS&mdash;The St. Louis Blues of 1976-77 are definitely the hockey team of Emile Francis.He didn&rsquo;t put the team together. As Francis said. &ldquo;Some of the players have played for me, some I know quite a bit about, some a little and some not at all.&rsquo;&rsquo;But the Blues are a team Francis will mold and shape into the precise form he wants. He swept into St. Louis several months ago and has taken complete control of the Blues&rsquo; operation. He is coach, general manager, vice president, a member of the board of directors and part-owner.The Blues, therefore, are Francis&rsquo; team. He will gain credit for their successes and take blame for their failures. The man&rsquo;s competitive spirit and energy are such that he is determined to be worthy of more credit than blame.The personnel inherited by Francis are a promising lot &mdash; excellent young defensemen. some big scorers among the forwards and a couple of young goalies with chances of causine real excitement.The Blues probably are strongest in the corps of defensemen. Francis&rsquo; first personnel move was the signing of Rod Seiling, who became a free agent after completing his contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Blues later agreed to give the Maple Leafs a second-round draft choice in some future year as compensation for Seiling.Seiling, long associated with Francis on the New York Rangers, is one of three solid veterans on the team along with Rick Smith, acquired last season just before the Minnesota Fighting Saints fought their last battle, and Bob Plager, the only player who has been with the Blues since their first training camp 10 seasons ago.The fine young defensemen at Francis&rsquo; disposal already are a cohesive NHL unit, including muscular Bob Gassoff, exciting Bob Hess and steady Bruce Affleck, who was slowed by an emergency appendectomy during training camp. The best of the rest is Jamie Masters, who perhaps would have an easier time in making the NHL in another organization.Ed Staniowski, who had three spectacular games against the Buffalo Sabres in last season&rsquo;s playoffs, apparently is going to handle much of the goaltending load with Yves Belanger probably the other goaltender. The Blues also have steady Eddie Johnston and Doug Grant.The big scorers on whom the Blues must rely are Garry Unger and Chuck Lefley. They are the two top talents among the forwards, and a drop in their production would be a serious problem.A sculpture of Unger now stands outside the St. Louis arena to honor his NHL record of playing more consecutive games than any other player in league history. The string is continuing.After Unger at center the Blues have Lefley&rsquo;s flamboyant linemate. Derek Sanderson, hard-working veteran Red Berenson, top choice Bernie Federko plus Larry Patey and hopefuls Doug Palazzari and Mitch Babin.Behind Lefley on the left side there are Dave Hrechkosy, veterans Ted Irvine and Floyd Thomson and draft choices John Smrke and Brian Sutter.The Blues at right wing are full of Question marks: that is. there are several players with large unrealized potentials.That group does not include Claude Larose, the perfect linemate for Sanderson and Lefley. Beyond Larose the Blues have Bob MacMillan, a versatile player who is good and getting better, talented Pierre Plante, who had a bad season last season and must prove himself again, Jerry Butler, who had injury problems last season and must work hard to use his talents and establish himself more solidly, plus Rick Bourbonnais and Brian Ogilvie, who have been fringe players in the NHL but appear to have more abilities than fringe players.With Francis coaching the team and running the entire show the Blues are likely to have a stability they haven&rsquo;t experienced at any time in the previous nine years of the franchise. Francis may decide he needs other players than those he inherited but he has the material for a good start. &#9632;

f0007-01

Francis Molding Blues Into His Kind Of Team

<div class="byline">&#x2014; BY BILL LIBBY</div><h2>A Man For All Seasons&hellip;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011101/4126890-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="464" height="516"></div>LATE LAST SEASON, Stan Mikita came off the ice after a game, came down the corridor slowly, clomping clumsily on his skates across the carpet, 8 and in the dressing room, dropped to the stool in s front of his locker as though he hoped never to have to get up again.One of the most clever and competitve players ever, he smiled a little and said, &ldquo;Another night. another dollar.&rdquo; &ldquo;Is it getting harder to go on?&rdquo; he I was asked. &ldquo;It isn&rsquo;t hard&mdash;except when you get in shape, get hurt, lay off, get out of shape, then try to get going again,&rdquo; he said.He was almost 36 years old and was in his 18th &auml; season as a professional player, all with the Chicago &auml; Black Hawks. Earlier in the season he had missed 30 s games with a torn muscle in his right arm. When he returned to duty, he said, &ldquo;1 think the heart is there, but the legs aren&rsquo;t.&rdquo;A small man, of course, five feet nine inches and I 170 pounds, Stan said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never had the stamina to &Iacute; go more than a minute at full speed. Now I can go only about a half-minute. Up the ice once, down the ice once, then back to the bench for some oxygen.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-02991/4126883-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="903" height="975"><figcaption class="caption-body">Photo by Bruce Bennett Veteran Stan Mikita continues to be a legend with the Black Hawks, but he admits it&rsquo;s getting tougher every year. Mikita is starting his 18th NHL campaign in Chicago.</figcaption></div>He said the arm was sore, &ldquo;like a dull toothache.&rdquo; No one ever doubted his heart.He has suffered from a bad back for many years. At times it, too, ached like a dull toothache, especially when he tried to turn over in bed. and he had trouble sleeping. He has played more games than he cares to count strapped in a confining corset.The back condition is chronic and hasn&rsquo;t gotten much better he confessed. &ldquo;It will be with me the rest of my life,&rdquo; he said. Then he smiled that little smile and said, &ldquo;If I&rsquo;d of known I&rsquo;d live this long, I&rsquo;d have taken care of it.&rdquo;The arm and his all-around condition had been slow coming back, he said. &ldquo;The arm gets numb when I sleep and turn over on it. It hurts when I wake up and wake it up. It&rsquo;s been sore for about nine years. I can&rsquo;t extend it fully or use it freely.&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;I guess when you get old, you take longer to heal. It&rsquo;s sure harder to get back in good condition. I don&rsquo;t guess I&rsquo;ll ever be in the shape I was in eight or ten years ago,&rdquo; he concluded. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll have to make up for what I&rsquo;ve lost in my body with my mind.&rdquo; Eight or ten years ago he was a first all-star, the most valuable player in the league and the Lady Byng trophy-winner as the most gentlemanly star two seasons straight. Now he goes on guts and genius. It&rsquo;s too bad so many have forgotton how good he was.While Mikita was hurt last season. Fred Shero. the mastermind in Philadelphia, said you couldn&rsquo;t judge the team in Chicago &ldquo;because the brains of the operation is missing.&rdquo; Asked about this. Mikita laughed and said, &ldquo;I have more guts than brains or I&rsquo;d have gotten out of this sport a long time ago. I just hate to go.&rdquo;When he goes, he will be badly missed on and off the ice. Born in Czechoslovakia, settled in Canada as a boy, a resident in the USA in suburban Chicago now, he is a model citizen in and out of season and the 1976 winner of the Lester Patrick Award for his outstanding service to his sport and his community.Mikita, who with his wife Jill has four children&mdash;Meg, Scott, Jane and Chris &mdash; works with other children in the Special Olympics for retarded youngsters and his own Hockey School for Hearing Impaired Boys, the latter his pet project.He explains. &ldquo;I have a friend, Irv Tiahnybik. whose son developed a hearing defect from spinal meningitis. The kid drew back from the world and had no confidence in himself. I went to work on him. I skated with him, taught him hockey, took him to meet Bobby Hull and Tony Esposito. He came out of his shell and seemed to come back to life. It was satisfying.&ldquo;Irv asked me about running a summer hockey school for similar youngsters and it sounded like a good thing to do. He&rsquo;s a businessman and he has business friends in the Chicago area who support the school. It doesn&rsquo;t cost the kids a cent and every summer 60 to 80 kids who can&rsquo;t hear at all or only a little, but who somehow hear about our school, come from 10 to 20 states to take part.&ldquo;IT&rsquo;S NO PROBLEM communicating with the kids. Some can hear a little, some can read lips or understand sign language. We develop Our own sign language. We show them what to do and they do it. They love it. It&rsquo;s something special and it&rsquo;s for them. When they get home and back to regular school, other kids will talk about their trips, but these kids talk about playing hockey with Tony Esposito. Keith Magnuson and Dennis Hull.&ldquo;I remember when I came from Czechoslovakia to Canada at the age of eight, knew no one and was made to feel like an outsider by the other boys. I couldn&rsquo;t understand what they were saying in their language so I might as well have been deaf. I.have some feeling for what these lads are going through. There are professional athletes with hearing problems. Running back Larry Brown of the Redskins is one. We&rsquo;ve developed kids who have come close to making it as pros. But that&rsquo;s not our big goal.&rdquo;&ldquo;WE WANT TO MAKE these kids feel normal &mdash; wanted and accepted. We want to show them they can do things others can do so they can be confident about the Uves that lay ahead of them. We want to give them an exciting experience and make them smile. The first time one of those glum kids that comes to us breaks out in a grin is all the reward any one could ask. Their laughter is the best music in the world.&rdquo;As for the award, he said, &ldquo;It &rsquo;s an honor, but others deserve it as much or more. Other players give their time freely for the school. Many others take part in the Special Olympics program. Hockey&rsquo;s given me a good life and a chance to do some good and if I didn&rsquo;t take advantage of that opportunity, it would be a waste.&rdquo;The sad thing is that he feels bad about neglecting his own children. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the hockey life and travelling. A lot is left to the wife. When I&rsquo;m home I&rsquo;m with my family as much as I can. On the road I talk to them on the telephone all the time. But we re missing a lot together.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0008-01

Hockey Ad Lib

<div class="byline">By BOB VERDI</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-03839/4126921-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Photo By Bruce Bennett TONY ESPOSITO&hellip; Hawks&rsquo; Hopes Rest With Him</figcaption></div>CHICAGOTommy Ivan, who wasn&rsquo;t supposed to be generally manging this season, and Billy Reay. who wasn&rsquo;t supposed to be coaching, seem to agree on the value of Bobby Orr, who wasn&rsquo;t supposed to be playing.&ldquo;We would have liked to make more changes than we did,&rdquo; said Ivan, &ldquo;but sometimes that isn&rsquo;t possible. I do like the one big change we made, though. People like Bobby Orr come along once in a lifetime.&rdquo;&ldquo;And I.&rdquo; echoed Reay. &ldquo;am thrilled to have him. The kind of a player he is. the type of a guy he is, he should help every other player on our club. He should make our hockey team.&rdquo;The Orr Era thus has begun in Chicago, and by saying that No. 4 should make the team Reay means not the Bobby Orr will be able to qualify for the Black Hawks, but that the Black Hawks should be able to qualify as a team with him around.&ldquo;The past two years, we have struggled&hellip;! don&rsquo;t like to say it. but it&rsquo;s true.&rdquo; said Reay. dean of NHL coaches. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t believe that in view of that, that players won&rsquo;t look at a guy like Orr and put out all the more.&rdquo;There has been, in recent seasons, some question about the Black Hawk desire, the Black Hawk talent, the Black Hawk future. Things were supposed to change drastically after last season, but really, the only big alteration was the addition of Orr. Will it be enough to vault the club back into classification as an elite franchise?Well&hellip;GOALKEEPING: Tony Esposito is back to play most of the schedule, which is fortunate. The backup situation is uncertain Gilles Villemure did not enjoy last winter, &ldquo;and he came to camp overweight,&rdquo; according to Reay. Michel Dumas, Reay indicates, could bump him for No. 2.DEFENSE: Orr. even at reduced speed, figures to run the game as he did with Team Canada. Phil Russell is a likely partner. Dale Talion and Keith Magnuson made a good pair last year. Bill White&rsquo;s status is very gray, because of nerve damage incurred from an injury late last season. Treatment didn&rsquo;t help much. Bob Murray and Dave Logan are young candidates.CENTER: Stan Mikita. Ivan Boldirev and Pit Martin have jobs locked up, but a fourth center musi appear. Bobby Sheehan was dropper during the summer, and the Hawk: are hoping that their No. 1 draft choice of a year ago. Greg Vaydik can fill in. He was sick or injured almost all of 1975-76.RIGHT WING: Reay is so worrier about this spot that he&rsquo;d like to move Martin over and keep him here if only center ice were more populated. Cliff Koroll is dependable can score, can check After that Alain Daigle might be able to declare himself&mdash;he&rsquo;s always getting scoring chances. Grant Muivey, a mature 20 gives the Hawks a little beef up front.LEFT WING: Lots of people in Chicago didn&rsquo;t think Dennis Hull would return, maybe even Dennis Hull. &ldquo;But just because I sold my house during the summer doesr&rsquo;t mean anything.&rdquo; said Hull. l&rsquo;ve sold houses before, you know.&rdquo; John Marks doesn&rsquo;t have a great scoring touch, but he does have desire and muscle: Darcy Rota, even though he isn&rsquo;t Reay &rsquo;s idea of a defensive gem does have the scoring idea.There certainly is reason for op timism in Chicago that Orr and all he stands for will emit nothing but positive vibes for a team which needed a heart transplant.Then again, other people stand back from the situation and think twice.&ldquo;What happens if instead of trying harder because Orr is around, all the Black Hawks try even 10 per cent less?&rdquo; wondered Philadelphia Flyer genius Fred Shero, who has said foryears that the Black Hawks are growing old, too fast, together. &ldquo;What has Chicago gained? If they all sit back and say Well, now we&rsquo;ve got Bobby Orr. let him do it,&rsquo; are the Black Hawks better off or worse off?&rdquo; Hmmm.HAWK TALK: Sheehan, the fleet center man, was released by the Black Hawks during the summer&mdash;not long after he was dropped by the Team USA club managed by Ivan. &#9632;

f0008-03

Hawks Hoping Orr Era Will Start Ice Revival

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011088/4126959-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="551" height="546"></div>STRONG POINTS: The goaltending of Gilles Meloche and Gary Simmons poses no problems for coach Jack Evans.Neither does the defense&hellip; if it can stay healthy. The return of Jim Neilson will help youngsters Bob Stewart, Mike Christie, Len Frig and Rick Hampton. Offensively, the club has no stickout.Anybody can and will score. Balance is the key. The 3M line of Dennis Maruk, Al MacAdam and Bob Murdoch is one to watch.Center ice strong with Maruk, Dave Gardner and Wayne Merrick.WEAK POINTS: Left wing, where only MacAdam is solid.Position could be solidified through trade channels before season is too old. Big question is whether right winger Jim Pappin can come back after season of relative inactivity and perk up offense. Another question is whether good rookies of last season can overcome soph jinx.NEW FACES: The Barons won&rsquo;t have too many of them. Pappin is coming back after a year of inactivity. No rookies are likely to break into the lineup for the start of the new season.OUTLOOK: Potentially, this could be a very good season for the club. A new city, a new building and a new attitude can make up for a lot of shortcomings.Should be able to stay within sight of a playoff spot well into the season. Players like Evans and play hard for him.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-02882/4126952-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="574" height="1207"><figcaption class="caption-body">JACK EVANS</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0010-01

CLEVELAND BARONS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-03644/4127088-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="375" height="382"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-04476/4127081-1-eng-US/f0010-042.jpg" title="f0010-04" width="366" height="383"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-05363/4127074-1-eng-US/f0010-052.jpg" title="f0010-05" width="364" height="379"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-06276/4127067-1-eng-US/f0010-062.jpg" title="f0010-06" width="375" height="384"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-07201/4127060-1-eng-US/f0010-072.jpg" title="f0010-07" width="368" height="381"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-08151/4127053-1-eng-US/f0010-082.jpg" title="f0010-08" width="363" height="384"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-09116/4127046-1-eng-US/f0010-092.jpg" title="f0010-09" width="380" height="383"></div><h2>ATLANTA FLAMES</h2>STRONG POINTS: Goaltending of Dan Bouchard and center-ice play of Tom Lysiak and Bill Clement. Curt Bennett and Eric Vail provide scoring strength from the left side. Penalty-killing of Clement and Tim Ecclestone is among the NHL&rsquo;s best. The team&rsquo;s young talent is impressive but may take time to develop.NEW FACES: Guy Chouinard, 19, looks ready at center. Rich Mulhern may provide the shot from point and the puck-moving ability which the club&rsquo;s defense has lacked. Right winger Rick Bowness and left winger Bob Simpson are other rookies who could help a lot.WEAK FOUNTS:Ring Kignt wing is me eternal problem.Considering its size, the team should play more aggressively. The Flames ire usually out-forechecked.OUTLOOK: The Flames could show substantial improvement if the rookies come through as expected. If they don&rsquo;t, third place and another 500 year are likely.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-1097/4127039-1-eng-US/f0010-102.jpg" title="f0010-10" width="232" height="202"></div><h2>BOSTON BRUINS</h2>STRONG POINTS: Gerry Cheevers and Gilles Gilbert in goal, with Cheevers playing a full season this year. They are as good or better than any pair around. Also, Boston will have Jean Rateile and Brad Park for a full season. They are good down the middle with centers Rateile, Gregg Sheppard, Peter McNab and No. 1 draft pick Clayton Pachal from New Westminster. Acquisition of McNab and Rick Doug Gibson could be a bonus.WEAK POINTS: No Orr, and as this is written, no compensation yet for him either. This could change the Bruins&rsquo; picture somewhat. They have a bunch of people coming off knee surgery, also, such as Wayne Cashman, Gibson. Bobby Schmautz and technically. Park, who came back and played the latter part of last season after knee surgery. Must also get strong contribution from Johnny Bucyk.NEW FACES: Middleton (for Ken Hodge), a gunner; McNab (for Andre Savard), playmaker; Pachal, No. 1 draft choice, center, left wing, penalty-killer, tough guy. Also Cheevers, who will be playing a full season this time.OUTLOOK: Bruins, despite the loss of Bobby Orr. should finish in the top half-dozen teams in the NHL, and should be the favorite to win the Adams division, unless Buffalo gets a Vezina goalkeeper.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-1177/4127032-1-eng-US/f0010-112.jpg" title="f0010-11" width="224" height="213"></div><h2>BUFFALO SABRES</h2>STRONG POINTS: Four NHL-proven centers in Gil Perreault. Don Luce, Fred Stanfield and Andre Savard. Plenty of firepower in two set lines: the French Connection (Perreault, Rick Martin and Rene Robert) and Luce-Craig Ramsay, Danny Gare and a big mobile defense.NEW FACES: Savard, from Boston (for Pete McNab) and possibly one of two second-year pros battling for a goaltending job &mdash; Sauve and Edwards.WEAK POINTS: The defense, one of the biggest in the NHL, still is young overall and makes mistakes due to lack of experience. Coach Floyd Smith is looking for a No. 1 goaltender to emerge from the quartet of Gerry Desjardins veteran Al Smith and the youngsters, Bob Sauve and Don Edwards.OUTLOOK: If the goaltending comes through, the defense improves and the forwards backcheck the way they have showed they can. the Sabres should challenge Boston for the Adams Division title and make a run at the Stanley Cup.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-1257/4127025-1-eng-US/f0010-122.jpg" title="f0010-12" width="237" height="238"></div><h2>CHICAGO HAWKS</h2>STRONG POINTS: Bobby Orr. obviously, for what he can do on the ice and in the locker room. Tony Esposito, who is more consistent in goal than the team in front of him. On defense, a crew of Orr. Phil, Russell, Keith, Dick Redmond, Dale Tallon and Bill White (if healthy) are better than most.WEAK POINTS: Not enough scoring. Left wing i thin; Dennis Hull and Darcy Rota must produce. Right wing besides Cliff Koroll is rather inoffensive. Center ice, with Stan Mikita. Ivan Boldirev and Pit Martin needs another man.OUTLOOK: If Orr stays healthy, and if the rest stay hungry, the Black Hawks should win the Conn Smythe Division without too many problems. After that, all those ifs take over.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-1341/4127018-1-eng-US/f0010-132.jpg" title="f0010-13" width="267" height="240"></div><h2>DETROIT RED WINGS</h2>STRONG POINTS: Jimmy Rutherford and Eddie Giacomin give th" club steady, dependable goaltending. The Wings stressed conditioning ir training camp and that should be a plus. Maloney. McKechnie. Libett Grant. Bergeron and Hextail form solid nucleus up front and Harper leader of a young defense corps, is the key defenseman.WEAK POINTS: Need another center (No. 1 draftchoice Fred Williams could solve that nagging problem), a dependable right winger and as always, an experienced defenseman. There&rsquo;s an overall lack of depth and balance once past the front line players.OUTLOOK: The club is aggressive and willing butmere are serious snoricomings ar some SKJII positions.Everybody must perform at peak levels if the Wings are to make the playoffs and that may be asking too much. It would help tremendously if youngsters Lapointe and Cameron blossom into genuine NHL defensemen.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-1432/4127011-1-eng-US/f0010-142.jpg" title="f0010-14" width="277" height="141"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES KINGS</h2>STRONG POINTS: Outstanding goaltending of Roggie Vachon and explosive attacking of centers Marcel Dionne and Butch Goring. If used, talented young defenseman Gary Sargent could add toughness and mobility to defense.NEW FACES: Rumored deal for a strong forward has not developed. but several candidates are up from minors an amateurs and one or two will make it. Glenn Goldu out of Montreal chain is top hopeful.WEAK POINTS: Lack of strong forwards. Lack c effective power-play. Inconsistency of defenmen Failure of young players to progress as fast as hoped.OUTLOOK: Rising club hit plateau last season butcame on again in playoffs. Montreal is out of reach, but Kings should duel Penguins for runnerup role in Norris Division and could pull away if some of the young talent matures.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-1529/4127004-1-eng-US/f0010-152.jpg" title="f0010-15" width="158" height="189"></div><h2>MONTREAL CANADIENS</h2>STRONG POINTS: The Canadiens don&rsquo;t really have anything else but strength. They are solid in goal, on defense and up front. Ken Dryden will likely handle the major share of the goaltending. The defense has a solid nucleus with Guy Lapointe, Serge Savard. Larry Robinson and Pierre Rnnrharri I In front there&rsquo;s: the high-scoring line of Guv Lafleur. Pete Mahovlich and Steve Shutt. Then, there are people like Bob Gainey. Yvon Lambert. Yvan Courmoyer and Jacques Lemaire. The Canadiens are well off in talent at just about every position.WEAK POINTS: If there is a weakness on this team, it might be at right wing, where the goal production falls off once you get past Guy Lafleur. Team captain Yvan Cournoyer has the speed but isn&rsquo;t lucky around the net. Mario Tremblay may need another season before he breaks out.NEW FACES: The Canadiens will have Re jean Houle back after his three-year stint with the Quebec Nordiques of the World Hockey Association. There may be a couple of fairly new faces on defense &mdash; perhaps Rick Chartraw and Bill Nyrop &mdash; if the Canadiens decide to go with six defensemen.OUTLOOK: Unless half of this team gets wiped out with injuries at the same time, the Canadiens should have no trouble winning the Norris Division. They may even repeat as over-all NHL champions and go on to the Stanley Cup final.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-1621/4126997-1-eng-US/f0010-162.jpg" title="f0010-16" width="237" height="188"></div><h2>MINNESOTA NORTH STARS</h2>STRONG POINTS: Depth at center with no less than eight men at the position at start of training camp, led by team scoring leaders of last season, Tim Young and Bill Hogaboam. Goaltending appears strong with Gary Smith and improving Pete LoPresti.WEAK POINTS: Inexperience, youth once again. And once again defense needs to shed its yoke of timidity.NEW FACES: Swedish center Roland Eriksson and No. 1 draft choice Glen Sharpley the best of new prospects. Goalie Smith really is a new face, complying with club&rsquo;s no-beard policy with a clean shave after trade with Canucks for goalie Cesare Maniago.OUTLOOK: To make the playoffs after three straight misses, team needs a very big year from Bill Goldsworthy and improved play on defense and power play. Aiming to beat out St. Louis or Vancouver for playoff post. Wingers Dean Talafous and Steve Jensen, fresh from Team USA, could be most improved.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-1716/4126990-1-eng-US/f0010-172.jpg" title="f0010-17" width="259" height="227"></div> &#9632;

