Posted on 05/15/2007 6:54:40 AM PDT by GMMAC
Shane Doan's revenge
National Post: Lead Editorial
Published: Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Despite more than a week of lunatic political grandstanding earlier this month over his selection as captain of Team Canada at the World Hockey Championships in Moscow, Shane Doan got the last laugh (or make that the last broad, beaming smile) Sunday, when he was handed the championship cup at Moscow's Khodynka Arena.
After piloting Canada to a solid 4-2 victory over Finland in the gold medal match -- and after leading our national team to an undefeated 9-0 record for the first time in the championship's modern era -- Mr. Doan joyously hoisted the trophy above his head having clearly established that he was a worthy captain and an admirable role model for Canadian hockey players and citizens alike.
The abhorrent treatment of Mr. Doan by Canada's parliamentarians still angers us, even though they ended their self-serving efforts to label him an anti-French bigot and have Hockey Canada strip him of his captaincy more than a week ago.
Our greatest disgust is reserved for Liberal MP Denis Coderre. For nothing more than crass political gain, the former minister for amateur sport attempted to whip Quebecers into a lather against the Conservative government by dredging up a two-year-old story about linguistic slurs Mr. Doan never made--a despicable act he had also tried last winter when Mr. Doan was named to play for our Olympic team in Turin. Then, in a fit of bandwagon-jumping, Liberal leader Stephane Dion, NDP leader Jack Layton and Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe all piled on Mr. Doan. Even the Conservatives voted with the other three parties to haul Hockey Canada directors before a Commons committee to explain their actions -- as if the guardians of our national sport had anything to explain to such political jackals.
But through it all, Mr. Doan remained the picture of grace. An evangelical Christian who places a great deal of emphasis on personal character, Mr. Doan answered with dignity and courtesy every question thrown at him by the national and international press. At a time when his mind was no doubt consumed with thoughts of playing hockey for his country, he nonetheless parried the gratuitous political controversy back home with humility and charm.
And he still found time to do a captain's duty, namely pull together into a cohesive unit our patchwork collection of players from NHL teams already eliminated from the playoffs. While Rick Nash, rightly, was named the championship's most valuable player for his performance on the ice these past two weeks, Mr. Doan's dressing room leadership was undoubtedly the intangible that moulded Team Canada into the dominant force it was.
Sunday 's victory marks the third time in the past five years that our team has walked away from the International Ice Hockey Federation tournament with the gold. The credit for our recent return to dominance in the game Canada perfected must be shared with coach Andy Murray, who has a superb appreciation of the international game, having coached Team Canada four times and won gold thrice. And Hockey Canada, too, has played a vital role. By pressing the professional and junior leagues to release players and suspend play during major international tournaments -- such as the Olympics and the World Junior Championships -- hockey's governing body in Canada has ensured far more of our best players have years of experience in international competitions before they ever reach the annual World Championship.
Canada owes congratulations and gratitude to the coaches, players and team executives who in recent years have revived our nation's glory in international hockey. They have done their country proud.
© National Post 2007
Gimme a Molsons.
Its always something with these people.
Yay, eh!
Just read the articles I linked in the body of the editorial within my initial comment, the guy is quite literally the scum of the earth.
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