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Finally, after 50 long years, another Olympic gold hockey medal for Canada. The gold medal is back where it belongs, etc., etc. Whatever. That’s not the point here. Being Canadian, I think it’s wonderful that we won, but it’s not like we own hockey. At least, not anymore.

Klein and Reif (two Americans, coincidentally), with their gift of overstatement, make the following arguments in The Death of Hockey (which is an excellent book, but misguided here):

“[W]e would argue...that Canada may never have stood alone atop the hockey world. That’s right, never. Before 1972 [the year of the Summit Series], the notion that Canada was the undisputed king of the hill was never actually put to the test. There was simply no interaction between Canada’s best and anyone else’s best.”

That last part is literally true; Canada’s best did not face off against anyone else’s best. But Canada’s second best often did, and for many years obliterated the best other countries had to offer. More on this later.

“Incredibly as it may seem, Canada’s assumption that it was No. 1 was based on the fact that it always played at home.”

This does seem incredible, mostly because it is plainly untrue. Altogether their argument is completely false, as I will demonstrate.

Let me make myself clear. I am not saying Canada is the one and only true hockey power in the world today, or even in the very recent past. I am simply saying that Canada was, in fact, the world’s dominant hockey power at one time. Klein and Reif argue that Canada was “never” (their word) the world power.

The first official Olympic hockey championship was held in Chamonix, France in 1924. I point out that Chamonix, France is in fact not located in Canada. Canada played against a field of the USA, Great Britain, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, France and Belgium. Canada won all six of their games en route to the gold medal, scoring an average of 22 goals per game while giving up one-half a goal per game. The team was the Toronto Granites, amateur champions of the country. Make no mistake, this team would have been destroyed by the best NHL clubs of the day. They, in turn, destroyed the best of the competition. Canada’s second-best were undisputed world champions.

Canada repeated as Olympic champions in 1928 at the Games in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Again, I point out that St. Moritz, Switzerland is not located in Canada. The Toronto Varsity Grads won all three of their games, scoring 38 goals and allowing not a single marker against them.

Since Canada was recognized as the world’s hockey power, they were given a bye directly to the final of the first World Championships in 1930. They won 6-1, and were champions once again. Note that for the period covered in this essay (up to 1961), the World Championships were never held in Canada.

At the 1931 Worlds, Canada suffered its first setback: a tie game. The Manitoba Grads went 5-0-1, scoring 24 goals and allowing none, winning the championship for Canada once again.

Canada won its third consecutive official Olympic gold medal in 1932 at Lake Placid, USA. Do I need to point out that Lake Placid, USA is not located in Canada? Canada again went 5-0-1, scoring 32 and allowing four.

At the 1936 Olympics, Canada did not win the gold medal. Great Britain did. Of course, as we all know, the Great Britain team was actually a bunch of Canadians living in England.

St. Moritz (remember, not located in Canada) again hosted the Olympics in 1948. Canada won once again, going 6-0-1 with 57 goals for and two against.

The 1952 Olympics in Oslo, Norway (not in Canada!) saw Canada’s last gold medal for 50 years. The Edmonton Mercurys went 7-0-1, scoring 71 and allowing one. Even after 30 years of international competition, Canada’s second-best still pasted the cream of other nations.

By this time Canada had won Olympic gold medals in 1920 (unofficial), 1924, 1928, 1932, 1948 and 1952, and World Championship gold medals in 1930, 1931, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1950 and 1951. (If you’re wondering about the gaps in the 1940’s, think World War II). None of these tournament were ever held in Canada. Canada was clearly the best in the world.

“But what about the Russians?” you may ask. Fair enough. According to The Death of Hockey, the Soviets did not take up hockey until the mid-1940’s, preferring to stick with bandy. They did finally take up hockey, and appeared at their first international tournament in 1954. But contrary to popular belief, they did not start to win everything in sight immediately.

They did win the 1954 Worlds, being the only team able to defeat Canada. The following year roles were reversed, with Canada going undefeated at 8-0-0, and the USSR going 7-1-0, losing only to Canada. They did win the 1956 Olympics, but were third in 1960 before winning again in 1964. And in this time period Canada won three more consecutive World Championships over the USSR in 1958, 1959, and 1961 (after boycotting the 1957 tournament held in Moscow). So between 1954 and 1961, at tournaments in which both Canada and the USSR played, Canada won four gold medals to the USSR’s two. Clearly the USSR took some time before they begin to dominate international tournaments, taking over Canada’s role.

And this is critical to remember: the USSR teams at this time were the best the country had to offer, with players/legends such as Vsevolod Bobrov, Veniamin Alexandrov, Viktor Yakushev, Anatoli Firsov and Vyacheslav Starshinov. Who represented Canada? Now be honest with yourself, how many of these are household names: Fran Huck, Jim Logan, Paul Knox, Gerry Theberge, George Scholes, Fred Etcher, Bobby Attersley, Butch Marsh, Gary Dineen?

Even when the USSR unleashed its hockey “machine” upon the world, Canada stood its ground for several years using players that you’ve probably never heard of. By the mid-1960’s the USSR began to dominate. But before that time, it was Canada. Nowhere near Canada’s best, still beating Europe’s best, almost always in Europe. Klein and Reif’s unsupported arguments are shown to be untrue, even absurd.

Remember, don’t get me wrong. Canada is no loner alone on top; any one of Sweden, Russia, Finland, the USA or the Czech Republic can win at any time as well. Slovakia may now need to be included in this group as well. This is one of the best things about hockey today, the parity in international competition. But before the 1960’s, at least, Canada was THE dominant force in world hockey. To argue otherwise is foolish.