f0010-03

The Hockey News

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-03662/4127168-1-eng-US/f0011-032.jpg" title="f0011-03" width="257" height="174"></div><h2>NEW YORK ISLANDERS</h2>STRONG POINTS: Defense and goaltending rival Montreal for best-in-league status. Norris Trophy winner Denis Potvin leads the backline, aided by brother Jean, Gerry Hart, Bert Marshall and Dave Lewis, with Glenn Resh and Bill Smith splitting the goaltending. The youthful Bryan Trottier - Clark Gillies - Billy Harris line anchors the more-than-adequate defense.WEAK POINTS: The Islanders still don&rsquo;t have a big &ldquo;home-run hitter&rsquo;&rdquo; who can pump goals at a rate of 4050 per season, although some feel they have the personnel that could develop in another year or so Third-line center is the only noticeable deficiency.OUTLOOK: If coach Al Arbour can keep his club&rsquo;s adrenalin flowing, they could pull a surprise and capture the Patrick Division crown. All they need is some luck and a few more goals in the right places. Look for the Islanders right in the thick of things.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011041/4127182-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="231" height="219"></div><h2>NEW YORK RANGERS</h2>STRONG POINTS: A good attack with skilled players of the Phil Esposito. Ken Hodge. Rod Gilbert. Steve Vickers mold. Depth of good personnel up front.WEAK POINTS: The defense and goaltending which gave up 333 goals last year, better than Washington and Kansas City, but no one else. General tightening needed, with work UP front and development of young defensemen vital.NEW FACES: Semi-new is GM-coach John Ferguson starting his first full season. Fergy has new conditioning program which must help. Goalie Gilles Gratton. Hodge, defenseman Dave Farrish. right wing Don Murdoch and left wing Nick Fotiu are brand new.OUTLOOK: The Rangers, as presently constituted, are fourth in the Patrick Division. They can&rsquo;t reach the plateau of the Islanders or Flyers, but can hope to improve with maturity and edge out Atlanta for the third and last playoff spot. The defense must cut almost 100 goals off last year, and the attack add about fifty.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-02868/4127175-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="224" height="215"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA FLYERS</h2>STRONG POINTS: NHL&rsquo;s highest-scoring line last season &mdash; Bobby Clarke. Bill Barber and Reg Leach &mdash; will be rarin&rsquo; to go combines again with veterans Gary Dornhoefer and Ross Lonsberry. More forward strength with Orest Kindrachuk (the club&rsquo;s No. 4 scorer) and second-year center Mel Bridgman. Goaltending should be solid with Bernie Parent back. Defense is as deep as any team this side of Montreal.WEAK POINTS: Overall team speed. Flyers usually compensate for lack of speed by hitting, but they admit that without MacLeish in the Stanley Cup finals they couldn&rsquo;t catch the Canadiens.NEW FACES: Center-winger Paul Holmgren, if he suffers no lingering effects from his eye injury. Possibly right-winger John Paddock, acquired from Washington, or No. 1 draft pick, defenseman Mark Suzor.OUTLOOK: With everyone healthy. Flyers are still the only club in Montreal&rsquo;s class. Flyers want the Stanley back. Should win Patrick Division and again challenge for Cup.<h2>PITTSBURGH PENGUINS</h2>STRONG POINTS: Still one of the most explosive clubs after finishing in a third-place tie with Montreal last season for total goals. Syl Apps. Lowell MacDonald and 50-goal scorer Jean Pronovost return for third season together and Pierre Larouche. after tremendous advancement in second oro season out him in 50-goal class, continues to develop what seems like unlimited potential. No. 1 draft choice Blair Champman, rated by many as the best junior forward in Canada last season, is expected to win regular rightwing berth, possibly alongside Larouche. Stackhouse remains one of league&rsquo;s most productive defensemen.WEAK POINTS: Question remains whether goaltending has been vastly upgraded by re-acquiring Denis Herron, a free agent who spent two seasons at KC where Penguins traded him. At least to open season, Herron and Gordon Laxton, with only one season of pro experience, will handle netminding. Acquisition of Don Awrey from Montreal is expected to improve stability.OUTLOOK: In a division with the defending Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens, the Penguins may be outclassed in reaching first place, but tighter play should enable them to give Los Angeles stiff competition for runnerup spot.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-04536/4127161-1-eng-US/f0011-042.jpg" title="f0011-04" width="240" height="237"></div><h2>ST. LOUIS BLUES</h2>STRONG POINTS: A solid defense corps with three veterans. Rod Seiling, Rick Smith and Bob Plager, and three experienced youngsters, Bob Hess, Bruce Affleck and Bob Gassoff. Two top scorers in Garry Unger and Chuck Lefley. The expertise of Emile Francis behind the bench and in the general manager&rsquo;s office.WEAK POINTS: Need for more scoring from the wings and a more settled situation on the goaltending corps. Much of the goaltending burden is on the shoulders of Eddie Staniowski.NEW FACES: Seiling on defense and top draft choice Bernie Federko at center.OUTLOOK: If Bobby Orr reverses the slide of the Chicago Black Hawks, the Blues will finish second to the Black Hawks If Orr slides along with the Hawks, the Blues will win their division.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-05437/4127154-1-eng-US/f0011-052.jpg" title="f0011-05" width="170" height="139"></div><h2>TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS</h2>STRONG POINTS: The Leafs look back on last season as the year they arrived in the NHL. This year they hope to enhance their position and it appears they have the talent to do it. The three mainstays of the club are defenseman Borje Salming, center Darryl Sittier and right winger Lanny McDonald. All three have just come off a memorable Canada Cup series experience that should make them the leaders of the Leafs this season, m general Leafs have me quality up front. Sittier, McDonald, Errol Thompson. Salming and defenseman Ian Turnbull make the offense go. Goaler Wayne Thomas is another plus. The Leafs can score as evidenced by their high goal output last year and their seventh dace overall finish.WEAK POINTS: Ine Leafs might be suspect behind their top line of Sittier, Thompson and McDonald. And they&rsquo;ll have to improve on their goals-against record as well. The loss of Rod Seiling won&rsquo;t help the defense but the club has the depth to do the job.NEW FACES: There will be few changes in the Leafs. Mike Pelyk is back from the WHA and rookie defenseman Randy Carlyle is new. Leafs are expecting big things from him. If Pelyk and Carlyle work out the Leafs will have their blueline problems solved.OUTLOOK: Leafs are in a tough division but should make it a closer race with Buffalo and Boston for the top spot. With their depth it is possible they could go all the way to the top.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-06380/4127147-1-eng-US/f0011-062.jpg" title="f0011-06" width="212" height="215"></div><h2>VANCOUVER CANUCKS</h2>STRONG POINTS: The goaltending of veteran Cesare Maniago and youngster Curt Ridley should go well with the fine set of forwards the Canucks will ice, with Mike Walton leading those scorers. The line of Walton. Don Lever and Rick Blight will probably play a whole year together and assuming Walton stays healthy it should have a big one.WEAK POINTS: The defense is suspect in that they have lost Tracy Pratt and not added anybody. Coach and general manager Phil Maloney wasn&rsquo;t completely happy with it last year.NEW FACES: Brad Gassoff, rookie of the year in the Central League last year, should crack the lineup at left wing when he recovers from his knee operation.OUTLOOK: A good battle with Chicago if they play well, a battle with St. Louis if they don&rsquo;t.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-07344/4127140-1-eng-US/f0011-072.jpg" title="f0011-07" width="188" height="128"></div><h2>WASHINGTON CAPS</h2>STRONG POINTS: As they have been since the start of the franchise, center and goaltending. Bernie Wolfe had the late goaltending edge on Ron Low last season but both should see a lot of work. Guy Charron&rsquo;s purchase at end of August further strengthens the pivot work of Gerry Meeham, Ron Lalonde and Rick Bragnalo. That&rsquo;s not counting high draft pick Buzz Carroll and wingers Harvey Bennett, Mike Lampman. Alex Forsyth and Blair Stewart, who would like the return to center.WEAK POINTS: Specifically right wing, collectively 1 team defense. Hartland Monahan was only natural right winger on &rsquo; 75-&rsquo;76 squad.NEW FACES: Charron (obtained from Denver for Nelson Pyatt) and Carroll at center plus defenseman Rick Green, the very first pick in the June &rsquo;76 draft.OUTLOOK: If Caps can knock another 52 off their goals against they should crawl out of cellar. They can double their wins (from 11 to 22) but finishing higher than fourth would be truly astounding.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-08322/4127133-1-eng-US/f0011-082.jpg" title="f0011-08" width="184" height="100"></div><h2>COLORADO ROCKIES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-09309/4127126-1-eng-US/f0011-092.jpg" title="f0011-09" width="572" height="537"></div>STRONG POINTS: The goaltending, headed by Michel Piasse and Doug Favell, has a major-league look. The team has good right wing strength in Wilf Paiement, Simon Nolet and Chuck Arnason. Center ice also could be adequate with the likes of Henry Boucha, Nelson Pyatt, Paul Gardner and Ron Andruff. Steve Durbano, depending on your perspective on violence in hockey, also might be considered a Rockies plus. He&rsquo;ll at least keep things exciting.WEAK POINTS: Colorado&rsquo;s defense won&rsquo;t set the league ablaze. Rookie Mike Kitchen should see plenty of action in the backline. The left wingers also are not an overly imposing group. Gary Croteau, Robin Burns, Randy Rota, Brian Lavender, et al, have been around and no one has mistaken them for all-star candidates. Right defensemen are particularly scarce.OUTLOOK: Considering that as the Kansas City Scouts, this club was winless in its last 27 outings in 1976, the Rockies can only move up in their new incarnation in the Mile-High City. Coach Johnny Wilson is a wise enough hand at this business not to expect miracles or immediate success. Substantial improvement over the 12-56-12 mark posted by the Scouts last season is likely, but the Rockies still have a long way to go.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-10282/4127119-1-eng-US/f0011-102.jpg" title="f0011-10" width="575" height="1193"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOHNNY WILSON</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0011-03

1976 NHL PREVIEW

<div class="byline">BY DICK JOHNSTON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03666/4127213-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">AL SMITH&hellip; Determined To Make Sabres&rsquo; Lineup (Photo By Robert Shaver)</figcaption></div>BUFFALO-A year ago Allan Robert Smith found out how tough jobs are to come by in professional hockey these days, particularly goaltender&rsquo;s jobs. And he also learned how much ouside businesses mean when a professional athlete drops out of his sport.And thus. Al Smith. 30, veteran of 10 pro seasons with 11 teams in five hockey leagues, reported to the Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; rookie camp in St. Catharines, Ont., a week before the club&rsquo;s training camp began.&ldquo;No, I&rsquo;m not enjoying myself.&rdquo; replied the soft spoken veteran, with a grin, when greeted by a reporter. &ldquo;But 1 want to get ready and give it a good try this year. I felt I was always running behind last season. Just couldn&rsquo;t catch up.&rdquo;That extra week&rsquo;s work appeared to sharpen Smith&rsquo;s reflexes back to where they once were and as a result, when the regular training camp began, he was in the middle of the most interesting position battle on the Buffalo club.With Roger Crozier apparently retired for good this time, coach Floyd Smith was looking for a No. 1 goaltender and an alternate. He had four candidates in camp, each of whom seemed to have a real chance of making the team.Gerry Desjardins, who has been the main man in goal since jumping back to the National Hockey League from the World Hockey Association. appeared sure of one of the net; minding jobs.Two second-year pros, Bob Sauve and Don Edwards, were battling Smith for the other spot.Smith, like Desjardins, is a returnee from the WHA. He had a big contract with the New England Whalers, worth a reported $125,000 i a year. He knew the Whalers were in financial trouble and had young, less expensive netminders they wanted to use. So he let the club out of the contract at the end of the 1974-75 season.He sat back, awaiting offers. But s none came, at least nothing concrete I in the way of contracts. He went into private business near Georgian Bay and started writing a book.When the Sabres, who owned his NHL rights, lost Crozier to his stomach trouble again, Smith received a chance to try out. His money was dwindling and he jumped at the chance. He signed and played 14 games in the second half of the season, posting a 3.07 goals-against average and more-than-respec-table won-lost-tied record of 9-3-2.He never felt he regained the sharpness he had when he was the winningest goalie in the WHA for s three seasons, however. &ldquo;I never felt I right,&rdquo; he noted, one day at the rookie camp.&ldquo;No.&rdquo; he continued, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not looking forward to going out there I on the ice. A guy would have to be crazy to enjoy being a goaltender. eh? But it&rsquo;s my living and I need the money.&ldquo;Training camp is worse than the fi regular season. You have to face so many more shots in practice than in a game. And in rookie camp you don&rsquo;t know the players, how they shoot. &ldquo;He paused, then smiled again. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t spear them when they get in your way because you don&rsquo;t know how tough they might be.&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; Al went on, &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to skip this camp and training camp, too. I think all goaltenders would.&rdquo;Ice Chips &mdash; Lee Fogolin. 21-year-old third-year pro, was the first to report on the day training camp opened. He was working out in the training room almost two hours before the team went on the ice.Fogolin played for Team USA in the Canada Cup series but played in only three games. He was eager to get on with attempting to break into the top four defense positions on the Sabres. So what happened? His shoulder was hurt in a pileup during the opening day&rsquo;s scrimmage.Andre Savard, center from the Boston Bruins, was the only new face among NHLers at the Sabre camp. Four draft choices were among those who survived the rookie camp to go into regular training. Only left winger Joe Kowal, from the Hamilton Fincups, Memorial Cup champions, was signed to a contract.The others trying for pro contracts were left winger Rocky Maze from the Edmonton Oil Kings, defenseman Ron Roscoe, also from Hamilton, and defenseman Don Lemieux from the Three Rivers Draveurs. &#9632;

f0012-03

Smith ‘Man In Middle’ For Sabres’ Goalie Spot

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011062/4127251-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg"></div>A First-Rate ShowA FEW MEMORIES AND AWARDS from the Canada Cup 76 tour nament, an excellent show which featured first-rate hockey, in teresting technically and tops as entertainment.Best feature of the whole thing. That Bobby Orr could play in all games, play well and fulfill his big ambition of competing internationally.Worst feature: All the dolts who wrote and broadcast that Orr wasn&rsquo;t the player he used to be. What in heck did they expect after five operations on one knee and no action since last Dec.?Best hit-it-on-the-head quote: From Jiri Holik. the veteran Czechoslovakian winger: &ldquo;Canadian players are very good at giving out the tough stuff but they certainly scream very loud when it&rsquo;s repaid to them.&rdquo;Worst quote: Again from Holik before the concluding game of the final: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m tired and I want to go home. If we&rsquo;re leading or tied with seconds to go in the game, maybe we"ll shoot a goal into our own net.&rdquo; Jiri&rsquo;s wife presented him with a son that day back in Czechoslovakia. Maybe he should call the kid &ldquo;Quits.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-02900/4127244-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="519" height="1082"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bobby Clarke and fur hat.</figcaption></div>Best show-biz performer: Swedish referee Ove Dahlberg, who rushed into the first game of the final when Gord Lee was kayoed by a puck. Dahlberg immediately broke his skate and on the way to the dressing room, he held up his foot to allow television cameras a clear shot of the busted blade.Fastest feet: Alan Eagleson, the tournament chairman, who reached Darryl Sittier following the winning goal before Sittier realized what had happened. Ole Al just can&rsquo;t stay off the ice but this time he kept his hands down.Warmest moment: A Sunday morning at Maple Leaf Gardens following Team Canada&rsquo;s win over the Soviets when the splendid USSR goalie Vladislav Tretiak presented Bobby Clarke with a fur hat. | | a couple of pennants and a crock of champagne for Clarke&rsquo;s wife, who Tretiak said, had made a sacrifice by being alone while her man was preparing and playing in the tournament.<h2>Huzzahs For Roger</h2>Top Canada Cup performer: No contest! Roger Doucet, who sings the anthems at the Montreal Forum. He learned all six anthems and earned rave reviews from the Europeans, who were very touched by it all. The man is a marvel and should be declared a national asset or something.Red Ryder Trophy: To Marcel &ldquo;Little Beaver&rdquo; Dionne, a high-scoring center who switched to right wing and played admirably.He didn&rsquo;t do much until the series was over: Peter Mahovlich never really got untracked but he initiated the sweater exchange between Team Canada and the Czechs, which ended the tournament on a splendid note.Media question which rated as tops : A Czech journalist asked goalie Vladimir Dzurilla, following his one&mdash;zero shutout of Team Canada How did it feel to play so well against all the millionaire hockey players?&rdquo;Best answer: Dzurilla, who replied: &ldquo;Maybe they make more money than we do but we have other benefits by being hockey players in Czechoslovakia.&rdquo;<h2>Jiri Was Blurry</h2>Top flop: Czech goalie Jiri Holecek, who rates as the best goalie in Europe. He had to be yanked from three games, one exhibition and two in the tournament.The &ldquo;wait until next year&rdquo; award: To Czech coach Jan Starsi, who said at least 100 times: &ldquo;Just wait until we get Team Canada on the big B ice at the world tournament in Vienna next year.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0012-01

FRANK ORR SAYS

<div class="byline">BY RON WEBER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0013-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011020/4127282-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">DISPLAYING NO. 1: Max McNab, right, general manager of the Washington Capitals, looks on with a proud grin at press conference announcing Caps signed their No. 1 draft choice, Rick Green.</figcaption></div>WASHINGTON-In baseball, they called Oakland outfielder Joe Rudi &ldquo;underrated&rdquo; so much that pretty soon he wasn&rsquo;t &mdash; underrated any more.That may happen to Washington Capitals center Ron Lalonde, but don&rsquo;t bet on it.Even though Ron&rsquo;s temperament is even and his performance is consistent, his NHL career has had its up and downs. One of the biggest downs was last year around Thanksgiving when he was sitting on the bench for the losingest team in hockey.Then Tommy Williams went from leading playmaker to benchwarmer to minor leaguer in short order and Lalonde got some playing time. The first game Tom McVie coached in the NHL was a shutout against Detroit on New Year&rsquo;s Eve. Asked who played well despite the drubbing, the first name out of McVie&rsquo;s mouth was Ron Lalonde.Looking back, the five foot, ten inch, 170-pound Toronto native says, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re making progress, not only individually, but as a team, too. (Last season) I didn&rsquo;t feel confident about my ability. Although I didn&rsquo;t score real well I&rsquo;m improved in other aspects. The coach has confidence to use me in many ways.&rdquo;That&rsquo;s true, including extra faceoffs, penalty killing, matching against the top line of the other team and even the odd shift on a wing.Now about that scoring. In Lalonde&rsquo;s first year and a half as a Capital he seemed to make fewer mistakes than almost any of his teammates &mdash; but 80 per cent of those miscues were his close in shooting. A sense of anticipation gave him opportunities around the net, but he scored only nine times while playing the full 80-game schedule.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;ll ever be a top goal scorer,&rdquo; he admits, &ldquo;Maybe I sacrifice some by concentrating on other aspects.&rdquo; He agrees he should improve. How? &ldquo;By shooting more. And a little better positioning. Guys score goals because they&rsquo;re in the right position.&rdquo;Lalonde came to the Capitals in Dec. 1974 in a even-up swap for forward Lew Morrison. While he didn&rsquo;t make a big splash with Pittsburgh an uncommon number of people there still remember him and favorably. Probably because of a pleasant personality, an anticipation of the right thing to say off the ice as well as what move to make on it.Some of the moves were ingrained in Ron at Peterborough, the OHA club coached up through last year by the respected Roger Neilson. From the Petes he went to the Penguins as a fourth&mdash;round draft choice in 1972. With him went the nickname &ldquo;Newsy&rdquo; that first graced Edouard Lalonde fifty years ago, enroute to the Hockey Hall of Fame.Since coming to Washington. Lalonde&rsquo;s most noteworthy night was March 30, 1975 when he accumulated the Caps first-ever hat trick. His fondest remembrance of this past season is the six-day stretch in late February when they tied Philadelphia and Boston and beat Chicago.&ldquo;We had been working hard for so long. All of a sudden we were getting results. There was a purpose to it.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0013-01

