Читаем Ледовые войны полностью

Alexander Palladin believes that hockey “as any other sport of an international character” can only develop if there are more games between different countries. Mr. Palladin, one of four Russian correspondents working in Canada, was the guest speaker Thursday at a Rotary Club luncheon in Barrie.

The Moscow-born reporter has covered the international series in which Team Canada played. He is a strong advocate of international hockey and an outspoken protestor against those he feels may be limiting the opportunities for Canada to compete at the international level. “We don’t have hockey governors who, because of their selfish interests, would deny others and prevent our public from watching more international hockey“, he said.

Late in January Al Eagleson, Canadian chairman for international hockey, appointed by Hockey Canada of which the World Hockey Association is a member, vetoed a WHA scheme to incorporate games against European teams in its 1977–78 schedule. Mr. Eagleson said then that The Hockey Canada international committee wanted to keep international competition under proper monitor. He called the WHA proposal “asinine” arguing there was a danger of saturating the Canadian market for international hockey and that too much international hockey could destroy “domestic hockey” in Canada.

The WHA, at that time, had been negotiating with several European clubs. NHL president Bill McFarland said the league needed the venue international competition would generate. “We’re not afraid of international hockey undermining our game or ruining our leagues,” Palladin said. “Quite the contrary, we believe, and always believed, that this sport as any other sport of international character can only develop if there is more opposition from other countries.” He said it was from these encounters that hockey would prevent itself from getting into a stalemate position.

Hockey has now bumped soccer as the number one sport in the USSR since being introduced to the Russian sports scene 30 years ago. Palladin estimated there were as many as 6 million children now playing hockey in Russia. He drew chuckles from Rotarians when he jokingly told them that so great was their dedication to the sport that Russian women “are now having an incredible high percentage of delivering boys and not girls.”