Third Best Hull by Dennis Hull

Author:Dennis Hull
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ECW Press
Published: 2013-08-12T00:00:00+00:00

FOURTEEN

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The Russians Are Coming

BUT BOBBY LEAVING for the WHAwasn’t the only turmoil the NHL saw in the summer of 1972. It was during that summer, almost at the last possible moment, that the NHL set up the Summit Series, a showdown between the Soviet national team and 40 NHL All-Stars.

When the coaches for the team picked the players, I was really excited because Bobby and I were both chosen. The NHL protested and managed to get the WHA players excluded from the team.

The NHL owners said if any WHA player went to the series, then they wouldn’t let their players go. There was talk that Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau was going to try to force the league to take players like Bobby, but I think the owners would have called off the series if it had come to that.

Because Bobby wasn’t going to be allowed on the team, I told John Ferguson, one of the coaches, that I wouldn’t go. He said he understood.

As August began, I was running a hockey school in Chicago and got the chance to talk to Bobby.

Bobby had been to Europe with a team in 1960. It was a combination of Rangers and Bruins, and they asked a few other players to go along. The team played 21 games in 25 nights and Bobby said that series taught him to pace himself.

“The Russians have been looking at this for a long time,” he said. “And this is going to be a big thing, for professionals from North America to play the Russians. This is going to be a big deal. I already made my deal with Winnipeg, but why don’t you go and represent us?”

I didn’t argue with him and called Ferguson back. I didn’t think he’d want me on the team, but he said my spot was still open. However, Bobby was upset nonetheless about not going to the series and still says it’s the biggest disappointment in his hockey career.

The Canadian team faced a lot of obstacles from the start, though we didn’t know it. Most guys took the summer off and had a good time. Training camp was for getting into shape. My first training camp was six weeks, which was a long grind. Current NHL squads play games three days after camp opens. The team also had nobody to play against, so there were only a few intra-squad games to get us warmed up.

I was excited to be playing with a team full of stars like Bobby Clarke and Jean Ratelle. Training camp was fun, not work, and guys who were running hockey schools would regularly leave for a day. No one thought it would be a big deal.

There were also a lot of players on the team — when the team lined up for a skating drill, there were eight left wingers.

The players also knew next to nothing about the Russians. Except for Gerry Pinder, a winger with the Blackhawks, who had played the Russians in Junior, I didn’t know anyone who’d played against them.

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