Capitals Hope Lalonde Can Become Key Man In Improving Record

<div class="byline">BY PAT THOMPSON</div>TWIN CITIES&mdash;The Minnesota North Stars threw open the doors to their 1976 training camp with two very major changes.First, there was six-foot-four Gary Smith stopping shots. Cesare Maniago, the team&rsquo;s regular goalie for their first nine seasons in the National Hockey League, is tacking up his shingle this year with the Vancouver Canucks after a straight player trade.Second, Bill Goldsworthy, the last surviving member of the 1967-68 expansion team now that Maniago has departed, began late summer practice without the &ldquo;C&rdquo; on his sweater.&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t have to wear the &ldquo;C&rdquo; to be a leader.&rsquo;&rsquo; Goldsworthy explained. &ldquo;Gordie Howe never was captain, and I would have to say he is a team leader. Teddie (coach Ted Harris) and I sat down and decided it would be better for me and the team if 1 was not captain.&rsquo;&rsquo;Harris felt that Goldy probably was trying to shoulder too much of the burden, and perhaps a lot of the blame, for the North Stars failing to make the playoffs the two years he served as team captain. After scoring 48 goals in 1973-74, Goldy dipped to 37 in 1974-75 and 22 in 1975-76.Another reason for the production drop was injury. A severed tendon in a finger kept the big right winger out a good portion of 1974-75 and knee and ankle injuries hampered him last year.&ldquo;When Goldy&rsquo;s going good,&rdquo; said Harris, &ldquo;there are not many better.&rdquo;The vote of confidence about Goldsworthy&rsquo;s ability and Harris&rsquo; expectations for a good year, ended speculation that perhaps the North Stars wanted to trade the blond bomber.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know how talk like that gets started,&rdquo; said Harris. &ldquo;I recommended that he not be traded. Why, he&rsquo;s very capable of scoring 40 to 50 goals for us.&rdquo;Instead, the North Stars traded away one the pillars of their franchise since the expansion years, the 37-year-old Maniago for the 32-year-old Smith.&ldquo;We hate to see Cesare leave,&rdquo; said general manager Jack Gordon. &ldquo;At the same time, we feel Gary Smith is one of the most soundest and most durable goalies in the NHL. We &rsquo;re happy to obtain him and we&rsquo;re pleased for Cesare that he&rsquo;ll be able to finish his career in the city where he had made his home.&rdquo;Smith, who shared the Vezina with Tony Esposito at Chicago in 1971-72 when he recorded a 2.41 goals-against average, has played 65, 72 and 51 games in his last three regular seasons. He set Vancouver records with 32 victories and six shutouts when the Canucks won the 1974-75 Smythe Division championship.Smith, who learned of the trade from reporters, was not surprised by the trade after a dispute developed with the Canucks&rsquo; front office last winter after he requested championship rings for himself and his teammates for the division title.&ldquo;Actually, I asked to be traded,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and I&rsquo;m happy to leave the Vancouver organization. I think the - North Stars have a chance in the division. If Bobby Orr is going good, and he looks like he is, Chicago should win first. But I believe we have a good chance to make the playoffs.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-02827/4127313-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="631" height="1659"><figcaption class="caption-body">GARY SMITH &hellip; &ldquo;Durable Goalie&rdquo;</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0013-02

Goldsworthy Gets Vote Of Confidence

<div class="byline">Bill Fleischman&#x2019;s</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011043/4127358-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="338" height="508"></div>THE CANADA CUP produced enough excitement to last a season.Just isolate on the Czechs&rsquo; one to nothing victory over Team Canada: it was one of hockey&rsquo;s most memorable games ever for sustained tension and quality. The final overtime game, won on Darryl Sittier&rsquo;s goal after three Canada scores were disallowed, was enough to fill the emergency room of Montreal General Hospital with babbling, exhausted patients.Once the justified criticism of the Toronto cementheads who had booed Claude Mouton&rsquo;s announcements in French had subsided, the national adulation Team Canada was smothered with was heartwarming Sure, nationalism in sports is sometimes a rather childish, short-lived exercise. Rut in an age when many citizens only grumble about life in their countries, it was nice to see favorable reaction to something, even if it was only a hockey tournament.Early in the Canada Cup series, there were complaints that the ceremonies were overdone. Regrettably, the only foreign language know is Spanish, and since Team Madrid wasn&rsquo;t invited, &ldquo;como esta usted?&rdquo; wasn&rsquo;t much use. But thanks to Roger Doucet&rsquo;s stirring renditions, I was beginning to hum along with the Czech and Soviet anthems.The people who counted, the players, vetoed gripes about too much pomp and circumstance. Said Philadelphia&rsquo;s Bill Barber: &ldquo;You stand there on the Forum ice wearing &rsquo;Canada&rsquo; across your sweater and when he (Doucet) sings our anthem, it gives you a chill. I&rsquo;ve even had tears in my eyes.&rdquo;TEAM CANADA had its indecisive moments, but even the most cynical observer had to be impressed when Canada assembled a power play of Bobby Hull, Phil Esposito, Guy Lafleur, Bobby Orr and Denis Potvin. Give a Team Canada three months preparation instead of three weeks and no team would beat them.Besides seeing players such as Gil Perreault, Marcel Dionne and Rogie Vachon enhance their reputations with superb efforts under pressure, the totally unexpected performance of Team USA was a delight to watch.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02864/4127351-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="610" height="1231"><figcaption class="caption-body">The performances of goaler Pete LoPresti, left, and little Robbie Ftorek were among the highlights for Team U.S.A, in the Canada Cup tournament. Both players were praised by team coach Bob Pulford for their play in the international competition. Ftorek was chosen MVP of the American team.</figcaption></div>Before the tournament, the Bob Pulford - Harry Neale coached squad of primarily fringe major leaguers was derided in the Canadian press as &ldquo;Team Useless.&rdquo; After scaring the fur hats off Team Canada before losing, four to two, and then miraculously tying the Czechs, four to four, Team USA had earned the respect of everyone.As Pulford said later, &ldquo;In four years, if they hold a tournament like this again, the U.S. will be the most improved team. In eight gyears, they&rsquo;ll have a chance to win it.&rdquo;If Pulford&rsquo;s prediction is ac-curate. Team USA 1980 should remember to tap its sticks in salute to Pulford, Neale and players such as Bill Nyrop, Gary Sargent, Pete LoPresti, Mike Curran, Robbie Ftorek and Lou Nanne who jammed the wisecracks down the throats g of their detractors.THE INTERESTING question now is : how much effect will Team USA&rsquo;s uphill climb have on hockey south of the Canadian border Will the sport that is already booming in such places as Philadelphia accelerate even more and produce the first-rate players the NHL and WHA desperately needs?&ldquo;I sure hope it gives hockey in the U.S. a boost,&rdquo; said Nyrop, the Minnesota-born team captain and Montreal defenseman. &ldquo;What we&rsquo;ve done is proof that it&rsquo;s not where you come from that makes you good. An athlete&rsquo;s an athlete, a hockey player&rsquo;s a hockey player.&ldquo;What an effort these guys gave, They gave up their summers to come to work and have fun at the same time. The coaches&rsquo; style didn&rsquo;t fit a lot of guys, but they dumped their style and did what the coaches wanted.&rdquo;That Ontario-born Pulford, the man who has polished the Los Angeles Kings into a competitive g team, would accept such an apparently hopeless job surprised some. But his reasoning probably speaks for all U.S. and Canada personnel: &ldquo;It was an honor to be asked. We in hockey have the responsibility to do things like this.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03638/4127344-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="612" height="1243"></div> &#9632;

f0014-01

HOCKEY WORLD

<div class="byline">BY LARRY BORTSTEIN</div>DENVER&mdash;Colorado is mostly known for the Rockies &mdash; the mountains of the same name, that is. The new hockey team here by that name will have a difficult time establishing the same status among local ice followers. For one thing, the hockey team will have almost none of the scenic appeal-of the vast mountain ranges which make this state perhaps the most beautiful in the United States.Still, coach Johnny Wilson and general manager Ray Miron expect to have a club ready for the 1976-77 NHL skirmishing that will represent Denver better than the late, much unlamented Spurs of the World Hockey Association, who packed up and beat a hasty retreat after only a couple months into the 1975-76 campaign. Also, the newly born NHL Rockies figure to survive the financial wars of modem pro sports better than did their predecessors, the Kansas City Scouts. Jack Vickers, the oil man who is majority owner of the first NHL team ever based in Denver, is reputed to be able to withstand a certain amount of fan apathy.The Rockies opened their first training camp at the South Suburban Arena in suburban Littleton. &ldquo;We had very little time to find a training site,&rdquo; explained Wilson, &ldquo;but this one fits the bill perfectly. We had in mind all along a training site near our home base (the McNichols Sports Arena). We felt it was important to train at altitude, so our players would be accustomed to it by the time the season started.&rdquo;The camp opened Sept. 15, and was sparked by the announcement of the signing of goaltender Doug Favell. The erstwhile Flyer and Maple Leaf, who has done little on the major league level the past two years, figures to team with Michel Piasse, who posted 24 victories in the nets for Pittsburgh last winter. If Favell, at 31, can flash some of his old form, the Rockies will have themselves a sound pair of netminders.A couple days before their camp opened, the Rockies acquired center Ron Andruff and left winger Sean Shanahan from the Montreal Canadiens. Andruff and Shanahan are three-year veterans of the AHL&rsquo;s Nova Scotia Voyageurs who were unable to crack the talent-laden Canadiens&rsquo; roster. Andruff, six-zero. 185, scored 42 goals and 46 assists for the Voyageurs last year and was the AHL&rsquo;s most valuable player. He&rsquo;s 23 years old. Shanahan, 26, is a checker and cornerman more than he is a scorer. He had 18 goals and 26 assists for Nova Scotia in &rsquo;76.The Rockies were happy about acouiring the two highly-regarded prospects from the Montreal system. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t say anything bad about Sammy Pollock to me,&rdquo; was the way one Colorado club spokesman expressed his pleasure at landing Andruff and Shanahan. &ldquo;I could kiss the guy on both cheeks.&rdquo;The Rockies have unveiled their logo. It is a mountain base with red &ldquo;C&rdquo; symbol from the Colorado state flag, with a gold sun in the &ldquo;C". The team colors are mountain blue. Colorado gold, and sunset red. The home uniform will be a white base with blue pants. The road uniform will feature a blue base with red pants.The Rockies will play in the Conn Smythe Division, the same division in which Kansas City competed last season, along with Chicago. Vancouver, St. Louis and Minnesota. Radio station KLZ (560) will broadcast all of the team&rsquo;s games, home and away. &#9632;

Favell Signing Spices Denver’s Start

<div class="byline">BY VARTAN KUPELIAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0015-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011003/4127444-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mickey Redmond&rsquo;s retirement will leave void. (Photo by Bruce Bennett)</figcaption></div>DETROIT&mdash;For the Detroit Red Wings, training camp revolved around a rigid conditioning program. It is imperative that the Wings, seeking their first playoff berth in seven seasons, get off to a flying start.It won&rsquo;t be easy not with the murderous early-season schedule they must cope with, but General Manager (and coach?) Alex Delvecchio says with conviction that they can do it.&ldquo;It will be a matter of perseverance and the will to win.&rdquo; Delvecchio said. &ldquo;We need good seasons from everybody but we can do it".While Montreal is the class of the Norris Division, Delvecchio thinks his club can catch either Pittsburgh or Los Angeles. He bases his decision largely on three veterans who joined the club well into last season and a flock of youngsters battling for jobs in a wide-open preseason.Of course Delvecchio must solve the problem created by Mickey Redmond&rsquo;s retirement and also the continued uncertainty of the coaching picture. In an unorthodox maneuver, Delvecchio announced just before camp opened that the Wings have hired a coach - but for the 1977 season. It is a muddled situation and it is unclear what it all means However, for this year, assistant coach Billy Dea will handle the team from behind th&eacute; bench, as he did the second half of last season, while Delvecchio is in charge of the overall picture.The only notable newcomers are No. 1 amateur draft pick Fred Williams, a center, and defenseman Rick Wilson, acquired from the St. Louis Blues during the summer. There are several other youngsters, including No. 3 draft Fred Berry, who are being watched closely.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a lot of positions open and there&rsquo;s no reason one of the new people can&rsquo;t earn a job for himself,&rdquo; Delvecchio said.I think we&rsquo;re well set on left wing with Danny Grant. Danny Maloney, Nick Libett and Mike Bloom. We have a little bit of everything on that side. At center, we have two veterans &mdash; Walt McKechnie and Dennis Hextail &mdash; and some kids, including Williams and Berry. McKechnie is coming off a fine season and Hextall plaxed very well after he joined us last year.&ldquo;On the right side, we&rsquo;re a little thin. Michel Bergeron (who led the Wings in goals with 32 last season) is the No. 1 guy but the others. Dennis Polonich. Buster Harvey and Bill Lochead. will be fighting for the other two jobs. We&rsquo;re looking for more consistency from all of them.&ldquo;In goal. I think we&rsquo;re strong with Jimmy Rutherford and Eddie Giacomin. It&rsquo;s going to be tough to move either of them out.&rdquo;Hextall, Giacomin and defenseman Terry Harper are three solid veterans who joined the Wings after the start of last season and Delvecchio is counting on them to supply much-needed experience and direction.On defense, the Wings are hoping that Al Cameron s first pro season was no fluke. Harper and Rick Lapointe, the No. 1 draft in 1975. are projected into sure-bet regulars.Cameron. Jean Hamel. Bryan Watson and Wilson will vie with a good group of rookies for the other spots.&ldquo;Cameron must show he has the ability to stay here fulltime.&rsquo;&rsquo; Delvecchio said. &ldquo;Hamel (a regular for two years) must bear down and show improvement.&rdquo;The first six weeks of the season promise to be treacherous. After opening with Washington, the next 17 games are with teams which made the playoffs last season &mdash; including three with Philadelphia and there&rsquo;s a steady diet or powers like Boston. Montreal and the New York Islanders. &#9632;

f0015-01

Fast NHL Start Must For Detroit To Be Contender

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01848/4127482-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01740/4127475-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="3383" height="3482"></div> &#9632;

f0016-01

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE 1976-77 SCHEDULE

<div class="byline">BY NORM MacLEAN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02608/4127527-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="492" height="327"></div>MONTREALTeam Canada convinced everyone they were the best, but no one really lost in the Canada Cup competition.For the gallant Czechoslovaks there was recognition that they had pushed the greatest Canadian team ever assembled to sudden-death overtime in the deciding game; for the revamped Russians the realization that their junior players were coming of age; for the disappointed Swedes and their North American professionals a big win over Team Czechoslovakia; for the Finns a win over archrival Sweden; and for Team USA a victory over Finland and near misses against Canada and Czechoslovakia.Scotty Bowman, the &ldquo;head&rdquo; coach of Team Canada&rsquo;s quartet, observed, &ldquo;We beat them (Czechs) three of four counting an exhibition. They are the World Champions. That makes us tops, right? We have more individual ability and more experience than does Team Czechoslovakia. But they are very good and they pushed us to the wall. I&rsquo;m glad it&rsquo;s over, and that Canada won.&rdquo;Most of the Team Canada heroes including Darryl Sittler, who scored the sudden-death overtime winner in the final five-four triumph, said similar things.&ldquo;This has got to be the greatest thrill of my life,&rdquo; said the Toronto Maple Leaf. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not cut out to be a hero; if I was going to do it, I was going to do it. But playing with these guys on the greatest team for the greatest country is something that will remain with me forever.&rdquo;The final game will remain with the 76 million people, who saw it via TV. for a long time. Canada actually scored eight goals, with three of them, by Bobby Hull (quick whistle), by Guy Lafleur (net pushed off its mooring by Ivan Hlinka a split second earlier) and by Guy Lapointe (buzzer sounded ending first half of overtime period just before the goal), being disallowed.The gallant Czechoslvaks fought back from a two-zero deficit which had driven Europe&rsquo;s best goaler Jiri Holecek from the net, in favor of pudgy Vladimir Dzurilla. Dzurilla did the job he had done earlier in the only game Canada lost, a one-zero stunner to the Czechs, but in the end. it was a tip from Boston coach Don Cherry, one of the four Team Canada coaches.&ldquo;Dzurilla rushes out to meet you when you get a break,&rdquo; said Cherry. &ldquo;Give him a move and go to the side.&rdquo;Sittier did just that as he had an open net.But the Czechs, under co-coaches Karol Gut and Jan Starsi, proved their worth. They might have won on a Milan Novy breakaway in the last two minutes of the tied four-four game, but Lapointe, beaten by Novy, and goalie Rogie Vachon managed to stave off the Czechs&rsquo; best player.And they might have won in overtime when Vladimir Martinec&rsquo;s shot was stabbed at and caught by Vachon.&ldquo;It was instinct, nothing more, &rsquo;&rsquo; said Vachon. &ldquo;Either I catch it or the game was over.&rdquo;For tiny Rogie, once maligned as a Junior B goalie, and knocked out of the Forum box by Ken Dryden, the entire series was a comeback of sorts, in his home country. He was named the MVP of Team Canada in the tournament.Novy, who got the goal which beat Canada in the one-zero game, was named the Czechs&rsquo; top player, but it was Dzurilla who captured the hearts of the Forum fans. He was given an ovation he won&rsquo;t long forget when he returns to his job as a refrigeration repair man. Not secretly, he would like to emigrate and play goal for Edmonton of the WHA, to which city his brother Ted had defected seven years ago.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01757/4127520-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="1962" height="2096"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rival goalers Rogatien Vachon, left, of Canada, and Czechoslovakia&rsquo;s Vladimir Dzurilla are a happy twosome as they pose in sweaters they swapped after Canada won series from Czechs in two straight games. Both netwinders were stars throughout the tournament.</figcaption></div>Starsi said. &ldquo;The Forum fans are special in their appreciation of good hockey. They were great and we thank them. But Canada would not beat us in Europe with the larger rinks (European rinks are twelve feet wider which helps the European passing game). We beat Canada in the Forum, the temple of hockey, and we will do it again.&rsquo;&rsquo;Bowman noted. &ldquo;We cut off their passing game up the middle in the final game. That was very important.&rdquo;Bobby Clarke, the captain of Team Canada, played a great game while in pain with a bad ankle and knee. He went to the puck and scored a key goal when the Czechs had tied at two-two. And he assisted on Bill Barber&rsquo;s clutch goal, which tied it at four-four, and forced overtime.Bobby Orr, burned for four goals in the finale, had a great series, although his mobility is still not what it used to be. Most likely it never will be. He was named the MVP of the Canada Cup by the International Ice Hockey Federation.&ldquo;I made mistakes tonight and got hurt. In the other games I didn&rsquo;t, but winning this is great. And they (the Czechs) were great,&rdquo; said Orr.The scene at the Forum after the game was emotional. Players who had snapped, snarled and buttended each other now swapped sweaters, with Team Canada taking a final victory skate around the rink while clad in the red sweaters of the CSSR. Bobby Hull was wearing Henry Dvorak&rsquo;s number nine. Gerry Cheevers, the backup goalie to Vachon, wore Holecek&rsquo;s number two. Vachon swapped with Dzurilla and the Czech players threw their sticks to the crawd.If the Czechs proved their point, so did the Russians, who came without six of their former stars and went home two-two-one with pride and determination. The use of the RedArmy&rsquo;s line of Victor Zhluktov, Boris Alexandrov and Vladimir Vikulov bodes well for their future. So did the play of Latvian star Helmut Balderis with Sergei Kapustin and old-timer Alexander Malstsev. Defenseman Sergei Babinov earned his spurs and Alexander Gusev did well, in a comeback. after being cut.The Soviet&rsquo;s new coaching staff of Boris Mayorov and Robert Cherenko was satisfied, claiming. &ldquo;It took time for us to gain experience with this new team. We played hard physical hockey and gained much.&rdquo;If the Reds had new players, the Czechs&rsquo; blend of the old and new was pretty good, too. The three Czech lines were balanced, with Novy playing with Frantisek Cernik and Josef Augusta. Hlinka worked with Jiri Holik, who shook his head in amazement at one stop by Vachon, and Marian Stastny. Youthful Peter Stastny centered for Bohuslav Stastny and Jiri Holik. Peter is a future Novy and the Czech defenders were good, with emphasis on captain Frantisek Pospisil and Oldrich Machac.The Swedes whose goalie. Hardy Aastrom. beat out Goran Hogosta and then was placed on the Rangers&rsquo; list, disappointed a bit when Aastrom lost his cool in Winnipeg. They beat Team USA five-two. and had the Russians down two-zero, but let them get off the hook. The game ended in a tie. and started the Soviets on the way back. The Swedes were through as title contenders.Tommy Ivan. Team USA GM, noted &ldquo;They let them get away, and didn&rsquo;t hit them with the third goal which would have killed them in the first period. That did it and the Reds superior conditioning took over.<h2>Canada Cup Scoreboard</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03451/4127513-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="667" height="2353"></div> &#9632;

