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Pelletier and Houda look back at
key performers from the Canada Cup/World Cup of
Hockey
Peter Stastny Biography
When
Peter Stastny made his Canada Cup debut for
Czechoslovakia in 1976 he was the youngest forward
or defenseman in the tournament. Only Finnish goalie
Markus Mattsson was younger.
Stastny
was two weeks short of his 20th birthday when he
squared off against the Soviets on September 3,1976
in the hockey shrine at Montreal Forum. Not
surprisingly he picked up one assist in the game.
The
awesome playmaking became somewhat of a trademark
over the years for this Hall of Famer.
Russia's
legendary goalkeeper Vladislav Tretiak remembered
Stastny from 1976:
"Peter
Stastny was an extremely dangerous player, with or
without the puck. But I learned a very small weakness that he had. His eyes would betray his intentions. I
would always look straight into his eyes.
If
he would return the stare, it meant he was going to
shoot. If he looked away it was usually a pass.
Peter
Stastny was only 19 years old when he played in the
Canada Cup and he was one of the best." Tretiak
said.
Stastny
of course still had a lot to learn at his age, but
his great playmaking ability was a god given gift that he was born with. He led all the Czechoslovakian players
in assists during the 1976 tournament with 4.
Stastny
himself was in awe of the Canadian pros. He watched
them closely during one of the exhibition games
prior to the tournament. Stastny first focused on
Bobby Orr and was impressed by the great defenseman.
However it wasn't Orr that made the biggest
impression on the young Stastny.
"
The player who stunned me the most and who I
previously had never heard about was Buffalo Sabres
Gilbert Perreault. Never before in my life had I
seen such a dynamic skater. When he took off I got
the feeling that a locomotive was making its way
down the ice. Perreault was so smooth that he had no
trouble going coast to coast, around the defensemen
like a knife through butter. He wasn't a typical
Canadian player, although a big fellow, he was a
fantastically technical player, far superior to any
of his teammates."
In
the spring of 1984 Peter Stastny became a Canadian
citizen, thus making him available for Team Canada
in the 1984 tournament. Under
normal circumstances Stastny would have been ruled
ineligible to represent
Canada since he already had played for
another country internationally. All this according
to the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation)
rules. But the tournament was organized by the NHL
and NHLPA who had their own rules.
Stastny
became the first ever European born and trained
player to represent a Canadian national hockey
team. He was extremely proud of his Canadian
citizenship but admitted that he had a Slovakian
heart in the Canadian jersey.
In
1984 Stastny didn't see much ice time as he mostly
centered the third line. Wayne Gretzky, Brent Sutter
and on occasions Mark Messier all saw more ice as
centers. The only game where Stastny was double
shifted was in the game against his old teammates
from Czechoslovakia. In that game Stastny scored his
only goal of the tournament.
Prior
to the game Stastny held a pre-game speech to boost
his Canadian team mates who faced elimination
in case of a loss.
" I just told the guys to play very physical
from the start, to break down the Czechoslovaks as
soon as possible. Knowing the Czechoslovakian
mentality myself, I knew this was the best way to
play against them."
In
July 1991, Peter Stastny soon to be 35 years old was
approached by Jaroslav Walter, Ivan Hlinka's
assistant coach on the Czechoslovakian team. Walter
asked Stastny if he would like to play for
Czechoslovakia in the 1991 Canada Cup tournament.
"
When he approached me I said that ' if you want me
then it would be a great honour for me to once again
represent my
country." Stastny said. Stastny
however never played in the 1991 Canada Cup as he
felt that there were not enough Slovak players on
the team. Stastny who always took great pride in
being a Slovak never passed on the opportunity to
letting everyone know about it. His pride however
deprived him of the opportunity to play in 1991.
Stastny
eventually got to represent Slovakia when they
became independent. He was
the flag bearer for
the entire Slovak Athletes at the 1994
Olympics in Lillehammer. As a 37-year old
Stastny finished second in the Lillehammer scoring
race, which he also did 14 years earlier in Lake
Placid. In 1995 he helped Slovakia gain A-Pool
status as he led all the scorers in the B-Pool World
Championships.
Before
the 1996 World Cup tournament Stastny was asked if
he would like to become the head coach of the Slovak
national team.
"
I said ok, I'll accept the job for the World Cup.
But the Slovakian hockey president didn't want such
deal. He told me
that I had to sign a two year contract until the
Olympic games in Nagano 1998. I told him that I
would have to think about it." Stastny said.
He
never became the coach because of a feud between the
hockey powers in Slovakia. One fraction wanted
Stastny as a coach, and another fraction didn't want
him. Fed up with all this 'hooplah' Stastny finally
withdrew from it.
Peter
Stastny's hockey career was brilliant. He was a two
time World Champion and scored 1239 points in only
977 NHL games. Not bad for someone who made his NHL
debut as a 24 year old.
Other
accomplishments:
-
He was the first NHL rookie to surpass the 100 point
plateau in one season.
-
Only Wayne Gretzky managed to rack up more
consecutive 100 or more point seasons in the NHL.
-
Only Gretzky, Lemieux and Dionne had more 100 +
point seasons.
-
Stastny is also the fourth fastest player to reach
the 1000 point plateau, only Gretzky, Lemieux and
Bossy did it faster.
-
Only Wayne Gretzky scored more points than Stastny
in the 1980's
-
Stastny also holds several NHL records, including
most assists by a rookie in a season and most point
in a road game.
The
Canada Cup audience never got to see the best of
this brilliant center, but there is no doubt that he
ranks among the all-time European greats.
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