SIHR members who made the trek to Moncton, New Brunswick, were treated to a well organized annual general meeting (AGM) on May 19th and 20th, thanks to the efforts of Ron Leger and his band of hard working Moncton members.

With a city gripped in the clutches of Memorial Cup fever as a backdrop, members enjoyed a well attended Friday night meet-and-greet where the many new Maritime members where introduced to the out of town visitors from Canada and the U.S.

Thanks to the efforts of Steve Leblanc, members were shuttled to and from the Coliseum where they each obtained the much coveted “All-Access” photo passes for the Memorial Cup tournament. Most members then attended the opening hockey game in which the Peterborough Petes defeated the Quebec Remparts in a somewhat placid game.

Saturday’s meeting first dealt with the requisite business matters, in which the following issues were discussed:

1) President Len Kotylo was unanimously returned for a second two-year term and the remaining executive members were acclaimed with these exceptions:
Stephen Hardy of Durham, New Hampshire was elected Vice-President, U.S. East, succeeding Don (O'Hockey) O'Hanley of Providence, R.I. and Wayne Geen of Oshawa, Ontario, was elected director-at-large for Ontario, succeeding Denis Gibbons, of Burlington. Both Don and Denis, who gave valiant service to the organization are recuperating from serious operations and will continue their valuable research and writing efforts.

2) President Len reported the successful relocation of the SIHR Head Office (and his law office) around the corner from Yonge Street, to 66 Gerrard Street East, Suite 300, Toronto, M5B 1G3. Phone number remains (416) 585-9373. He cited the growing activities and influence of the Society, much of it due to the work of website volunteers "who have sent news of our research throughout the world." He noted an increase in new members including those from France, Italy and New Zealand.

3) SIHR is a $15,000 a year business, including a $976 Ontario government grant and growing. The bank balance as of Oct. 3, 2005, according to treasurer Paul Bruno's submitted report is $3,143.35.

4) The meeting approved a resolution to nominate pioneer player and organizer James George Aylwin Creighton (1850-1930) as a builder of hockey. The Halifax native, who is credited with taking a form of the Maritime game to Montreal and Ottawa in the 1870s and 1880s, is already a member of the Nova Scotia Sports Heritage Centre. SIHR's nominations will be submitted to the Hockey Hall of Fame, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, both in Toronto, and the International Hockey Hall of Fame in Kingston, Ontario.

Finally, Roger Godin sought and received approval to pursue, on behalf of SIHR, the task of having a plaque erected at the site of the Minneapolis Arena to mark the building’s historical significance to early hockey in that city.

With the business portion complete, it was time to welcome the guest speakers. First up was Bob Mongrain, the current coach of the University of Moncton Blue Eagles men’s hockey team. Bob has had a long career both as a player and a coach, which led him to the Memorial Cup a total of three times, to the NHL and AHL as well as eleven seasons in Europe. After his retirement as a player in 1994, he focused his attention to a career in coaching. He joined the university of Moncton in June of 2005.

Bob mentioned that in his capacity as coach, he often uses historical hockey facts to inspire himself and his players. He had great praise for the society and the work we do.

“University hockey is the best kept secret in Canada” he said, when asked what his opinion was on the caliber of players on his team when compared to the many Major Junior players he coached in the QMJHL. “I have been trying to organize exhibition games against some AHL teams, but they continue to decline the invitation, as a loss would be too embarrassing.” He also shared stories about Mike Keenan, his former roommate Lindy Ruff and how he even contemplated changing his name to be less francophone, as he wondered if it had an effect on how often he was sent down to the AHL.

Long time NHL scout and team psychologist Paul Henri was the next to take the floor. He dazzled the crown with recollections about players and coaches alike.

He also spoke at length about how teams need to place more emphasis on the mental part of the game. “In an age where players are in better physical shape than ever before, thanks to team doctors and trainers, many of the game’s mental aspects are being overlooked”

Paul also shared what may have been a telling point about team cohesion in regards to the showing of Team Canada’s Men’s Hockey Team at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympic games. Having not yet made the call as to who would be the starting goaltender, coach Pat Quinn entered the team’s dressing room and looked Roberto Luongo in the eye and said “Carlo, you’re in”.

Stephen Hardy, Professor, Kiniesology, University of New Hampshire and Andrew Holman of Bridgewater State College, set a new standard for academic papers in their joint presentation, entitled: Periodizing Hockey History: One Approach. (Periodization: "Dividing a subject into historical eras for purpose of analysis and study.) They achieved their goal of mapping out a big picture--from folk games, the Montreal games, Soviet hockey, corporate hockey and the rise of college and women's hockey--"for understanding hockey's long history in all it its complexities"--convergence, divergence and reconvergence. "How long will this pattern of convergence continue, before we begin to see divergence again?" asked Stephen a sports historian for 35 years. Stay tuned, and keep your stick and eye on the ice!
Eric Zweig, who loves to debunk hockey's myths, came up with another gem in his presentation: Tex's Rangers and Other Tall Tales. He delved into the misty history of the launch of the New York Rangers (1926) and N.Y Americans (1925) and gave a new insight on the presentation of the Prince of Wales Trophy. Although the Rangers' guide credits the creative Broadway press for originating the name, Eric gives the honours to Texas-born George H. (Tex) Rickard. "It was handed to them on a platter--Tex's Rangers, get it" he said, quoting the Madison Square Garden fight and hockey promoter. "They played the media like a violin," he added during a fascinating Q & A period. Read the complete text in your next issue of The Hockey Research Journal.
Thanks to VP Ed Grenda and Moncton volunteer Laurent Poulin, yours truly presented an illustrated paper: "The Memorial and the Man"--the man being Capt. James T. Sutherland of Kingston, Ontario. A pioneer player, coach, manager, referee and founder of the Hockey Hall of Fame movement, has been credited with suggesting the introduction of the Memorial Cup for the junior championship of Canada in 1919. The original trophy was known as the "OHA Memorial Cup" but today it is promoted as the "MasterCard Memorial Cup." Thank God the captain died in 1955!

Following the papers, members hurried off to tour the amazing collection of AGM host Ron Leger. Visitors are awe-struck by the museum-like basement which features artifacts from all eras of the game. A vintage radio in the corner plays games called by the legendary Foster Hewitt as the host scurried about digging up artifacts that related to individual member’s interests.

Vic Howe, co-holder of a unique NHL sibling record, was the special guest at Ron Leger's amazing Hockey Room. Still close to his playing weight of 172 pounds, the Saskatchewan native played 33 games with the New York Rangers (1950-55) and finished his career with the Beavers and Hawks of Moncton. He's 11 months younger than brother Gordie whom he recalled showed his exceptional hockey talent in school hockey at age 12. "It got to the point where there should have been two pucks, one for him to play with and one for the rest of us!" Together with Vic's three goals, the Howes had more than most brother combinations."

Other items that came out of the meeting included the notice that the Origin's Committee report was delayed because chair Paul Kitchen is finishing up the last chapters of the history of the Ottawa Hockey Club. Committee member Earl (The Pearl) Zukerman of Montreal urged resumption of the group work: "It is the lifeline to our credibility and presence in the market place."

Roger Godin, VP U.S. West, reported that the board of directors of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum, have decided to close the facility in Eveleth, Minnesota. A former executive director of the Hall, Roger is hopeful the shrine will be relocated in another section of "The State of Hockey."

And the best Quip of the Weekend came from the always colourful and jovial Terry Kelly, who asked "Prime Minister Harper (a new SIHR member) belongs to the blue party. Can't he do anything for the (Toronto Maple) Leafs?”