f0018-02

Bowman Claims World Hockey Title After Canada Sweeps Strong Czechs

f0019-01

How Team Canada Won Canada Cup Series

<div class="byline">BY NORM MacLEAN</div>NEW YORK&mdash;Next year has arrived for the New York Rangers&mdash;and with it pressure. Twenty survivors of the 34-man rookie-tryout camp at Point Claire, Quebec made it to the Nassau County Arena in Long Beach, N.Y.Most likely, only four of them will make it to the season opener at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 6.The big splash in the local papers has been Staten Islander Nick Fotiu, at 6-2 and 210 pounds a big man, who can keep the opposition honest.&ldquo;Fotiu is no goon,&rdquo; said general manager-coach John Ferguson. &ldquo;His shot and skating ability will surprise a lot of people.&rdquo;One Ranger official noted, &ldquo;He was so impressive in the rookie camp that unless he plays himself off the team, he&rsquo;s made it.&rdquo;Other survivors of the rookie camp who figure to see MSG are goalie Gilles Gratton, a threat to 1975-76 number one John Davidson, right winger Don Murdock and defenseman Dave Farrish.Fotiu will play with Pete Stemkowski and right wing Billy Fairbairn, on a checking line. Walter Tkaczuk is working with Murdoch and Greg Polis. Phil Esposito, back from Team Canada, has his Boston buddy Ken Hodge on the right side, and Pat Hickey digging the puck out on the left. Wayne Dillon works with Steve Vickers and Rod Gilbert. For Gilbert, it will be his fourteenth season in the red, white and blue.Dr. Ed Enos&rsquo; summer conditioning program slimmed heavies Esposito, Stemkowski and Polis, but more important, perhaps, it added weight and strength in Dillon&rsquo;s upper body. The slick center, just 21, has the offensive tools, but must prove his checking ability.&ldquo;Dillon could be the key to the Rangers&rsquo; offense: If he makes it, they figure to have two good offen sive lines,&rdquo; said a rival general manager, while watching the Canada Cup.With the names and faces changing almost constantly in the Rangers&rsquo; situation, Ferguson took a major step forward by placing the name of Swedish goaltender Hardy Aastrom on their negotiation list. This will give New York one-year negotiation rights to Aastrom. Although the Rangers had pioneered in the early sixties with the tryout of center Ulf Sterner, then the number one player in Sweden, since the abortive effort, they have steered away from European-developed talent. Even Juha Widing, who played with Fairbairn for half a season in 1969-70, was primarily developed in Brandon, Saskatchewan.&ldquo;Aastrom caught our eye early in the Canada Cup tournament,&rdquo; said Ferguson.The goalie had beaten out the highly touted Goran Hogasta, who had beaten Russia last April in the world competition in Poland. With the pressure on, it is obvious that Ferguson is turning over all rocks in an effort to develop a new source of talent. This has to be a plus, and a break with the traditional line of thinking that was part and parcel of the Emile Francis regime.Ferguson believes in his conditioning program, saying, &ldquo;Once the season starts well be more prepared than we&rsquo;ve ever been, and with it, we can get a fast start on the other teams.&rdquo;The other item bothering Bad John the most is the 333 goals against.&ldquo;Were going to change that,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;What really bothered me is that we didn&rsquo;t communicate as a club.&ldquo;We had too many of what I like to call good hockey players and not enough grinders, the players who do things that win games for you over aseason. It&rsquo;s all part of conditioning.&rdquo;Fergy felt that the trading away of people like Ted Irvine, Jerry Butler and Bert Wilson hurt more than did the loss of star players like Brad Park and Jean Rateile.&ldquo;I did like the way our kids started developing,&rdquo; said John. Hickey, Dillon, Dave Maloney, Ron Greschner, John Bednarksi and Larry Sacharuk, until he got hurt, all were coming on strong.&rdquo;Ferguson has nine rearguards in camp, with veterans Doug Jarrett and Gilles Marotte literally fighting for their very existence. Greschner may get a shot at center. Greg Holst, from Providence of the AHL, also has a chance to stick at center.Assistant coach Jean-Guy Talbot is booked for a key role in remolding the Rangers defense. He will be with the team all year.&ldquo;He&rsquo;ll work with the defensemen and the overall defensive structure,&rdquo; said Fereuson. &#9632;

Rangers Hoping Fitness Will Mean Quick Start

<div class="byline">BY GARY MCCARTHY</div>MONTREAL&mdash;The toughest job facing any rookie and professional prospect attending the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; training camp this year was trying to crack through what amounts to a set lineup.How does a player who even was a top draft choice make it with the defending Stanley Cup champions? How does he beat out such names as Ken Dryden, Guy Lapointe, Serge Savard, Larry Robinson, Pete Mahovlich, Steve Shutt and Guy Lafleur? It amounts to a monumental struggle.Nevertheless, the hopefuls showed up at training camp under the guidance of Claude Ruel, one-time coach of the Canadiens who was pressed into duty while Scotty Bowman handled the coaching chores with Team Canada.Many of the youngsters haven&rsquo;t got a hope of making the Canadiens, but a scant few may have a good shot at the big time with the club that appears to be a cinch to make it to the Stanley Cup final again this season.The top rookie prospects in camp this year are Mike Polich, Pierre Mondou, Don Howse, Peter Lee and Gilles Lupien.&ldquo;Howse came to us three or four years ago,"says Al MacNeil, coach of the Nova Scotia Voyageurs of the American Hockey League. MacNeil is working the camp with Ruel and Bowman and he&rsquo;ll wind up with a good portion of the youngsters in Halifax.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s (Howse) a good left winger, but he didn&rsquo;t really have a lot of goals. He&rsquo;s got good possibilities.&ldquo;Mondou is another good young guy,&rdquo; MacNeil continued. &ldquo;Were hoping he&rsquo;s going to be good but he has got to improve on his skating. He has great moves and he&rsquo;s going to get a little stronger. He&rsquo;s a heady hockey player.&rdquo;Polich was one of the better players with Team USA in the Canada Cup series. He&rsquo;s an extremely hard worker.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s not very big, but he has tremendous desire,&rdquo; says MacNeil.Nobody plays the game with more intensity than Mike Polich. He doesn&rsquo;t even want to be associated with anybody who gives less than 100 per cent.&rdquo;The biggest task facing the Canadiens appears to be on how to improve over last year&rsquo;s club. That&rsquo;s a tall order. This team lost only 11, tied 11 and won 58 over the 80-game schedule.While there may be one or two positions open on the Canadiens, let&rsquo;s take a position-by-position look at the team for the 1976-77 season.&rsquo;GOALTENDER: Ken Dryden is sure of a job. He&rsquo;s not 100 per cent recovered from off-season knee surgery. Dryden appeared to be a little slow in the Canadiens&rsquo; first exhibition game against Buffalo but the knee responded well. After the game, he complained of general stiffness in his back. That was because he didn&rsquo;t have an opportunity to exercise as much during the off-season as he has in the past.Dave Elenbaas may be good enough to replace Michel Larocque as Dryden&rsquo;s backup. Elenbaas was the leading goalie in the AHL last year and as a fourth-year pro. he has the right to refuse to be sent to the minors. That means the Canadiens will either have to keep him in Montreal or trade him off. The Canadiens may prefer to trade Larocque.DEFENSE: This is where the battle looms the largest in the Canadiens camp. The Canadiens dealt off Don Awrey to Pittsburgh during the off-season, but there are four players who are assured of their jobs.Lapointe, Savard, Robinson and Pierre Bouchard will be the top four rearguards on the team. That leaves games. Bill Nyrop and Rick Chartraw were back and forth between Halifax and Montreal most of the year.That would give those three the nod to fight it out for the open spots. But, they&rsquo;ll get a stiff test from three candidates in from the Voyageurs&mdash;Chuck Luksa, Brian Engblom and Lupien.Lupien was once an enforcer, particularly during his junior days. His first year with the Voyageurs, he took 350 minutes in penalties. However, he cut that down to 134 last year.FORWARDS: Mahovlich, Lafleur and Shutt will be there along with captain Yvan Cournoyer, Jacques Lemaire, Bob Gainey, Doug Jarvis, Yvon Lambert, Doug Risebrough, Murray Wilson and Jim Roberts.Mario Tremblay, who played on a line with Lambert and Risebrough last season, may have to improve considerably or he could find himself on the outside looking in.And, the Canadiens picked up more depth in June when Rejean Houle left the Quebec Nordiques of the World Hockey Association and came back to the city where he made his professtional debut.Houle reportedly signed a three-year contract with the Canadiens and his experience will make it tough for any of the youngsters trying to take his place.There may be room on the roster for one of the hopefuls early in the season because of an injury to Wilson.He suffered a broken thumb early in the first exhibition game against Buffalo and he&rsquo;ll be out indefinitely. &#9632;

Cracking Canadiens’ Lineup Monumental Task

<div class="byline">&#x2014;BY HUGH DELANO</div>THE FIRST DAY of training camp had ended. Nick Fotiu and Paul Stewart, a couple of roughtough New York Rangers&rsquo; rookies, were relaxing in a motel restaurant and rapping about some of the anti: American harassment they have encountered as Americans playing a Canadian sport.&ldquo;I was putting a tape knob on the s top of my stick in the dressing room a couple of years ago when this guy on my team, a Canadian, comes up to me and says: &ldquo;Hey, you&rsquo;re not doing that right,&rsquo;&rsquo; said Stewart.Boston-born Stewart looked his Canadian critic squarely in the eyes and said: &ldquo;Is your name on the Stanley Cup?&rdquo; The answer was no. &ldquo;Well, mine is,&rdquo; snapped Stewart, reminding his critic that his grandmi father, Bill Stewart Sr., coached the Chicago Black Hawks to the Stanley Cup in 1938.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s resentment from some Canadians against guys like us,&rdquo; said Fotiu, who is from Staten Island. N.Y., and will be using his fists as the Rangers&rsquo; enforcer this season. &ldquo;They don&rsquo;t think Americans can I play hockey. Hey, we&rsquo;ve got nothing to be ashamed of. Look at Team USA. I was proud of the way those guys played.&rdquo;A valid point, indeed.You do remember Team USA? The Americans played in the Canada Cup series with Canada, Czechoslovakia, Russia, Sweden and Finland Where would the Canada Cup have been without Team USA to ridicule and make jokes about?&ldquo;The criticism we got before the series was really brutal,&rdquo; said Fred I Ahem, who came out of South Boston and Bowdoin College to become a 17-goal scorer with the California Seals (now Cleveland I Barons) last season. &ldquo;Most of it came from Canada. Everybody was making jokes about us. They calledus Team Useless.&rdquo;GRANTED, TEAM USA had the least talent on paper among the six teams. Team USA, comprised mainly of lesser-known American-born NHL and WHA pros, lacked the big names and big salaries of Team Canada and the international reputation of the Russians or Czechs. Few expected the Americans to be competitive, much less win a game, andlaughed at gave us a special kind of team spirit and pride,&rdquo; said Robbie Ftorek of Needham, Mass., who became a 41-goal scorer with the WHA Phoenix Roadrunners after getting a quick brushoff from the Detroit Red Wings.&ldquo;PEOPLE LAUGHED AT US. They called us &rsquo;Team Useless.&rsquo; They said we didn&rsquo;t belong in the the team received a slap in the face when several invited players, such as Gordie Howe&rsquo;s sons. Mark and Marty, declined to play for the team. The jokesters had a lot of laughs when Team USA was blitzed by Canada, ten to three and seven to three in exhibition games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01408/4127651-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="380" height="588"><figcaption class="caption-body">Hugh Delano is a hockey writer and columnist tor The New York Post. He is president of the New York Chapter ot the Professional Hockey Writers Association and author of a new book, &ldquo;Eddie: A Goalie&rsquo;s Story,&rdquo; a biography of the life and goaltending career of Eddie Giacomin.</figcaption></div>Team USA practiced and played in virtual obscurity, generating little meaningful fan support or national pride in a nation where hockey interest is at best regionalized and well below the interest level of baseball, football or basketball. Team Canada had an entire nation behind it. Few average sports followers in the United States knew Team USA existed.&ldquo;Nobody gave us much chance or paid us much attention and I think the fact that we were overlooked and Canada Cup series. It made all of us pretty angry but it also brought us together as a team and gave us a common goal to prove ourselves,&rdquo; said Ftorek.Bob Pulford, the coach, used the jokes, the ridicule, the criticism to psyche his team and develop the special kind of underdog pride which carried the Mets to the 1969 World Series championship.The so-called no-name Americans were outshot (23-5) and outscored (50) in the first period of their first game against Sweden. But they rebounded to outshoot (24-14) and outscore (2-0) the Swedes in the final two periods of a five to two loss. They trailed mighty Team Canada three to zero, after one period in which they were outshot, 17-3, bul then thev scared the nrotective cups off the Canadiens, overcoming a three-goal deficit, drawing to three to two, before losing on an emptynet goal with 13 seconds to play. They tied Czechoslovakia, four to four, with buzzsaw checking and marvelous goaltending by Mike Curran in what was both a moral victory and an upset.Suddenly the jokes about &rsquo;Team Useless&rsquo; had stopped.&ldquo;I guess they should call us &rsquo;Team Underdog&rsquo;,&rdquo; suggested Ahern, laughing.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re probably the biggest underdogs there ever were,&rdquo; said Curran, who played for the Minnesota Fighting Saints last season. &ldquo;We proved what were made of the way we came back against Team Canada. We sure as hell proved we belonged in the series against the Czechs.&rdquo;CURT BENNETT of the Atlanta Flames, perhaps the most recognizable Team USA player, agreed. &ldquo;We were billed as being so terrible before the series but I think we showed people they were wrong about us. Win or lose, we accomplished a lot and proved a lot about the way Americans can play hockey.&rdquo;Team USA played its only truly bad game in the series when it lost to Russia, six to zero, but it bounced back and beat Finland, six to three in the final game, ending the series with a 1-3-1 record.What did it all prove?&ldquo;I think we had the last laugh.&rdquo; said Pulford. &ldquo;People stopped calling us names, making jokes about us.&rdquo;Ftorek, one of Team USA&rsquo;s most competitive players, put it this way: &ldquo;How many ways are there to lace on a pair of skates? Only one, right? The Canadians and Europeans put their skates on the same way as we do You don&rsquo;t have to be from Montreal or Manitoba or Moscow to; play hockey.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02270/4127644-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="555" height="1091"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKE CURRAN &hellip;Super Series</figcaption></div>EVEN A CANADIAN player with; the reputation of Phil Esposito was; moved by the manner in which underdog Team USA overcame great &Iacute; odds to play competitively against more formidable opponents.&ldquo;I was proud of the way Team: USA played. I&rsquo;ve got nothing but admiration for the way those guys worked. They were undermanned and underrated but they performed above and beyond the call of duty. They did a lot for American hockey.&rdquo; said the Rangers&rsquo; captain and record goal-scorer.Co-general manager Tommy Ivan of the Chicago Black Hawks, a tireless behind-the-scenes worker in Team USA&rsquo;s behalf, agreed wholeheartedly.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never been so proud of a group of young hockey players in my life. In the years to come, the United States will be a force to be reckoned with in international hockey. This Team USA laid the groundwork for better days that lie ahead,&rdquo; he said. &#9632;

f0021-01

The Jeers Turned To Cheers

<div class="byline">BY RICH PASSAN</div>CLEVELAND&mdash;An old team in a new town spawns optimism in the eyes of that team&rsquo;s general manager, who believes that club has a genuine shot at a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs.The team is the Cleveland Barons, who had been the California Golden Seals for the first nine years of their existence. And the GM is Bill McCreary, who thinks the change in environment could be all his club needs to see post-season action.&ldquo;Just by our new geographic location,&rdquo; said McCreary. &ldquo;We should be anywhere from eight to 12 points better than last season. Everybody&rsquo;s job will be that much easier.&ldquo;The coach&rsquo;s job will be easier because he won&rsquo;t have a tired hockey club to work with,&rdquo; continued McCreary, referring to the exhausting schedule the Seals were saddled with each season.In Oakland, the Seals piled up the most air mileage of any team in the National Hockey League. In Cleveland, they could very well log the lowest total.&ldquo;The environment here is much more conducive to hockey and winter sports in general, &rsquo;McCreary said. &ldquo;There are no diversions here like there were in California.&rdquo;McCreary normally tempers his optimism, but cannot do so this season. &ldquo;Basically, I&rsquo;m not an optimist, but I have to be optimistic from what I&rsquo;ve seen the last two years and that is growth and a lot of pride,&rdquo; he explained.&ldquo;Last season, we lost 13 games by one goal. With a guy like Jim Pappin back and the improvement of some of our youngsters, we should be able to win some of those games.&rdquo;What McCreary would like to see is the goals-for and goals-against ratio reduced even more than it was last season. Then, the Seals lopped 32 goals from the goals-against column and added 32 to the goalsfor. The target for each was 50.This season, McCreary believes 25 more goals can be deducted by the defense and 25 added by the offense. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve improved in those departments in the last two years and I see no reason why we can&rsquo;t this season.&rdquo; he said.The key is the team&rsquo;s performance when the opposition has the puck. &ldquo;We need a greater effort from the defense.&rdquo; McCreary said, &ldquo;and the same effort from our players on offense.&rdquo;The key performers, according to the GM, are goaltender Gilles Meloche and defenseman Jim Neilson. &ldquo;The loss of Neilson (to knee surgery last Dec. 2, was a big blow last season.&rdquo; said McCreary, counting on The Chief to stabilize a young and good defense this season.Meloche, who got off to a fine start last season, had problems in the second half and wound up with a 3.4 goals-against average. But there were extenuating circumstances, said McCreary.&ldquo;His wife got pregnant and negotiations for a new contract began and he began to worry,&rdquo; he explained. &ldquo;This affected his play.&rdquo; Meloche eventually wound up signing a long-term contract and has pronounced himself ready for this season.Neilson, on the other hand, reported to the Barons&rsquo; Kent State University training camp with his knee less than 100%. The 15-year veteran was hopeful of getting the hinge in top shape in time for the start of the season.Up front. McCreary has no qualms. &ldquo;We re a blend of talent up there.&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;A guy like Wayne Merrick will be with us for the entire season and that should help.&rdquo; Merrick, who led the club in goals and scoring last season was obtained in a trade with St. Louis at the begining of last season.Playing in the tough Adams Division bothers McCreary not. &ldquo;I like the challenge of the division.&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If we can build to the strength of the other teams, we ll be better than most of the teams in the other divisions.&rdquo;McCreary sees Boston as the team to beat out for a playoff spot. &ldquo;As a team, Boston is going to have problems,&rdquo; he declared. &ldquo;Two or three players carried that team last season.The loss of Bobby Orr will hurt them. They played hard last season because they didn&rsquo;t know when he would be back in the lineup. His mere presence helped make them a better team.&rdquo;The Buffalo Sabres are McCreary&rsquo;s choices for the division championship with the improving Toronto Maple Leafs second. &#9632;

