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The 1991 Canada Cup will not be
remembered as being the best. The tournament was very different than
all the other Canada Cups. The fall of communism in Eastern Europe
saw a weakened Russian and Czechoslovakian squads both miss the
playoffs. Also the United States emerged as the newest hockey power,
and Finland, perennial basement dwellers, also emerged as a strong
contender.
The 1991 Cup was definitely more "NHL" or "North
American" in its style of play. Physical bumping and grinding
combined with a defensive team approach was the name of the game for
the successful teams in this tournament.
In 1987 Canada relied almost strictly on two lines, and more
specifically on Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. This time Canada
relied on its depth to outlast the opposition. Canada's great depth
was besides the fact that Lemieux, Ray Bourque, Steve Yzerman, Adam
Oates, Joe Sakic, Patrick Roy and Cam Neely all missed the
tournament for various reasons.
Wayne Gretzky continued to prove he
was the best player on the planet, although USA's Gary Suter also
made a name for himself by cross checking The Great One into the
boards causing Gretzky to miss a game due to back spasms. The check
also would cause Gretzky's recurring back problems in the early
1990s.
Canada's two game sweep of the Americans reaffirmed Canada's
dominance in international hockey. However the tournament served to
highlight the changing face of the game of hockey. The most
exciting change is that parity began to creep into international
hockey. No longer was it a battle between Canada and the Soviets for
1st and Sweden and CSSR for 3rd. Now the Americans had arrived as
genuine threats, and Finland had its most successful tournament
ever.
Another interesting change highlighted in this tournament was the
rise to prominence of role players. Never before had the bangers and
crashers ever been so important, and it continues to this day. Names
like Fleury, Tocchet, Granato and Samuelsson were becoming
superstars in their own right, and not because they lit up the
scoreboard.
Finally, the 1991 Canada Cup will
also be remembered for the unofficial arrival of Eric Lindros.
Though just 18 and still in junior hockey, the giant phenom came in
and played an important role in the Canadian victory. Lindros scored
3 goals and 5 points in 8 games, but more importantly physically
intimidated the opposition as a teenager.
Listen
to Steve Larmer's famous goal
In
The Book:
Game By Game Details with Complete
Boxscores
Complete Team by Team Rosters and Stats
Scoring Leaders and Goalie Leaders
Tournament Overviews and Summaries
Tournament Award Winners
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Legends
of Team Canada Book Oct 2004
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