Barons’ GM Sees Shift To East Improving Club

<div class="byline">BY FRANK ORR</div>TORONTO&mdash;The Canada Cup 76 tournament confirmed one fact about the roster of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The team has some of the top individual stars in the game.Center Darryl Sittier was perhaps Team Canada&rsquo;s best forward over the entire series, producer of the tournament-winning goal in overtime and a hard-driving, versatile performer who worked at all forward positions. Right winger Lanny McDonald gave the team a lift with his muscular, two-way work.Defenseman Borje Salming performed spectacularly with the Swedish national team and earned a spot on most tournament all-star teams.Those three players will be anchors of the Leaf bid to move another step up the National Hockey League ladder. Last season, the Leafs jumped from a disappointing 13th place overall finish in 1975-76 to seventh place. They&rsquo;ll make few changes in the roster which was reconstructed with youngsters, figuring that experience will improve the club.The Leafs do have the up-front quality players&mdash;Sittier. Salming. McDonald, winger Errol Thompson (43 goals), goalie Wayne Thomas and defenseman Ian Turnbull. Thus, the work of the lesser lights on the club will decide if the Leafs can overhaul the Adams Division leaders. Boston Bruins, who were 30 points superior, and Buffalo Sabres. 22 points in front of the Leafs.&ldquo;We gained much experience last season, especially in the playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers, which was a real pressure-cooker affair.&rdquo; said Leaf coach Red Kelly.&ldquo;The guys who were in the Canada Cup also played under pressure, which should make them better. But the key to our season will be how the other players progress because we know what our top men can do. &rsquo;Goalie Thomas summed up rather well precisely what the Leafs must do to move up a notch or two.&ldquo;Goals-against is the key number.&rdquo; Thomas said. &ldquo;The top six had G-A averages below 3.00 per game; the next group was between 3.25 and 3.60. So we have to chop ours down a little (Leafs were at 3.45 in &rsquo;76-77).&rdquo;The Leaf line-up will contain few new faces this season. An arrangement with the Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association brought in a couple of defense candidates. The Leafs relieved the Stingers of Mike Pelyk and the huge contract he signed with the WHA team when he defected from the Leafs two years ago. In return, the Stingers allowed the Toronto club to retain rookie Randy Carlyle without a court battle.Carlyle was claimed by the Leafs in the amateur draft and the Stingers claimed the young defenseman had signed a letter of intent with them.The shift of free agent backliner Rod Seiling to St. Louis Blues creates an opening. Salming and Turnbull are set on defense. Brian Glennie, Claire Alexander. Bob Neely. Pelyk and Carlyle will compete for the other jobs.Carlyle played strongly in the early exhibition games but Leafs could dispatch him to the minors where he could have a heavy workload to open the season.Leafs are set on two forward lines&mdash;Sittier with Thompson and McDonald. Jack Valiquette between Pat Boutette and Tiger Williams. Kelly&rsquo;s big challenge is the construction of a consistent third line. Stan Weir. George Ferguson. Jim McKenny. Greg Hubick. Scott Garland. Inge Hammarstrom, Don Ashby and Kurt Walker are the candidates.Kelly&rsquo;s big goal is to improve the Leaf road record&mdash;11 wins. 19 losses and 10 ties last season.&ldquo;We made our home rink a pretty rough place for visiting teams last season but we have to become much more consistent away from Maple Leaf Gardens.&rdquo; Kelly said.warning: Health and Welfare Canada advises that danger to health increases with amount smoked - avoid inhaling. Av. per cigarette; Regular; 16mg. &ldquo;tar 1.2mg. nicotine. King; 18mg. tar 1.4mg. nicotine. &#9632;

Team Canada Efforts Show Leafs Have Some Top Stars

<div class="byline">BY HARRY KLAFF</div>LONG ISLAND&mdash;Once upon a time, the best thing that could happen to a young hockey player would be to be picked up by the New York Islanders. Those were the days when the Nassau Coliseum more closely resembled a mass tryout camp.Things are different now, though, and such a fate is now looked at as a curse. Last season there was only one major addition to the Islanders roster, and that of course was Calder Trophy winner Bryan Trottier.This year, the openings could even be none. When the fans make their way into the Coliseum for the home opener on October 9th, they probably won&rsquo;t have to buy a program. Last year&rsquo;s would do just as well.&ldquo;True, we&rsquo;ve been going with basically the same lineup over the past couple of seasons, but we&rsquo;ve 45 professionals in camp, and they want to win a job with the Islanders,&rdquo; commented general manager Bill Torrey. &ldquo;Just because a player has been with us for a couple of seasons doesn&rsquo;t automatically give him a job for the &rsquo;76-77 season.&rdquo;For the second year in a row, the Islanders are training at their practice site at Racquet &rsquo;n Rink in Farmingdale, L.I. And as the case has been since 1973, coach Al Arbour doesn&rsquo;t plan to spend too much time getting the boys in shape. They are ordered to report in A-l condition. And they do.Arbour and Torrey have five goaltenders in camp, although it is practically guaranteed that the tandem of Glenn Resch and Bill Smith will open the campaign. Smith got his confidence back last season, and was especially brilliant in the quarter-final round against Buffalo.Resch, on the other hand, came into his own as one of the NHL&rsquo;s foremost netminders, and made the second All-Star Team. He&rsquo;s usually a slow starter, but had the benefit this year of working with Team Canada since August.That leaves 29-years-old Bill Hughes as the odd man out once again. Hughes has played two full seasons with Ft. Worth of the Central League, and is the Islanders&rsquo; number three. But unless Arbour changes his philosophy, that translates to another year in the minors for Hughes.Defense is the Islanders&rsquo; game, and the entire crew that carried the club to a second-place finish in the goals against department, will be back. The unit is led, of course, by Denis Potvin, who took possession of the Norris Trophy last semester.Although Potvin didn&rsquo;t sign his new contract until after &ldquo;Free Agent&rdquo; day, he never proclaimed himself as such. Finally in August, a multi-year (and multi-dollar) pact was agreed upon.Denis can keep the puck out of his own end as well as anyone, but it is he who makes the offense click, as he did with Team Canada. Brother Jean also established himself as an &ldquo;offensive defenseman&rdquo; last season, playing the opposite point on the power play.But the Islanders pride themselves on keeping their opponents off the scoreboard, and that&rsquo;s where Gerry Hart, Bert Marshall, and Dave Lewis fit in. They are strictly defensiveminded&mdash;Marshall didn&rsquo;t get his only goal until the playoffs, and Lewis didn&rsquo;t hit the net at all.The only battle could be for the sixth spot, as young Pat Price will push Dave Fortier for the honor. Price was the W.H.A. hot-shot of a couple of years ago. who jumped to the Islanders after failing to fulfill his promise at the tender age of 19.First-round draft pick Alex McKendry could be the only new face up front, but he will probably have to put together a fabulous camp to crack the lineup. He&rsquo;s big (6&rsquo;4", 290 pounds), and can play either the left or right side, although he&rsquo;s more accustomed to the starboard despite being a left-handed shot.Despite the set lineup, coach Arbour has the perfect incentive for his veterans. Either perform up to standards, or three guys will be ready to step in to take your place.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01420/4127730-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="628" height="798"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRYAN TROTTIER &hellip; Last New Face</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0023-01

Days Of Mass Tryouts Gone, Islanders Plan Few Changes

<div class="byline">BY JACK MCCARTHY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01434/4127761-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="640" height="2698"></div>BOSTON-The Bruins will be contenders this year despite a flock of question marks. Over the long haul, it seems that they will win their division, although it will take some doing to challenge Montreal and Philadelphia for the Stanley Cup.Don Cherry stressed team play last year, going back to the fundamental idea of back-checking and playing the man. This season he will be looking for some more point production and the Bruins may become more offensively-minded.There is an unknown here. As this is written, there is no word on what compensation Boston will receive, if any, from Chicago for Bobby Orr. Fans in Boston and the media are very apprehensive about what kind of a deal the Jacobs brothers made with Bill Wirtz in Chicago for Orr. Bobby has apparently, off Team Canada play, come way back from his fifth knee operation. The fans saw him perform on television, and now they want to know what they get for the man who has been hockey in Boston for the past 10 years.Boston has a bunch of people coming back from knee operations and whatever they gpt for Orr would be. at least, insurance and hopefully, they will get a scorer in the deal.They had their chances in the playoffs last year, but did not make the big goals when they had to. Cherry will stress getting the puck away when the opportunity is there. They miss the gunning of Phil Esposito, but have picked up Rick Middleton from New York in exchange for Kenny Hodge. Rick is 23, and has a rep as a gunner.The Bruins are strong in goal with Gerry Cheevers and Gilles Gilbert, and Cheevers will play his first full year in the NHL since coming back from the WHA. As a pair, they rate with the best in the league and over the long season, that can mean something.They also will have Brad Park and Jean Rateile for a full season, and Park, hopefully, will be full speed after his mid-season knee operation of last year.Down the middle. Cherry has Rateile; the sturdy Gregg Sheppard, Peter McNab, a young playmaker over from Buffalo in the deal for Andre Savard, and possibly Clayton Pachal. the No. 1 draft pick out of the Western Junior League&mdash;the New Westminster Bruins. He is a combative sort. also.The knees are big concern. Wayne Cashman, Doug Gibson. Schmautz, Park and Earl Anderson are all coming off surgery and Schmautz is wearing a brace. It will take time to evaluate their progress. If Gibson comes around he&rsquo;ll be a definite plus for the Bruins.Cashman, Don Marcotte and Bucyk are the left wingers; Ter&ccedil;y O&rsquo;Reilly, Gordie Clark, Anderson, Schmautz and Middleton are on the right side; centers appear to be Rateile, Shep. McNab and Pachal.At this writing, Dallas Smith is still unsigned, looking for a long-term contract, which is the bone of contention. Orr is with Chicago. So the defense shapes up as Park, Gary Doak, Joe Zanussi, Al Sims, Daryl Edestrand and Mike Milbury.This is a solid team, injuries aside, albeit not brilliant. But the new faces, plus the goalkeeping and whatever (if ever) they get for Orr, should keep them there or thereabouts all season long.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02343/4127768-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="160" height="286"><figcaption class="caption-body">DOUG GIBSON</figcaption></div><h2>Exhibition Scoreboard &#9632;</h2>

f0024-01

Bruins Aim For Big Year Desoite Question Marks

<div class="byline">BY GREG NOBLE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0026-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01384/4127830-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">NEW CAPTAIN: Rick Dudley, left, accepts new Cincinnati jersey with &rsquo;C&rsquo; on it from team&rsquo;s generalmanager and coach Terry Slater after Dudley was named the new captain of the WHA Stingers. The aggressive Dudley is beginning his second year with Cincinnati after leading the team in point scoring last season.</figcaption></div>CINCINNATI&mdash;The night before the opening of training camp. Cincinati Stingers coach Terry Slater was wishing he was already out on the ice whipping his team into shape.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s always hectic about this time,&rdquo; he was saying.Slater was bemoaning the fact the Canadian players had a tough time obtaining visas this year. Dave Inkpen waited seven days at the border before U.S. officials let him come across.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sitting here worrying about my players not showing up. Barry Melrose is in Toronto. He can&rsquo;t get across the border,&rdquo; Slater groaned.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d sooner be on the ice,&rdquo; hi said.No wonder Slater was so eager to start training camp. He has several reasons to be enthused about the new season.For one, he&rsquo;s not starting from scartch trying to build a first-year team Last year training camp resembled an army processing center. Players were always coming and going. The Stingers tried out enough players to form a battalion.This year he already has a team. He just has to build on it.&ldquo;You look at training camp this and last year and there&rsquo;s no comparison,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I feel much more confident. Last year we went to camp with basically three defensemen we knew could play. We didn&rsquo;t have any right wingers. We had to move Rick Dudley, Pierre Guite and Gene Sobchuk over there. This year guys are basically set in the positions they&rsquo;re going to play.&ldquo;Look at the roster. We have eight right wingers,&rdquo; Slater said. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t have that strength last year.&rdquo;He can also be encouraged by several new additions, including Bryan Maxwell, Richie Leduc, Blaine Stoughton and No. 1 draft choice Peter Marsh.The Stingers finally obtained the six-three, 210-pound Maxwell from the Minnesota Fighting Saints in exchange for the rights to veteran John McKenzie. The Stingers had cancelled an earlier deal for Maxwell when he declared he was a free agent and balked at the trade.&ldquo;You have to ask about the other teams &mdash; have they improved themselves as much as we have or stayed the same,&rdquo; Slater said. &ldquo;If they haven&rsquo;t improved themselves as much as we have we&rsquo;re going to be a much stronger team in our division.&rdquo;Once training camp opened, the Stingers started scrimmaging right away.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t believe in starts and stops. The players can exercise after practice,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I like to scrimmage right away so after four or five days ISlater started an exercise program for his team this year, with the help of a former pro football player. Pat Matson, who was a lineman for the Cincinnati Bengals and owns several Nautilus fitness clubs in Cincinnati, conducts exercises for the players after the afternoon workouts.Slater made Nautilus training mandatory for all his players throughout the season.Before camp started Slater was counting on Dudley, Leduc and Stoughton to form one line. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a pretty experienced hockey line. It&rsquo;s the only one I want to keep together to begin with,&rdquo; he said.A former pro football player asked for and received a thyout with the Stingers.Brad Cousino, a linebacker for the Bengals last year,&rsquo;played in a junior hockey program in Toledo, Ohio, while Slater was there coaching the IHL Toledo Blades.&ldquo;I was a very good hockey player. I felt hockey was my best sport, better than football.&rdquo; said Cousino.He&rsquo;s a tremendous athlete. He deserves a chance,&rdquo; Slater said.Former Denver-Cleveland goalie Can Newton also was in the Stingers&rsquo; camp trying to win a job.BIRMINGHAM: The Bulls built up their thin defense by signing Jean-Guy Lagace and Dale Hoganson. Lagace, a free agent, had the best plus-minus rating on the Kansas City Scouts last year. Hoganson came over from Quebec in a trade for Jim Dorey.The Bulls had 43 players at the start of training camp. &ldquo;As you can imagine, it was very aggressive. &rsquo; Bulls VP Pete McAskile said.Three players with knee problems last year &mdash; Paul Henderson. Richard Farda and Dave Syvret. look in good shape. McAskile said.The building is done. &ldquo;Were ready to go.&rdquo; he said.INDIANAPOLIS: Racers coach Jacques Demers said the single most notable thing about training camp this year is his team&rsquo;s attitude.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a winning attitude. It&rsquo;s one thing we didn&rsquo;t have at training camp last year.&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The guys reported in the best shape of their careers. It&rsquo;s a great way to start off.&ldquo;We re leading off with the attitude that we re Eastern Division champs &mdash; we&rsquo;ve got a title to defend. I have a feeling if everybody stays healthy we&rsquo;ll be in contention throughout the season.&rdquo;The brightest new faces in camp were veteran center Bryan Campbell and two rookies, center Mide Zuke and defensemen Jean Gagnon.&ldquo;Gagnon may be a surprise.&rdquo; Demers said. Although just fiveseven. 165, Gagnon scored 75 points with the Quebec Remparts last year.Demers was optimistic Pat Stapleton would play this season. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m very hopeful he&rsquo;ll play. The way negotiations have been going it looks very good for us.&rdquo; he said. &#9632;

f0026-01

Stoughton, Marsh Raise Stingers’ Hopes

<div class="byline">BY GEORGE BILYCH</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0027-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01363/4127861-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">DAVE KRYSKOW &hellip; Jumped NHL for Oilers</figcaption></div>EDMONTON-Except for the name, there figures to be very little similarity between the current edition of the Edmonton Oilers and the teams that carried that label in the preceding four seasons.Among the myriad of changes, the single most significant one is that Bill Hunter is no longer a part of the official scenario. Hunter had been Edmonton&rsquo;s answer to Mr. Hockey&rsquo; for most of the past two decades and was the driving force behind the formation of the WHA Oilers. In addition to being part owner, the conclusion of last season found him in the roles of coach and general manager as well.That is all history how. A string of on&mdash;ice failures, followed by disenchantment on the part of the paying public led to a general apathy in the entire Edmonton hockey picture last season. Upon conclusion of the playoffs, the owners declared the team was for sale although many weeks went by before any potential investors surfaced.It was not until mid&mdash;August, in fact, that Dr. Charles Allard, one of the Oilers&rsquo; original shareholders, declared that the team would operate. He immediately started surrounding himself with new partners. Zane Feldman, another of the Oilers&rsquo; originals, retained 10 per cent along with Allard. The new blood came in the form of Nick Skalbania and Peter Pocklington, each of whom wound up with 40 per cent of the shares. While there were rumors that the league might itself operate the franchise if necessary, the 11th hour transfusion saved pro hockey in Edmonton.Despite the late start, the new Oilers have gone to work with a gusto. Bep Guidolin was handed the reins in his dual capacity of manager-coach, his task fairly obvious as the club seeks a new image. And while he&rsquo;s had really precious little time to put his plans into operation, he has gone out and acquired a lot of different faces, many of whom have played for him at one time or another.One of his first moves was to resign Norm Ullman, the veteran cener who had been the Oilers&rsquo; leading scorer with 31 goals and 56 assists. He did the same with Rick Morris, one of the honest workmen on last year&rsquo;s lacklustre crew who was scooped up after the Denver-Ottawa franchise folded.Guidolin then went shopping around the continent, bringing back the likes of goalie Ken Broderick, defensemen Barry Wilkins. Dave Langevin and Larry Hornung along with forwards Pete Laframboise. Glen Sather, Barry Merrell. Tony Featherstone and Don Borgeson.A couple of days before training camp opened, he indicated there would be little hesitation in sweeping the old Oilers&rsquo; den clean by giving Wayne Carleton, the veteran center, and Doug Kerslake their walking papers. At the same time he sent veteran rearguard Wayne Muloin to Hershey of the AHL.The Oilers also brought in a number of free agents to camp, some of them with National League experience. They include Dave Krvskow (Chicaeo and Atlanta),Dennis Patterson (Kansas City) and Rob Walton, who last year played briefly with the Calgary Cowboys. Guidolin admitted he had been negotiating with a couple of members of the Finnish team that competed in the Canada Cup tournament.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know all the weaknesses here because I don&rsquo;t know the hockey team,&rsquo;&rsquo; said Guidolin in efending his new signings. &ldquo;All I'm doing is bringing in players who want to play hockey and who I think can help the team. People say we&rsquo;re loading up with veterans. Well, you don&rsquo;t get junior drafts in September, you get them in June.&rdquo;WINNIPEG: Life with the reigning champion Jets appears to be one of stability. Even the fact that coach) Bobby Kromm and nine of their players were tied up for a month with Canada Cup commitments prior to their arrival in training camp, didn&rsquo;t put much of a damper on the pre-season planning.GM Rudy Pilous invited only six newcomers to camp but two of them aren&rsquo;t exactly rookies. Dave Dunn was recruited from the Toronto Maple L&egrave;afs to fill the void created when Hornung was claimed by Edmonton in the inter&mdash;league draft while Dan Labraaten, a member of the Swedish nationals, will fill in for the retired Norm Beaudin.Labraaten&rsquo;s presence brings to eight the number of Swedes who figure to be skating with the Jets this time around. Add a couple of Finns (Veli-Pekka Ketola and Hexi Riihiranta) and it&rsquo;s possible North Americans will be in a minority on this roster.One amateur who figures to make it is Kent Ruhnke, a forward who last spring led the University of Toronto Blues to the national college title. He also had a two game stint with the Boston Bruins last spring.CALGARY: The Cowboys, opening training at home with their Tidewater (Southern League) farmhands, welcomed 53 players to camp. Not among them, however, was Jim Harrison, the center they&rsquo;d been chasing for more than a year.The Cowboys obtained Harrison&rsquo;s contract in a trade that saw them send forwards Jack Carlson. Mike Antonovich and Butch Deadmarsh to the Minnesota Fighting Saints.But Harrison was not on hand when camp opened. Instead, the Cowboys got a letter from his agent suggesting that Harrison had a no-trade clause in his Cleveland Crusaders&rsquo; contract and inasmuch as that was breached, he was a free agent. That situation was at a stalemate as the club prepared for its opening exhibition against Pittsburgh.Two others, centers Don Tannahill and Gavin Kirk, were also no-shows and were immediately placed on the suspended list. &#9632;

f0027-01

Guidolin Dips into NHL As Oilers Clean House

<div class="byline">BY DOUG MCCONNELL</div>HOUSTON-Gordie Howe, 48, was testing his legs for a possible 29th pro season as 28 players reported to the Houston Aeros&rsquo; training camp. Still there was some concern that Howe just may not suit-up but don&rsquo;t bet on it.Bill Dineen, coach and general manager, allowed as how pro sports only playing-president looked pretty good and at 210 was &ldquo;only three or four pounds over his playing weight.&rdquo; The club was leaving the decision up to Gordie on his future as a player.There won t be many changes in the Aeros. Veteran forward Gord Labossiere and defenseman Bill Butters were lost in the draft, but the cutback to an 18-man playing roster by the World Hockey Association will leave what&rsquo;s left of the lineup pretty much as is.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d say.&rdquo; said Dineen, &ldquo;that Morris Lukowich is the one guy with an opportunity at cracking our lineup.&rdquo;Lukowich was the Aeros second round draft choice. They didn&rsquo;t have a first round selection, the penalty for signing under-age John Tonelli last season.Lukowich, who signed a multiyear contract, scored 65 goals and 77 assists for Medicine Hat in the Western Canada Hockey League last season.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s not a big kid. &rsquo; said Dineen, &ldquo;about the same size as Terry Ruskowski. five-foot-ten or so and about 170.but he&rsquo;s aggressive.He had* 195 penalty minutes last year. &rsquo;&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a couple of young defensemen who look good, though,&rdquo; added Dineen. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ll probably wind up in Oklahoma City this season. There&rsquo;s Dwayne Pentland who played in Providence last year and Mike Federko who played in Hamilton s Memorial Cup team, the Fincups. &rsquo;&ldquo;We re going to take a hard look at the players not only in camp but in the exhibition games as well.&rdquo;The Houston coach indicated the exhibition schedule will be doubly important this year, especially the home games with the NHL teams.The Aeros lost their opener five to one to Pittsburgh on Summit ice.&ldquo;There are teams in our league who are as good as the National League teams we are playing. But there is a lot of pride involved here with the inter-league rivalry and it will definitely add to the intensity ofthe encounters,&rdquo; Dineen said.Before the regular season begins Oct. 8 in Birmingham. Alabama, against the Bulls, Dineen will have to reduce his roster to 16 players and two goaltenders. The Aeros will maintain a Central Hockey League farm club at Oklahoma City.<h2>Exhibition Scoreboard</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01350/4127892-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="643" height="1048"></div> &#9632;

f0028-01

Howe’s Future Still Up In Air

<div class="byline">BY TOM HINE</div>ST. PAUL&mdash;There will be more of a Minnesota flavor to the Fighting Saints this year than just the fact they&rsquo;ll be playing in St. Paul.When the Cleveland Crusaders pulled up stakes in Rich field. Ohio and thought about moving to Hollywood. Fla., before finally deciding on trans ferring to Minnesota. Saints&rsquo; management made a big effort to regain some of the fans&rsquo; favorites who played with the old Minnesota team the year before.Coach and general manager Glen Sonmor had 36 players on hand when the Fighting Saints opened their training camp Sept. 20, and no less than 11 of them wore Minnesota uniforms a year ago before the team folded.Back again with the Fighting Saints, by one means or another, are goaltenders Mike Curran and Louis Levasseur, left wingers Mike Antonovich. Jack Carlson and Gord Gallant, center Steve Carlson, right wings Jeff Carlson and John McKenzie. and defensemen John Arbour. Bill Butters, and Pat Westrum.That&rsquo;s in addition to many of the former Crusaders&rsquo; players who won&rsquo;t however, have defenseman Paul Shmyr in their ranks. Shmyr. last year&rsquo;s top WHA defenseman. and winger Gerry Pinder were traded to San Diego for center Ray Adduono and defenseman Bob Wall.There&rsquo;s an old Minnesota flavor in the Fighting Saints&rsquo; front office as well. Sonmor was general manager in St. Paul last year and Jack McCartan has stayed in town to serve as the new assistant coach and director or player personnel.QUEBEC: Biggest question mark in Quebec City this fall centers on Marc Tardif and his reaction to four months of total inactivity and convalescence after the altercation with Calgary&rsquo;s Rick Jodzio in last year&rsquo;s WHA playoffs.Tardif was in excellent physical shape when the Noriques opened their training camp on Sept. 16. Medically, he&rsquo;s fine, but doctors are waiting to see how he&rsquo;ll react on the ice under regular game conditions.Until then, they&rsquo;re holding their breath in Quebec City as they watch the progress of last year&rsquo;s WHA scoring champion, most valuable player, and first team All-Star who tallied 71 goals and assisted on 77 others for a record-setting 148-point effort.First&mdash;year Quebec coach Marc Boileau, formerly with the NHL&rsquo;s Pittsburgh Penguins, wasn&rsquo;t the only new face at the Nordiques pre-season camp.Obtained in off-season trades were defensemen Jim Dorey (Birmingham) and Paul Baxter (Minnesota), goaltender Mario Viens (Birmingham), right wing Paulin Bordeleau (Vancouver&mdash;NHL) and center Andre Baudrias (Vancouver-NHL).The Nordiques, scheduled to play five intra-league exhibitions, had sold 6.000 season tickets. 60 per cent of capacity at Le Colisee. by the time they opened training camp.NEW ENGLAND: Thirty-five players were invited to the Whalers&rsquo; training camp that opened Sept. 20 as Harry Neale embarked on his first full year as New England coach.Neale came to Hartford when Minnesota folded and took over the club just in time for the Whalers&rsquo; big push to qualify for the WHA&rsquo;s post-season playoffs.The assistant coach for Team U.S.A., Neale and wingers Alan Hangsleben and Danny Bolduc and goaltender Cap Raeder had a short summer but an early start on the season because of their commitment to the six-nation Canada Cup series.The Whalers have scheduled three pre-season exhibition games, including an Oct. 1 date in Hartford with the NHL&rsquo;s New York Rangers.On the Rangers&rsquo; roster is big Nick Fotiu, a popular Whalers&rsquo; winger who was released over the summer to sign with his hometown team in New York.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01306/4127923-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="630" height="881"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOHN MCKENZIE &hellip; Back With Saints</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0029-01

Fighting Saints Take On Old Look; Tardifs Status Remains Uo In Air

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0031-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01318/4127961-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">High scoring Bobby Hull starts 5th year in WHA with Jets.</figcaption></div>TORONTO-The World Hockey Association has announced preliminary details for its exhibition series against teams from Czechoslovakia and Russia late this year.The WHA, with the approval of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States, will engage in three international series against the Soviets and Czechs.Ben Hatskin, chief executive officer of the WHA, said the Russians will conduct an eight-game North American tour and will play in several WHA cities from Dec. 27 to Jan. 12 No teams or cities have been selected as yet.Hatskin said the Czechs will send a select team to oppose WHA teams in Canada and the U.S. from Dec. 11-24 and in return the WHA will send a team to the Invest&iacute;a Cup tournament in Moscow Dec. 16-22.Hatskin said all games played in WHA cities will be handled exclusively by WHA officials, including referees. Russian officals will officiate at all games played in Moscow by the WHA teams.Hatskin said the WHA team that will compete in the Invest&iacute;a Cup will be a Canadian based team strengthened by several All-Star players from the league. It will mark the first time a professional team has ever played in the Moscow tournament.Bobby Kromm, coach of the Winnipeg Jets, said he is anxious to have the Czechs play in Winnipeg during December. He said the visit would be in return for a couple of games the Jets played in Czechoslovakia during their European training camp tour last year.<h2>Habs List Czech Goalie</h2>MONTREALGoaltender Vladimir Dzurilla of Czechoslovakia, who became an overnight sensation after he shutout Team Canada one to zero in the round-robin portion of the Canada Cup tournament, has been placed on the Montreal Canadiens negotiation list.<h2>WHA SETS ALL STAR GAME Jan. 18 at Hartford</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02240/4127954-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="1332" height="937"></div> &#9632;

f0031-01

WHA Teams Plan 3 Series Against Russians, Czechs

<div class="byline">BY DOUG MCCONNELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0032-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01323/4127992-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">KEN LOCKETT&hellip; Hates To Lose</figcaption></div>SAN DIEGO&mdash;Ron Ingram, coach of the San Diego Mariners, may have uttered the understatement of the bicentennial year.&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;ll be stronger in goal and on defense,&rdquo; he said.The Mariners had two of the best in goaltender Ernie Wakely and defenseman Kevin Morrison. Ingram got it for them. In spades.Among the new additions to the Mariners are the outstanding defenseman in the World Hockey Association last season. Paul Shmyr, a hard-hitting defenseman from the Vancouver Canucks, Greg Boddy and veteran goaltender Ken Lockett, who played the last two seasons for the Canucks.Wakely posted the third best goals against average in the WHA last season. 3.25. but when he wasn&rsquo;t in the nets the Mariners surrendered 4.47 goals per game.Lockett had a 3.16 goals against average in 25 games for Vancouver in 1974-75 and finished at 3.47 in 30 appearances last season.&rsquo;He&rsquo;s a good age (29). has the experience and he hates to lose and that&rsquo;s the type of player I enjoy having,&rdquo; said Ingram.Shmyr came to the Mariners along with winger Gerry Pinder from the Minnesota Fighting Saints (Cleveland Crusaders of last season).The Mariners gave up, in exchange, veteran defenseman Bob Wall and center Ray Adduono.Shmyr has been on the WHA allstar team three of the past four seasons. He was named the US division team&rsquo;s outstanding player in the 1976 WHA all-star game.Pinder had 21 goals and 30 assists for 51 points in 79 games last season.Adduono, who was second to Andre Lacroix among Mariner point-getters last season with 90, had been balking at the Mariners&rsquo; contract offer and Wall had not been offered a contract.The Saints also received an undisclosed amount of cash in the transaction.Boddy, six-foot-two, 200 pound 27-year-old was almost signed by the Mariners two years ago but opted to stay in Vancouver where he played a total of five years.&ldquo;Greg has the size and desire to be i where the action is and he can take it i to an opponent,&rdquo; said Ingram. &ldquo;We.also wanted him because he can play &rsquo;a forward position as well as i defense.&rdquo;Morrison can also play up front.He topped WHA defensemen in points two years ago and was second last season.Two young forwards who could crack the lineup are center Brad Rhiness and Tim O&rsquo;Connell, who can play center or either wing.Rhiness, from Kingston of the OHA junior league, was the Mariners&rsquo; first draft choice two years ago as an under-age junior, but they didn&rsquo;t get him. O&rsquo;Connell, from Hingham, Mass., was the second highest scorer as an all American for the University of Vermont two years ago with 82 points. He had 44 points last season despite being sidelined for a time with a slight shoulder separation and with mononucleosis. He was Eastern Collegiate rookie-of-the-year in 197273 with 51 points in 31 games and added 57 as a sophomore to earn All East honors.Where the Mariners are strong where they never have been before is at owner. They have a hometown owner with bucks.Ray Kroc, the McDonald&rsquo;s hamburger king who already owns the San Diego Padres, not only saved the franchise but gives it a lot of credibility.Meanwhile, the Phoenix Roadrunners have streamlined their operation and plan to present a different brand of hockey, although there are few changes in the cast.Brian O&rsquo;Neill, who succeeded the World Hockey Association&rsquo;s new president. Bill MacFarland, as president of the Roadrunners, has pared $800,000 from the budget and hopes to further reduce losses which topped $2 million last season.Al Rollins combined the role of coach, general manager and director of player personnel into one, replacing Sandy Hucul as coach.What&rsquo;s your goal? A rec room &hellip; a vacation trip &hellip; a colour TV? Let Toronto Dominion in on your plans, with a TD Cash-builder plan. C&auml;sh-builder lets you decide how much you want to save each payday or month. Then that amount is automatically transferred from your chequing account to your Premium Savings account. What you don&rsquo;t see you won&rsquo;t miss. And you&rsquo;ll be surprised how quickly your savings will grow. Ask your TD manager about Cash-builder. &#9632;

f0032-01

Ingram Sees Mariners As Top Defensive Club

<div class="byline">JOHN ARNOLD&#x2019;S</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0033-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01290/4128023-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0033-01

HOCKEY CROSSWORD

NEW HAVENAhhh&mdash;September that magical month when the leaf peepers flock to New England, home owners dream of retiring their lawnmowers and hockey players&rsquo; thoughts turn to stops and starts, and training meals. The coach? Well, he feels you&rsquo;re not in good condition until you can run up the side of a building.Judging from the limited exhibition schedule for the American Hockey League teams, most training camps are going to be doing a lot of stops and starts. At the present time only six games are on tap before the official season gets underway on Oct. 6.The New Haven Nighthawks will be the busiest team during the pre-season as they have a five-game schedule. They will play home-and-home series with the new Springfield Indians and the Rochester Americans as well as a single game with the New York Rangers. The Rangers will be furnishing some player talent in New Haven this season.Along with the two games against New Haven, the Springfield Indians also have a game scheduled with the Rhode Island Reds at Providence College. There will, however, be lots of hockey action on tap for Springfield Civic Center. The Boston Bruins played the Chicago Black Hawks on Sept. 28 and Washington Captials and New York Rangers clashed Oct. 3. Fans in the Providence area watched the Buffalo Sabres and Bruins at the Civic Center Oct. 1.The defending Southern Division (now a thing of the pasti champion Hershey Bears met the Capitals in Hershey on Oct. 2.The recently concluded Canada Cup series aired in the US on public television went a long way in promoting hockey in the pre-season and the AHL can be proud of its contributions to Team USA Although they were ignored by the broadcasters and media, several of the players on the US entry were recent graduates of the AHL Pete LoPresti (New Haven). Rick Chartraw. Bill Nyrop and Mike Polich (Nova Scotia), Doug Palazzan (Rhode Island). Robbie Ftorek (Virginia) and Mike Milbury (Rochester).With the opening of training camps and the playing of exhibition games, the great guessing game among the fans begins Who will win the Calder Cup? If you took a poll of the booster clubs you would end up with a six-way tie. The booster clubs of the AHL. by the way. just completed another successful annual meeting of all present and former member clubs in the AHL at Lake Placid. New York.At any rate, here&rsquo;s a quick preview of what lies ahead for the shortened AHL.The league will have six solid franchises when it opens the 1976-77 campaign and will operate with one division and each team will play a balanced 80-game schedule, 40 at home and the same on the road.The final make-up of the AHL wasn&rsquo;t decided until Aug. 12 when Baltimore officially announced that it would cease operations in the 41-year-old league. Rhode Island, the only other question mark when the meeting was recessed, announced its decision to continue operation on July 16. Richmond announced its intention to suspend operations at. the meeting and the AHL&rsquo;s board of governors granted the Robins a one-year suspension.The defending Calder Cup champion Nova Scotia Voyageurs head the list of teams set to go. Joining the Voyageurs will be the Hershey Bears. New Haven Nighthawks, Rhode Island Reds. Rochester Americans and Springfield Indians.In announcing plans for the coming season president Jack Butterfield, who will start his 11th season at the helm, said he was sorry to lose both Baltimore and Richmond but felt it was better to have six solid franchises than a greater number with several weak sisters. Butterfield was also very optimistic about the future of the AHL. &ldquo;No doubt we have had our troubles but I honestly feel we are over the hump and it will be down-hill from here on. I think the competition and the calibre of play will be similar to what we experienced 10 years ago. I truly think we are now in a position to offer the fans what they really want to see. good competitive hockey with parity throughout the league."&rsquo; he said.Besides losing franchises in Baltimore and Richmond there will be something else missing this year. Eddie Shore. NHL Hall of Famer and owner of the Springfield franchise for more than 3C years, the last of the &ldquo;original owners completed a deal selling his franchise to a group of Springfield men headed by his former attorney. George Leary. The franchise will retain its name but will move all its home games back to the Eastern States Coliseum in West Springfield, the original home of Eddie&rsquo;s Indians Although he will not be actively involved with the new franchise. Eddie was unanimously elected a life-time governor of the league and will serve as the alternate governor for the Springfield franchise.The Indians named former Syracuse and Jacksonville coach John Hanna to handle the hockey operations for the coming season and have working agreements with the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals for the supply of players. Hanna served as coach and general manager for the Tidewater entry in the Southern League last season.Nova Scotia will work exclusively with Montreal player personnel this year. Last season the Canadiens and Atlanta Flames supplied players in Halifax Al MacNeil, selected to help coach the Canadian entry in the recent Canada Cup tournament, is back at the helm in Halifax.Hershey will again work with the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins and last year s coach of the year Chuck Hamilton will be behind the bench Hamilton was voted the Louis A.R. Pieri Award at the AHL&rsquo;s annual meeting. New Haven coach and general manager Parker MacDonald will have Minnesota and New York Ranger players to work with this season. The Nighthawks had a working agreement with the Detroit Red Wings along with the North Stars last season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01318/4128054-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="628" height="927"><figcaption class="caption-body">DUANE RUPP&hellip; New Amerks&rsquo; Coach</figcaption></div>Duane Rupp will replace Dick Mattiussi at the helm in Rochester and the Amerks will continue their affiliation with the Boston Bruins. Rupp will serve as a player-coach. Last season the Amerks had several players under AHL contract and are expected to have several under contract again this year.The Reds, who appeared to be out in June, got their act together mostly through the efforts of John Muckier, who has been the coach and general manager there for the past three years. He will again assume the duties of both jobs this year. The Reds are expected to sign several players to AHL contracts and with some help from some NHL clubs plus the New England Whalers they should have a competitive team again this year.How AHL Race Will Finish1. Nova Scotia2. New Haven3. Hershey4. Springfield5. Rochester6. Rhode Island &#9632;

f0034-01

NHL Aiding AHL For 41st Year Start With Pre-Season Game Appearances

<div class="byline">BY BILL ADLER</div>DALLAS&mdash;With new president Bud Poile settled into office, the Central Hockey League has been busily making preparations for the opening of the league&rsquo;s 14th year on Fri. Oct 8.On that night the Fort Worth Texans will host their Turnpike rivals from Dallas. Defending Adams Cup champions, the Tulsa Oilers, open at home against their cross-state opponents, the Oklahoma City Blazers. The Oilers, who closed the &rsquo;75-76 regular season with 10 consectuve victories, will be looking to extend that streak with the start of the new year. The other opening night action puts the newest entry, Kansas City Blues, into action as player-coach Barclay Plager leads his charges against the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in the Salt Palace.DALLAS: The Black Hawks are currently engaged in one of hockey&rsquo;s more rigorous exhibition schedules. Under first-year coach Roger Neilson, who has joined the Dallas organization from the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League, the Hawks scheduled 10 exhibition games in Canada against many of the senior amateur teams. The Hawks break camp Oct. 1 and move to Dallas in preparation for their season opener in Fort Worth Oct 8.For the first time in a decade, the Chicago Black Hawks will be sharing the sponsorship of the Dallas team as the Toronto Maple Leafs have joined the Hawks in Dallas Toronto has previously operated in Tulsa and Oklahoma City over the first 13 years of the CHL&rsquo;s existence With this joint sponsorship, there will be some interesting competition for several spots on the roster of both clubs number one &ldquo;farm&rdquo; team. Among the keenest competition will be in goal which sees both Chicago and Toronto return a pair of outstanding young goaltenders from their CHL clubs of 75-76. With each team supplying only one goalie in Dallas, an interesting battle is taking shape between Mike Veisor and Bob Volpe of Chicago and Pierre Hamel and Mike Palmateer of Toronto.Other possible candidates for the Dallas roster include the CHL&rsquo;s most valuable player of 1975-76 Ian McKegney along with his All Star teammate from last season defenseman Randy Holt.FORT WORTH: Coach John Choyce has been holding the Texan camp in Muskegon. Mich., where the team has played a couple of exhibition games against the Detroit Red Wing &ldquo;B&rdquo; squad. Choyce moved his team to Fort Worth Sept 30 for an exhibition game against the two-time WHA champions, the Houston Aeros in Fort Worth on Fri. Oct 1. Choyce is new at the job this season.Joining Choyce as the captain and all-around helping hand in Fort Worth this year is the veteran Frank St. Marseille The veteran center played six seasons with St. Louis and the last three with the Los Angeles Kings before moving to Fort Worth this year. The position in Fort Worth enables the 36-year native of Levack, Ontario to remain an active player as well as begining to learn the tools of a new hockey career, that of coaching. In all phases St. Marseille should prove a most welcome addition to Choyce and the Texans.Texan goaltending looks sound for the forthcoming season as the veteran Bill Hughes returns for his third season in Fort Worth. Joining Hughes from the Los Angeles organization will be Mario Lessard. The 22-year-old Lessard has had two outstanding seasons with Saginaw of the International Hockey League and is set for his professional debut this year.KANSAS CITY: Another veteran hockey player will attempt his fate at the coaching profession. Plager, who played for nine years in St. Louis with the Blues, will coach the Kansas City team this year while continuing to play. Joining Plager in handling the Kansas City operation will be Sid Salomon. III. who moves to Kansas City as the general manager of the team.St. Louis has an outstanding crop of young hockey players as the Blues will stock the Kansas City team with some support from the Detroit Red Wings. After opening their camp in St. Louis the Blues will ship a full squad to Kansas City. Included in those players could be the Blues&rsquo; number one selection in the amateur draft. Bernie Federko. Saskatoon (WCHL). Veteran performers who might be destined for Kansas City include Doug Palazzari. Mitch Babin who performed superbly two years ago as a rookie in the CHL with the Denver Spurs. Brian Oglivie and goaltenders Yves Belanger and Doug Grant.OKLAHOMA CITY: Five years out of hockey doesn&rsquo;t concern Murray Davison that much, not since Murray is looking forward to his first game. &ldquo;It has been a rather difficult transition leaving the game but I can say that I am most pleased to be returning to professional hockey.&rdquo;That first regular season game will come on Fri. Oct. 8. when Davison takes his Blazers across the Turnpike to meet the defending Adams Cup champions, the Tulsa Oilers. The Blazers will be looking to snap a nine-game losing streak against the Oilers from last year. Tulsa won final five regular season contests before sweeping four straight from Oklahoma City in the playoffs.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0567/4128116-1-eng-US/f0036-052.jpg" title="f0036-05" width="630" height="1180"><figcaption class="caption-body">BUD POILE &hellip; CHL President</figcaption></div>Oklahoma City fans will be watching as the World Hockey Association will supply the playing talent this season as the Phoenix Roadrunners. Houston Aeros. Cincinnati Stingers and Birmingham Bulls will join in sending players to Oklahoma City. Davison is hopeful of securing some of the outstanding young talent that has adorned the Houston roster for the past several seasons.SALT LAKE: After being dethroned as league champions last year. Marv Edwards will try to put together the nucleus of an Adams Cup contender from the players supplied by the parent club, the Cleveland Barons.In goal where Marv. himself, performed so well for many seasons will see an interesting battle between a pair of promising young stars. Larry Hendrick, who played in 15 games with Salt Lake last year (his first pro season) after being recalled from Toledo (IHL) will be one of the goaltenders Joining Hendrick in net will be the star of 1976 United States Olympic team. Jim Warden.TULSA: Being defending champions is always a tough act to follow but the Oilers are begining on the right foot as Orland Kurtenbach returns for his third season as coach after a distinguished career as a player Kurt guided the Oilers to an Adams Cup championship and was selected as the CHL coach of the year.With the defection of Vancouver goalie Ken Lockett to the WHA. the Canucks will keep Curt Ridley in Vancouver, ending speculation that Ridley might return to Tulsa. &#9632;

f0036-05

Wholesale Changes In Coaches Highlight CHL’s 14th Campaign

-DALLAS&mdash;Without a president for eight months, the Central Hockey League returned to that status for two days following the resignation of the developmental league&rsquo;s second president in the last nine months. Bud Hoile, former executive vice-president with the World Hockey Association, replaced Ray Miron as CHL president just two days after Miron had quit the position.Miron, who had spent 13 years affiliated with the Central League in Tulsa and Oklahoma City as general manager (Ray also coached the last two years in Oklahoma City), resigned on Aug. 23. only 20 days after formally accepting the position as the CHL&rsquo;s president. The resignation was brought about when Miron accepted the post as general manager of the newly formed Colorado Rockies of the National Hockey League. The Rockies&rsquo; franchise had been located in Kansas City for the last two years, but the NHL approved the transfer of the franchise for the 1976-77 season.Miron had been given the full assurance of all the CHL&rsquo;s governors that if the opportunity to become a member of the National Hockey League presented itself that he would be free to accept the offer.Two days after Miron&rsquo;s sudden resignation, the CHL&rsquo;s board of governors emerged from a meeting in Toronto, held in conjunction with the annual Hall of Fame awards dinner, with the announcement that the affable Poile had been chosen to fill the vacancy in the CHL&rsquo;s top spot. Jim Gregory, general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and chairman of the board of the CHL governors, said. &ldquo;The governors are most pleased to gain a man of Bud Poile&rsquo;s experience. Bud has handled all phases of a hockey operation during his career and takes the president s chair fully aware of all the problems facing the chief executive.&rdquo; Poile commented, &ldquo;I am most gratified for the confidence the CHL board of governors have in me and I am looking forward to continuing the growth of the Central Hockey League.&rdquo;A 52-year-old native of Fort William. Ontario (birthplace of the first president of the Central League and one of the great names in hockey. Jack Adams). Bud has had a varied and interesting career in professional hockey. No one can accuse him of lacking the necessary experience for stepping into the CHL&rsquo;s president&rsquo;s chair.Turning pro as a player with Toronto Maple Leafs at the age of 18 in 1942. Bud spent much of the next three years in the Canadian Army. Returning to the Maple Leafs for the &rsquo;46-47 season. Bud was a member of that Stanley Cup champtionship team as the Maple Leafs engineered a monumental upset of the Montreal Canadiens four games to two in the finals to capture the first of Toronto&rsquo;s three consecutive Stanley Cups in the late 40&rsquo;s.Following his playing days he moved into the Detroit Red Wing organization with his first coaching assignment coming in Tulsa when the team was affiliated with the old United States Hockey League.In 1966 the opportunity to become part of the National Hockey League was afforded Bud as he took the position of general manager of the fledgling Philadelphia Flyers which he considers one of the greatest thrills of his professional hockey career.<h2>New Coaches In The CHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01279/4128168-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="626" height="698"><figcaption class="caption-body">MURRAY DAVISON &hellip;Back At OC</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02214/4128161-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="629" height="654"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROGER NEILSON &hellip;Joins Dallas</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03159/4128154-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="630" height="660"><figcaption class="caption-body">BARCLAY PLAGER &hellip;KC Player-Coach</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04101/4128147-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="637" height="654"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOHN CHOYCE &hellip;Handles Fort Worth</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0036-01

Poile Replaces Miron In Presidental Shuffle

<div class="byline">By RALPH BRIDGLAND</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0037-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01243/4128199-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg"></div>LONDON &mdash;St. Catharines has suffered both at the box office and on the ice the past two Ontario Hockey Association Major Junior &ldquo;A&rdquo; Hockey League seasons.The Black Hawks compiled a record of 30-33-7 in 1974-75 and followed with a 1640-10 performance last season. As the team fell in the standings, attendance fell from poor to horrendous.The situation was so bleak in St. Catharines at the conclusion of last season that Hap Emms moved his franchise down the road to Niagara Falls where it will be known as the Flyers.While Ron And Mario Cupido and Joe Finochio don&rsquo;t claim to be the Dr. Christian Barnard of the OHA, their hockey team transplant&rsquo; may well save the life of Junior &ldquo;A&rdquo; hockey in St. Catharines.The Cupidos and Finochio, owners of Hamilton Fincups. moved the defending Memorial Cup champions to St. Catharines when plans for a new arena in Hamilton never got off the ground.While only time will tell whether the transplanted Fincups will boost attendance in St. Catharines, it&rsquo;s a safe bet that the club will offer a vastly improved brand of hockey than Garden City fans have been subjected to over the past two seasons.Despite losing nine players to the overage draft, the Fincups are odds-on favorites to win the Emms Division crown and again be the top contender for the J. Ross Robertson Trophy emblematic of OHA Major Junior &ldquo;A&rdquo; supremacy.The Fincups are led by captain Dale McCourt, considered be many to be the hottest prospect in Canadian juniorranks. McCourt finished fourth in league scoring last season with 55 goals and 84 assists for 139 points.Also returning are Rie Seiling (3551&mdash;86), Joe Contini (28-52&mdash;80) and Mike Keating (42-37-79).With Mark Locken, whose 3.14 goals-against average lead the league in 1975-76, the Fincups are guaranteed of superb netminding.Barring a total collapse or a plague of injuries the Fincups appear to be head and shoulders above the rest of their competition.KITCHENER: With two of their top three point-producers returning the Rangers appear headed for a big improvement over their fourth-place finish of a year ago.Dan Djakalovic (37-45&mdash;82) and goal tender Mike Freeman are the only casualties of the over-age draft.Red Laurence, who reached the 50-goal plateau last season, and Dwight Foster, who led the club in points with 94. will lead the Kitchener attack.Look for the Rangers to finish second to the Fincups in the Emms Division.TORONTO: With the graduation of three regulars on defense and their top goaltender, the Marlboros may encounter their biggest problems inside their own blueline.Defensive stalwarts Mike McEwen, Mike Kitchen and Jim Kirkpatrick are gone and the blueline responsibilities will fall on returnees Brian Crichton and Trevor Johansen.Doug Cardy, who had a 4.21 GAA in 19 games last season, and Steve Weeks. 4 95 in 18 appearances, inherit the goaltending chores with the absence of Kevin Walton.Cary Farelli (33-68&mdash;101) will be counted upon heavily by coach GeorgeArmstrong to carry the offensive load The Marlies will finish third in the Emms Division, but closer to fourth than to Kitchener.LONDON: With the loss of their top two scorers and three starting defensemen the Knights will be hard-pressed to repeat their second-place Emms Division finish of last seasonVern Stenlund (44-75&mdash;119) and Tom Rowe (39-55&mdash;94) went in the pro draft and leave the offensive burden with Jim MacRae (35-38&mdash;73) and Steve Stockman (27-39-66).On the bluline. Rick Green (number one pick in the National Hockey League amateur draft last summer), Dwight Schofield and Larry Riggin have departed.Brad Marsh, Scott Campbell and Rob Ramage will anchor this season s defense corps.Goaltending would appear to be the Knights&rsquo; strong suit with Pat Riggin (3.68 goals-against average in 29 appearances last season) taking over from graduated Mike Kasmetis.The Knights and Marlies will fight it out for third spot with London just falling short of their arch-rivals.NIAGARA FALLS: A change of name and locality won t improve the Flyers&rsquo; (formerly St. Catharines Black Hawks) fortunes.The Flyers finished fifth in the Emms Division last season with 42 points and the outlook for the coming season doesn&rsquo;t indicate any big improvement.The club&rsquo;s five top scorers from last season have graduated leaving the offensive duties in the hands of relatively unproven performers.Kevin Osmars (25-36&mdash;61) and Ken Campbell (16-30&mdash;46) head the list of returnees.The Flyers appear headed for a battle with Windsor for fifth place in the Emms section, a fight they could eventually lose.WINDSOR: Last season, the Spitfires&rsquo; first in Major Junior &ldquo;A", the club predictably finished last in the Emms Division with 12 wins and four ties in 66 games.While the Spitfies will improve this season it won t be enough to lift them farther than fifth place.The club&rsquo;s top four scorers graduated at the conclusion of last season leaving the scoring responsibilities with Mike Dwyer (20-28&mdash;48). Joel Quenneville (1533&mdash;48) and Roily Hedges (18-23&mdash;41).&rsquo;The Spitfires are still a year or two away from becoming a contender and will have to be content with battling the Flyers for fifth spot.SUDBURY: Despite losing four of their top scorers and their starting goaltender, the Wolves appear to be a shade better than their Leyden Division opponents.Ron Duguay (42-92&mdash;134). Hec Marini (32-45&mdash;77) and Wes Jarvis (26-48&mdash;74) will be counted upon to lead the Sudbury offense.With the defense corps having four returnees the only question mark appears to be finding a suitable replacement for Jim Bedard between the pipes.The Wolves should take their division title in a photo finish.PETERBOROUGH: The Petes will undoubtedly be the most improved team from last season.New coach Garry Young has a squad returning practically intact from last season and will see the club&rsquo;s fortunes rise drastically from its last place finish in 1975-76.Mark Kirton (22-38&mdash;50) and Gary<h2>OHA MAJOR HOCKEY LEAGUE</h2>McMonagle (26-33&mdash;59) are the top scorers returning from last season.Defensively Petes are strong with blueline corps having lost only one player and Greg Millen (4.17 goals-against average in 58 games) returning to handle, the goaltending chores.Petes will be right on the heels of Sudbury in battle for Leyden title.OTTAWA: Loss of four of its five top scorers will relegate 67&rsquo;s to third place in Leyden section, but not far behind Petes and Wolves.Defenseman Doug Wilson (26-62&mdash;88) heads list of returnees and is followed by Steve Marengere (15-53&mdash;68) and Tom McDonell (20-42&mdash;62).Defensively 67&rsquo;s will be sound after losing just one rearguard. Bob Daly (4.43 goals-against average in 31 games last season) will gake over the goaltending duties.The biggest problem Ottawa faces is replacing Peter Lee, who scored 81 goals and added 80 assists for 161 points last season.KINGSTON: With three of top four scorers from last season returning. Canadians could be surprise team in Leyden Division.Ken Linseman (61-51&mdash;112), Mike Crombeen (43-39 &mdash; 82) and Tony McKegney (24-56&mdash;80) will be counted upon to carry the offensive load.Defensively the Canadians appearstrong with the possible exception of goaltending where a replacement will have to be found for the graduated Bob Mears.OSHAWA: With only two of top eight scorers from last season returning and both goaltenders departed, new coach Sherry Bassin has his work cut out for him.Defenseman Bob Gladney (26-52&mdash;78) and Brian Drumm (22-18&mdash;40) will be counted upon heavily in a rookie-laden lineup.Biggest trouble spot appears to be in net where starter Greg Redquest and backup Paul Stos have both graduated.SAULT STE. MARIE: Greyhounds face much the same problems as Generals.With only one of top seven pointgetters returning and their starting goaltender gone. Greyhounds are also in rebuilding stage.Tony Cuomo (24-53&mdash;77) will be counted upon heavily to spark Hounds&rsquo; offense.Club must try and fill gap left by departure of league scoring champion Mike Kaszychi (51-119&mdash;170).<h2>How OHA Race Will Finish</h2><h3>EMMS DIVISION</h3>1. St. Catharines2. Kitchener3. Toronto4. London5. Niagara Falls6. Windsor<h3>LEYDEN DIVISION</h3>1. Sudbury2. Peterborough3. Ottawa4. Kingston5. Oshawa6. Sault Ste. Marie<h2>CENTRAL HOCKEY LEAGUE &#9632;</h2>

f0037-01

Transplantecd Fincups Will Boost St. Catharines’ Hopes, Attendance

<div class="byline">BY BUD GALLMEIER</div>COLUMBUS&mdash;The Columbus Owls have dipped into a second generation to fill their coaching needs for the 1976-77 season in the International Hockey League. Ron Ullyot. a seven-year veteran with the Fort Wayne Komets and son of Komet general manager and part owner Ken Ullyot, is the new coach of the Owls.With the appointment of Ullyot as coach, owner Al Savill also announced that Moe Bartoli will devote all of his time now to the general manager&rsquo;s chores. Bartoli has served the Owls as both coach and GM in the past.Ullyot. who has spent more than half of his life in Fort Wayne, got some coaching experience last season as an assistant at Fort Wayne, his first year away from an active player&rsquo;s role. A graduate of Michigan, which he attended on a hockey scholarship. Ron is the only Komet player who advanced through the Fort Wayne youth hockey program. In his seven seasons with the Komets, Ron played on one championship squad and was recognized as a sound hockey player, skilled in fundamentals.It was Ullyot&rsquo;s apparent knowledge of the game which attracted the interest of both Bartoli and Savill. Bartoli said in making the announcement, &ldquo;Ullyot has an excellent understanding of the game. And while he never was an all-star as a player. Ullyot proved to everyone his knowledge of hockey was immense &ldquo;Bartoli also said. &ldquo;This will be Ron s team. If I can help in any way. that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m here for. We have the utmost confidence in Ullyot as a coach, or Mr Savill would not have hired him &ldquo;FORT WAYNE: The Komets have announced the signing of Ralph Keller for a second full season as coach and also have veteran goalie Robbie Irons under contract for the coming season.In his first full season as Komet coach last year, the former Hershey star defenseman led the Komets to a second place finish in the South Division. The Komets then eliminated Toledo in four straight in the playoffs before losing to eventual Turner Cup champion Dayton.DAYTON: Larry Mickey, a 12-year veteran of the National Hockey League, is the new coach of the Dayton Gems. Dayton also has a new general manager. Ken Wilson who has served in that capacity with several IHL clubs, most recently at Flint.Mickey replaces Ivan Prediger who found no security in leading the Gems to both the league and playoff crowns last season after filling the gap created when Tommy McVie took over as coach of the Washington Capitals.Wilson has announced that the Gem ticket sales campaign is moving along well Season ticket sales are over the 550 mark.TOLEDO: General manager-coach Ted Garvin announced the signing of two players he hopes will help build the Goaldiggers into a championship unit again. One is Jerry Badiuk. a high-scoring defenseman who was a key contributor as the Diggers won the Turner Cup title a year ago. Badiuk, who had 17 goals and 25 assists for the Diggers in the 1974-75 season, spent last year with Baltimore of the American League. At Baltimore. Badiuk had 15 goals and 32 assists.The other player Garvin has under contract is veteran Don Westbrooke. who has been a member of five Turner Cup championship teams. Westbrooke has twice led the league in scoring and has been named to the All Star team four times.SAGINAW: Defending North Division champion Saginaw appears to have one major problem as the 1976-77 season approaches. Finding a goalie. It could be the Gears will lose both goalies from last season s club. Harvey Stewart has been placed on waivers and star Mario Lessard may be moving elsewhere in the Los Angeles farm system.Manager-coach Don Perry remains optimistic about the coming season. however. He will also, &ldquo;however, have to find a replacement for captain Borden Smith, who has retired after a 13-year career. 10 in the Eastern Hockey League. The Gears will miss &ldquo;Dad&rsquo;s&rdquo; experience.PORT HURON: General manager Morris Snider was recently awarded the Andy Mulligan Trophy, an award which goes annually to the IHL executive whose knowledge of hockey and dedication to the sport provided a great measure of success to his individual club and the entire International League.KALAMAZOO: General managercoach Bob Lemieux is inviting some 30 players to the K-Wing training camp. The Wings will play a six-game exhibition season. The schedule includes a pair of games each with Toledo and Muskegon and one each with Fort Wayne and the United States Hockey League Traverse City Bays.Season ticket sales for the K-Wings have gone over the 1.400 mark.FLINT: Doug Carpenter has been given added responsibilities by the Generals. Carpenter will serve as manager as well as coach. The Generals also have signed an agreement with the new NHL franchise in Denver, the Colorado Rockies. The Generals also have an agreement with the Chicago Black Hawks.MUSKEGON: The Mohawks will be without perennial IHL scoring star Gary Ford this season. The veteran has signed to play with Grand Rapids of the United States League, leading to speculation he could be back in the IHL if&mdash;and when&mdash;Grand Rapids comes into the fold.Bryan McLay, one of the Muskegon&rsquo;s all-time scoring greats, who once scored six goals in a game at Fort Wayne, will be the coach this year. Moose Lallo, who has been coach and general manager assignments now.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01289/4128230-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="625" height="985"><figcaption class="caption-body">RON ULLYOT &hellip; Vet Becomes Coach</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0038-01

Owls Eye Big Year Under New Coach Ullyot

<div class="byline">BY BRUCE PENTON</div>CALGARY&mdash;If the Western Canada Hockey League ever played two straight seasons with the same by-laws, the same teams and the same talent, things might get boring.To prevent that, governors are always looking for changes, it seems, and this season, they&rsquo;ve gone to the extreme.Not only has the league moved into foreign territory (Portland, Ore.) but it has decreased the number of over-age players from four to one. and completely realigned the divisional arrangement. Not to mention designing a completely original playoff format which will probably confuse some people, but excite many more.The league had its earliest-ever opening night Sept. 22 when Brandon Wheat Kings battled the Monarchs, formerly known as the Clubs, in Winnipeg.The reason for the early start is a four-team tournament scheduled for over the Christmas season, involving an entry from the Soviet Union, and all star teams from the WCHL. the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the Ontario Hockey Association Junior A Series.Gone are the likes of record-breaking center Bernie Federko of Saskatoon, right-wing sensations Don Murdoch of Medicine Hat and Blair Chapman of Saskatoon. Also graduated are a flock ot big scorers from defending champion New Westminster Bruins &mdash; 100-plus point men Fred Berry, Rick Shinske and Steve Clippingdale.But there are enough bright stars remaining in the WCHL&mdash;thanks to the professional leagues for not plucking under-age players this past summer&mdash;to form one. if not more, packed constellations.CONSIDER: Winnipeg defenseman Kevin McCarthy. 19. entering the final season of a magnificant junior career Breaker of junior records set down east by Bobby Orr and Denis Potvin.Barry Beck and Brad Maxwell, a pair of 19-year-old defensemen with New Westminster who play the game so well, they could have stepped right into pro hockey as 18-year-old siblings. Coveted by every major league team, this pair was sought by an NHL team last year, with $200,000 the price offered to Bruin coach Ernie McLean.Also. Portland has outstanding defenseman Dave Morrow. 19. perhaps not as flashy as McCarthy. Beck and Maxwell. but probably as capable.Others sure to have outstanding seasons are Stan Smyl of New Westminster. Guy Lash of Winnipeg. Curt Fraser of Victoria. Bruce Hamilton of Saskatoon. Greg Ing of Regina. Kim Davis of Flin Flon. Ryan Walter of Kamloops. Ray Allison of Brandon. Paul Enquist of Calgary. Ron Areshenkoff of Medicine Hat. Mark Lofthouse of New Westminster. Wayne Babych of Portland and probably the safest bet of all. 18-year-old Steve Tambelini of Lethbridge, who was crowned the league s top rookie last season.New Westminster will likely rule the West Division again, because of their defensive strength, although Portland, moving to the West Division with their franchise shift, will be close by.In the Central Division, it will likely be a battle between Medicine Hat and Winnipeg. both with a good nucleus of returnees.Saskatoon topped the East Division last year, but they will be hard-pressed to take it again, since most of their scoring punch (Federko. Chapman. Neil Hawryliw. Fred Williams) has graduated.Brandon, with all-star goalie Glen Hanlon as solid as a rock in goal, some average-to-good returnees and a coupie of top-flight rookies, will likely eke out a pennant victory over the Blades.A quick look at the teams:NEW WESTMINSTER: Beck and Maxwell, along with returness Brian Young and Miles Zaharko, form a solid defensive unit. Over-age Blaine Peterson and 19-year-old Carey Walker will fight it out for No. 1 goaltender, and Lofthouse, a 68-goal man. and Smyl will carry the bulk of the scoring.PORTLAND: Babych. Currie, Lecuyer. Paul Mulvey and Brent Peterson will be the main scoring threats, and center Dale Yakiwchuk, acquired in a trade from Lethbridge, will also help. Tim Thomlison is back in goal.KAMLOOPS: A new coach, Ivan Prediger, some new blood. Gary Soetaert and Mike Boychuk, obtained from Brandon and Lethbridge respectively (for forwards Kelly Ferner and Dave Hatheway) and some renovations to the Kamloops arena adds up to almost a whole new show in Kamloops.VICTORIA: The pick&mdash;for&mdash;fourth is against the grain, because Patty Ginnell has never had a losing season. Jim Gustafson heads the list of graduates, but Curt Fraser and Gregg Anderson can put the puck into the net and Murray Bannerman. an 18-year-old veteran goalie, is adept at keeping it out The best of the freshmen include defenseman Leroy Heck and forwards Gordie Robertson, Gary Lupul and Rod Guimont.MEDICINE HAT: Murdoch, Greg Carroll and Morris Ludowich. who had 213 goals between them, have gone, and coach Jack Shupe says he will concentrate on cutting down the goalsagainst. Second-year goalie Pete Peeters is a good start in that direction and defenseman John Hilworth. Owen Lloyd and Darrell Durrand are no slouches. Bast. Areshenkoff and Brian Hill will do the bulk of the scoring and the team&rsquo;s best-looking rookie is Drumheller. Atla.. grad. Merlin Malinowski, 18.WINNIPEG: Next to New Westminster.Monarchs could have the best defense in the league, with McCarthy. Ray Mawhinney and Keith Johnson the stalwarts. Lash, Tom Roulston and Dave Stekler are the main scoring thrests. The only major loss was hard-working centerman Gord Blumenschein. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to climb in the standings,&rdquo; says coach Gerry Brisson.LETHBRIDGE: Coach Mike Sauter has a top pro prospect in Tambellini. but as for returnees, there isn&rsquo;t much. Willie Desjardins. Butch Eakin and Mike Fynn will score their share, and Rollie Boutin is a good goalie. In addition, Broncos acquired 30-goal man Dave Hatheway from Kamloops and defenseman Stan Swales from Portland.CALGARY: Fred Hilts, starting his first season as coach, could have a surprisingly good team, after last year&rsquo;s disaster turned Calgary people sour. Perry Turnbull looks like an ace scorer, and other proven WCHL goal-getters include Paul Enquist, Clint Eccles. Glenn Wylie and over-age Garry Rissling. As well, goalie Jerry Price has &ldquo;all-star&rdquo; imprinted in his pads. Kevin Willison and Scott Kolawalski are highly touted rookies.BRANDON: Second-year coach Dune McCallum has two of the top players from Saskatchewan in his camp&mdash;SJHL scoring champ of &rsquo; 75-76, Brian Propp, and the top defenseman. Brad McCrimmon Returning are all-star goalie Hanlon, veteran defenseman Wayne Ramsey and Terry Hochstetter, and forwards Derlago, over-age Danny Bonar. ex-Kamloop chief Kelly Ferner and veterans Gord Kaluzniak. Dave Semenko and Murray Thomson.SASKATOON: Brent Ashton of Saskatoon may be rookie of the year, says Blade coach Jacke McLeod. The 16&mdash;year&mdash;old center can do everything required of a junior player&hellip; and do it well. After last spring&rsquo;s massive graduation. Bruce Hamilton. Wes George, Dell Champman and Stan Gulutzan are left to pick up the scoring slack. The defense is solid, with Bryan Baron, Brian McGregor. Brian Schnitzler and Mel Hewitt returning. Two 19&mdash;year&mdash;ol goalies in camp&mdash;vets Randy Ireland and Dave Parro&mdash;will likely force a trade. As for other rooks. Edmonton&rsquo;s Frank Discigilio and Kelowna&rsquo;s Mike Wills appear to have earned berths with the Blades.REGINA: Who plays goal? That&rsquo;s the question coach Bob Turner is asking once more. Ever since Ed Staniowski graduated two years ago. goaltending has been a Pat problem. Gord Wappel and Dean Tidball head a good defense, while Ing, Gerry Minor and Keith Hertz are the best of returning forwards. As for newcomers, Ron Parent. Gil Choquette and Dirk Graham are looking good. And 16-year-old center can do everything the Pat brass, is a better prospect than former Regina sensation, Dennis Sobchuk.<h2>Western Canada Hockey</h2>FLIN FLON: Mickey Keating again has his work cut for him as Bomber mentor. There isn&rsquo;t much power back for another crack at the WCHL, since Rich Gosselin and Mark Davidson have graduated. Ralph Bradbury could be No. 1 goalie, and Kelly Davis will anchor the defense. Up front, Kim Davis, Jordy Douglas and Glenn Hicks will be counted on for plenty of offense.<h2>How WCHL Races Will Finish</h2><h3>WEST DIVISION</h3>1. New Westminster2. Portland3. Kamloops4. Victoria<h3>CENTRAL DIVISION</h3>1. Medicine Hat2. Winnipeg3. Lethbridge4. Calgary<h3>EAST DIVISION</h3>1. Brandon2. Saskatoon3. Regina4. Flin Flon &#9632;

Realignment, New Playoff Format Among Changes For WCHL Teams

<div class="byline">By GARY MCCARTHY</div>MONTREAL&mdash;For the first time in a couple of years, it appears as though a battle for first place will be a live issue in the West Division of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.The last two years have provided little interest in the division. The Sherbrooke Beavers had run away with an early lead, leaving the Montreal Juniors and Cornwall Royals fighting it out for second and third, followed by Hull and Laval.Sherbrooke coach Ghislain Delage has another contending club this year, but it isn&rsquo;t likely to run away from the rest of the division by Christmas.No longer with the Beavers are high-scoring forwards Peter Marsh, Robert Simpson and Fernand Leblanc. Two defensemen&mdash;Brendan Lowe and Robert Desormeaux&mdash;have graduated to the pro ranks as well.However, all is not lost for the Beavers. Back for his final season as a junior is Jere Gillis. It&rsquo;s believed that with another good year. Gillis will be one of the top amateur draft picks in the country when the draft rolls around next June.While Gillis, the new team captain, is the key for the Beavers. Delage will need top efforts from another defenseman. Floyd Lachance, and forwards Denis Halle. Mark Green, Ray Roy. Ron Carter and Robert Chicoine.The future of the Montreal Juniors looks a lot brighter than it has in past years. The Juniors lost only three players from last year&rsquo;s club. That doesn&rsquo;t include the defection of Mike McDougal, who did not report to training camp.Three key figures for the Juniors this year are defenseman Robert Picard, center Kevin Reeves and right winger Normand Dupont. Reeves will have one year to go in junior after this season. It will be the last year for Dupont and Picard.The Juniors have a lot of 17-year-olds this year who gained a tremendous amount of experience in the QMJHL last year. Among these are goalie Marco Baron, forwards Real Paiement and Richard Suwek and defenseman Mark Hardy.The Juniors had 16-year-old Swedish star Tomas Jonsson in camp for a while, but he went back home. Since then, a hassle has cropped up with the Swedish Hockey Federation and Jonsson won&rsquo;t be back.The Cornwall Royals will move into their new home&mdash;the Civic Center&mdash;sometime this month and Orval Tessier could very well be taking a winner into the long-awaited new arena.The Royals have just about everyone back from last year s club and that includes team captain Danny Geoffrion. son of one-time National Hockey League great Bernie (Boom Boom) Geoffrion.Geoffrion is expected to get plenty of backup help from the likes of Rick Paterson. Bill Smith, the Barden twins&mdash;Gerald and Garry&mdash;Tim Bernhardt and Graeme Nicholson.Denis DeJordy, the one-time Vezina Trophy winner in the National Hockey League, has left his job as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings to become head coach of the Laval Nationals.DeJordy appears to have brought a successful formula along with him. Last season was highlighted by a player strike and internal strife in the camp of the Nationals.Mike Bossy, the team&rsquo;s high scorer, is back for his last year in junior hockey He should be around the 65-goal mark by the time the 1976 77 season ends.In camp this year are promising forwards Pat Daley. Jim Mann. Michel Melancon. Gilles Denis and Glen Currie and defensemen Stephen Ough and John Saunders.The weak link in the West Division this year appears to be Hull. Glen Sharpley is gone and it will take some doing to replace that fine young scorer.It could be a very trying year for coach Marcel Pronovost, who will have to come up with some magic to get the Olympics into contention.The Quebec Remparts should own the East Division of the QMJHL. They represented Quebec in the Memorial Cup playdowns last year and they should be in the thick of the battle this year too.The Remparts, coached by Ron Racette, lost goalie Maurice Barrette and team captain Jean Gagnon. But. the return of Vai James, Pierre Lagace and Denis Turcotte will make them tough.Sorel will relv on captain Lucien Deblois. Sylvain Locas will be the key to Chicoutimi&rsquo;s success while the big hopes for Trois-Rivieres are Richard David and Richard Dalpe.Shawinigan. which lost its last 28 games of the season last year, has nothing going for the club this year and has no hope of doing any better than last in the division.<h2>How QMHL Races Will Finish</h2><h3>WEST DIVISION</h3>1. Sherbrooke2. Montreal3. Cornwall4. Laval5. Hull<h3>EAST DIVISION</h3>1. Quebec2. Sorel3. Chicoutimi4. Trois-Rivi&egrave;res5. Shawinigan &#9632;

Sherbrooke Faces Tough Battle As West Division Tightens Up

<div class="byline">BY RICHARD POLLAK</div>BALTIMORE-Ever since the Baltimore Clippers officially announced their entry into the Southern Hockey League. Clippers&rsquo; president Jim Watson, has been searching the hockey world for the right man to lead Baltimore&rsquo;s inaugural season in the SHL.For over a month and more than 30 applicants later. Watson held out on making a final decision. The wait was worth it because, according to Watson, they feel that they have just right man in their new GM-coach. Larry Wilson.&ldquo;Larry Wilson has already proven his coaching ability,&rdquo; said Watson. Three times he led his team to first-place finishes Wilson has spent the last four years as GM-coach of Richmond (AHL) There will be plenty of noise this year in Richmond when Wilson returns with the Clippers now that Richmond has also joined the SHL.In naming Wilson to the dual, role the new Clippers&rsquo; leader expressed the tremendous challenge ahead of him to build a young, competitive and exciting hockey team from scratch.In past years with Richmond, he has always had the excess hockey talents from Philadelphia and Washington of the NHL However, in Baltimore, he will have to mold a successful franchise with only the possibility of a few of last year&rsquo;s Clippers (AHL) returning Wilson will also have to go out and sign his three selections. from the Roanoke disposaldraft, namely John Huber. Howie Colbourne and Ken Ireland. The coach knows that here is a lot of good hockey talent available. He has already hit the trail of the major league training camp circuit looking for additional assistance.Although no official working agreements have been made, Larry&rsquo;s brother John, recently named to coach the Colorado Rockies of the NHL. may be sending some experience to Baltimore this year.HAMPTON: Training camp for the Gulls opened Sept. 15 in Cincinnati. GM-coach John Brophy welcomed 22 players to the combined Cincinnati camp. Absent from the training camp will be goalie Rich Coutu, who has announced his retirement.The Gulls announced that Tom Imperato has been elevated to director of operations. Season ticket sales have increased by 200 as of this time of year. The Gulls radio broadcast play-by-play will be handled by former Roanoke announcer. Eli Gold, who will double as PR man.GREENSBORO: All arena negotiations with the large Greensboro Coliseum has been finalized. GM-coach John Voss said, &ldquo;the Coliseum is a must for the success of the Generals&rdquo; The Coliseum in his (Voss) opinion is the finest facility in the SHL and Coliseum officials are working very closely with the Gens Training camp for the Gens opened Oct. 2 in Niagara Falls. Voss welcomed 30 plus players with expected help from Atlanta and Cleveland. Already inked areright winger. Cam Colbourne, from last year&rsquo;s squad and center Mike Conroy.WINSTON-SALEM: Bob Smith has been named general manager. Bob has spent quite a number of years in the South, involved in many capacities with hockey.Coach Ron Anderson, last year a first team SHL All Star defenseman. held his first training camp start in St. Catharines Oct. 2. The New York Rangers have committed assistance to the Polar Twins and Anderson feels a number of last year&rsquo;s players will be returning. New to the Polar Twins line-up will be former WHA left winger. Bill Young, who spent the last hockey season in St. Catharines in private business.TIDEWATER: The Sharks opened their training camp in Calgary along with a new major league working agreement The Cowboys are expected to supply Tidewater with an overflow of talent Slated to return from last year&rsquo;s roster are center Dave Given, defenseman Morley Johnson and left winger Denny McLean who may be converted to defense. Last year&rsquo;s captain. Butch Barber, has received an invitation to the Sharks&rsquo; training camp in Calgary but maypart for retirement to his Montana ranch. GM Kevin Johnson was in Calgary scheduling exhibition games with WCHL Senior teams and making player selections along with coach Hal Schooley and Calgary player personnel director, Al Millar. Steve Michael, who handled radio broadcasts for Maine (NAHL). is the new radio voice of the Tidewater Sharks.CHARLOTTE: GM-coach Pat Kelly is attending Birmingham (WHAI training camp and expects six to eight players from them The Buffalo Sabres will again supply players to Charlotte. Absent from last year&rsquo;s SHL championship squad will be their three leading scorers &mdash; Yvon Dupuis. Neil Korzack and Bob Smulders. Kelly is also expecting two or three players from Rudy Pilous in Winnipeg.RICHMOND: Coach Forbes Kennedy has already attended a number of major league training camps looking for prospects. The Wildcats are interested in bringing back the popular Rene Drolet, a real Richmond favorite. Richmond officially opened training camp Oct. 1 at Ice Unlimited in Richmond. A total of 25 to 30 players received invitations to camp Season ticket sales for the first year SHL franchise are closing in on the 600 mark.<h2>CAHA, Labatt Set UP Program</h2>OTTAWA&mdash;A long-term sponsorship program to further develop the standard of coaching across Canada has been set up by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and a Canadian brewery.The announcement was made recently in Ottawa by Don Johnson, president of the CAHA. and Don McDougall, president of Labatt Breweries of Canada.The brewery has committed both financial resources and its marketing experience to the CAHA at the national and regional level for a minimum of three years.Financially, the company will contribute $100,000 annually in the form of regional assistance grants, national coaching seminar assistance, and improved promotional and instructional tools, including the latest in instructional films.The CAHA&rsquo;s national coaches certification program now totals more than 50.000 coaches at six different proficiency levels in 12 regional branches across Canada.&ldquo;The national certification program is the largest single program of the CAHA.&rdquo; says Johnson. &#9632;

Baltimore Eyes Fresh Start Under Wilson

<div class="byline">&#x2014; By Bill Hilts</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01132/4128357-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="373" height="459"></div><h2>Plea To All Leaoues</h2>With this edition of the Hockey News, we start back on the weekly publication schedule. Naturally this means more hockey news for the readers, but by the same token it also means more news is required to fill the increased availability of space.Once again, we would like to invite all junior leagues (other than Canadian Major A), in Canada and the US to please contact this writer and start sending along weekly information concerning your team or league. We want to know how the boys are doing. We re interested in your outstanding prospects, those who have good games and turn in noteworthy performances. Let&rsquo;s hear about the boys who are leading in goals and assists, the goalies who deserve credit &mdash; we want to hear about the NHL and WHA players of tomorrow.Over the past season we received fine co-operation from many leagues around the US and Canada. But, despite much effort on the part of this writer, many leagues which were contacted failed to respond. When this happens, the only ones who suffer are your boys and your league.Junior Jottings belongs to all the young hockey players of Canada and the US. This is the place where it all begins for them. Hockey News is the &ldquo;bible&rdquo; of the great game of ice hockey and many coaches use these writings as a guide in their selection process of young players for college scholarships and the like.So, if your team or league is not getting coverage in this column, find out why and get the guilty person on the ball Start the news rolling&mdash;now! Please &mdash; do not send your copy to Hockey News, because this merely delays it. All news for Junior Jottings should be sent to Bill Hilts. Junior Jottings. 5115 Bear Road, Sanborn. N.Y. 14132.<h2>N.Y.-Penn League</h2>AL KALTER, business manager of the Binghamton Barons, the NY - Penn Junior Hockey League s newest entry, tells us that his team has already signed three out-oftown players for the club in its initial season of league play. The try-out camp boasted 33 players &mdash; 19 from the local Broome County area, with the remaining 14 from places like Long Island, New Jersey. N.Y. City, etc.RON BASILE is an 18-year-old goaltender who has signed with the Barons. Ron, from Ventnor, N.J., played last season for Atlantic High School in the Bricktown High School League While leading his team to the league championship. Basile posted a most impressive 0 80 GA average with six shutouts and was named to the first All-Star team Ron goes five-foot-ten. 200 pounds.Defenseman BOBBY CASTRO is also 18 years old and hails from Staten Island. N.Y. Last season, the 170-pound blueliner played with the New York Americans, regular season and playoff champs of the N.Y. Metropolitan Jr. Hockey Association. Bobby played 25 games for the Amerks. posting one goal and nine assists, but his strength is the defensive side of the game and he has been called the type of player one can build a team around.A teammate of Castro&rsquo;s last year, MIKE IADANZA played in all 43 games for the Met League champs. The 18-year-old right winger totalled 18 goals and 12 assists. Mike is a native of Brooklyn.Other out-of-town players expected in the Barons tryout camp include left winger CARLOS ROSSELL. a New Yorker who has been described as on of the best 16-year-olds in the East; defenseman BILL GROGAN from Lindenhurst, Long Island who played for Suffolk last year. the second-place finishers in the N.Y. Met&rsquo;League. 19-year-old KEN GRABELDINGER. an All-Star center for Clinton High School who had 17 goals and 21 assists in just 20 games last season. 16-year-old JOHN WAVRA. a right winger who was captain in his East Islip (L.I.) High School varsity team last year.The Niagara Falls Mangs Sharks, defending Empire Cup playoff champs, have a major rebuilding job to do. Coach CHET KAIFAS reports just six returning veterans, but as he notes &mdash; they are real good ones: high-scoring forwards ROBBIN HILL, SAM CROGAN and JIM RICKARD, along with defensemen MIKE ANDREJCAK and MIKE TRETHEWEY. Between the pipes, back-up goalie STAN WOJTON returns and seems certain to nail down the starting slot with the departure of All-Star performer MIKE BAGOCUS and KEITH DERA.CHARLIE PARKER has stepped up to the general manager&rsquo;s slot on the Sharks, with the departure of team organizer HAROLD JOHNSON, who decided to step down this season. Porter served as assistant GM for the past two seasons.<h2>AHAUS Report</h2>The 1976 AHAUS annual meeting was held in Colorado Springs, Colorado at the Broadmoor Hotel and those who attended termed it as one of the most successful ever. Some of the happenings we reported in earlier columns, regarding equipment requirements and major rule changes The following are a few more of the significant actions taken at the meeting.A proposal to increase the junior classification age limit to 20 as of Dec. 31 was defeated, as was a move to limit the increased age to three players per team.There was a strong move to discontinue national championship tournament play and instead have four regional tournaments. This move was defeated by a narrow 12 to 11 vote.AHAUS adopted a $100 transfer fee for players being transferred to federations outside of the IIHF Pacific Division (USA.. Canada and Japan).In recognition of his work and efforts on behalf of amateur hockey a citation award was approved for JOHN BARZEE. who passed away on May 25. 1976.Changes in AHAUS registrars and referees-in-chief have been announced in several districts Registrars&mdash;District No. 1 (New England) is HENRY CORREIA of Boston. Mass.; District No. 4 (Mid-Atlantic) is JAMES MEASDAY of Livingston N.J.Referees-in-chief &mdash; District No. 1 (New England) is NORM BUREAU of Lewiston. Maine; District No. 5 (Southeastern) is TOM POWERS of Annandal. Virginia: District No. 6 (Michigan) is MARV HOPMAN of Warren. Michigan; and District No. 10 (Pacific). CLIFF BETT&Euml;R of Woodlands. California.In the AHAUS elections J LAWRENCE CAIN ROBERT FLEMING and W. THAYER TUTT were elected to three-year terms as directors at large.The following officers were elected for two-year teams: Tutt, president; Fleming, vice-president and ROBERT ALLEN, secretary.It was decided to hold the 1977 AHAUS annual meeting during June in Hyannis. Mass.The 1977 national championship tournaments have been scheduled as follows; Pee Wee - Portland. Oregon. Bantam - Potawa. N.J.; Midget - Marquette. Michigan; Junior B - Wisconsin; Junior A - to be designated; and Intermediate U.S. - Roseau, Minnesota.<h2>Boucher Testimonial Will Reunite Famed Ranger Scoring Line Of 30&rsquo;s</h2>OTTAWA&mdash;Frank Boucher, one-time great with the old Ottawa Senators, will be honored Oct. 15 at a testimonial dinner in Ottawa.It will be a night of nostalgia with many National Hockey League greats from the 1930s on hand to honor one of hockey&rsquo;s foremost players and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.King Clancy, a former Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; player and later a league referee who now works in the Toronto front office. will be one of the key speakers.NHL president Clarence Campbell has also accepted an invitation to appear as a head table guest.There is no other person in hockey past or present who is more deserving of this recognition than Frank Boucher. &rsquo;said Campbell.Plans are under way to reunite the great Ranger line of Boucher and Bill and Bun Cook The Cooks reside in Kingston.The Ottawa-born Boucher was one of the greatest playmakers of all time. He started with Ottawa but later wound up playing in Vancouver.Ottawa was hopeful&rsquo; of getting him back when the Western League collapsed but Frank Patrick steered him to the New York.Rangers, where he joined up with the Cook brothers.During his career. Boucher scored 200 goals and added 300 assists. He was on two Stanley Cup winners and was a first-team.All-Star in three successive years.Boucher also was a seven-time winner of the Lady Byng Trophy. After he had won the trophy seven times, it was given, to him permanently and a new one was donated by Lady Byng.One of a kind.He challenges the last uncharted world.A frontier where discovery is the greatest reward of all.He smokes for pleasure.He gets it from the blend of Turkish and Domestic tobaccos in Camel Filters.Do vou?Warning: The Surgeon General Has Determined That Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous to Your Health. &#9632;

Search for your favorite player or team

October 8, 1976

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE

NAHL Ready With Eight At The Gate

Youths Carry Flames’ Hopes

Kinas Seek To Bolster Offense