Chambers Blog Has Gold Pan News & Notes

Mike Chambers Blog has info about DU's goaltenders this weekend, a player suspension that seems to have no end in sight and a teaser about an article that will appear in the Post's Sports Section on Friday.

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Bucky's 5th Quarter Blog has a detailed article breaking down the Wisconsin Badgers forecheck.  If you never played hockey, it will give you some interesting things to look for when watching Pioneer hockey games.

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Longtime USCHO & LetsGoDU contributor Gene Lake [aka du78] will be attending the games this weekend.  Gene has lots of eyewitness Hurricane Sandy stories as well as an extensive knowledge of DU hockey history.  Gene was a student manager on Murray Armstrong's last teams at DU and as a Senior ushered in the Marshall Johnston Era at DU.

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The Denver Post has an excellent article on DU's Women's Soccer coach Jeff Hooker. On Friday he'll lead the Pioneers into uncharted waters against #9 Maryland.  Check out the article.

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DU's men's lacrosse team will host the Whitman's® Sampler® Mile High Classic. The Pioneers will face Notre Dame in a double header with defending National Champions Loyola playing Air Force at Mile High Stadium on March 16, 2013.  Last year's event drew 12,282 at Mile High Stadium.

Former DU Players With Stanley Cup Ties

(above) DU alum and NHL Hall of Famer Glenn Anderson won the Stanley Cup six times

With Boston's Stanley Cup victory last night it brings up University of Denver alumni with connections to the Stanley Cup.  For all DU's success on the ice in college hockey, the Stanley Cup has remained an elusive prize for DU Alums.

DU alum and NHL Hall of Famer Glenn Anderson won six Stanley Cup as a player with the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers..

DU star John MacMillan played on two Stanley Cup winning teams in Toronto in the early Sixties  and has his name engraved on the Cup. MacMillan is the only DU player to ever win a National Championship at DU and a Stanley Cup.  He won each twice.

DU alum Ron Grahame's son and wife's names are engraved on the Cup.

Incoming Freshman forward Larkin Jacobson's step-father Ruslan Fedotenko has won it twice.

Former DU coach Ralph Backstrom won the Cup six times with Montreal.

Former DU player and head coach Marshall Johnston's name is engraved for being the Director of Pro Personnel for Carolina Hurricanes in 2005.

Former DU star Craig Patrick's name is on the Cup twice as General Manager of the Penguins in '91 & '92. Craig also won two National Championships at DU.  He is probably best remembered for being Herb Brook's assistant coach on the Miracle on Ice Team in 1980.  Craig's father and grandfather are also engraved on the Cup.  All three of them are NHL Hall of Famers.

DU star and current head coach of the Florida Panthers, Kevin Dineen, doesn't have his name on the Cup yet, but one of his brothers and father are on there.

Former DU Captain, Paul Messier's little brother Mark, won the Cup six times.

Former DU player Keith Seabrook's older brother Brent won the Cup with Chicago last season.

DU Alum Patrick Mullen is the son of 3-time Stanley Cup winner and Hall of Famer, Joe Mullen.

Former DU player Alex Shibicky's father, also Alex, won the Cup with the Rangers in 1940.

Danny Talbot's father, Jean-Guy, won 7 Stanley Cups with Montreal between 1956 and 1966.

Jim Bales uncle, Bobby Taylor, won 2 Cups with the Flyers in 1974 and 1975.

Brian Morenz's distant cousin was NHL Hall of Famer Howie Morenz who won 3 Cups with Montreal.

Jim Wiste, Keith Magnuson, Peter McNab & Matt Carle lost Stanley Cup finals.  Peter McNab's father and brother are engraved on the Cup.

There may be others....

Denver Post Profiles DU Alum Greg Woods

(above) DU Alum Greg Woods is DU's all-time points leader for a defenseman [51 goals & 125 assists]

From: Denver Post
by Irv Moss

As an American player at a time when Canada, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia were considered the hockey capitals of the world, it might be difficult to understand why Greg Woods would have bittersweet thoughts about the Miracle on Ice.

Woods had just completed a brilliant career as a defenseman on the University of Denver hockey team. In 1980, a year after his final season for the Pioneers, the underdog U.S. Olympic team captured an improbable gold medal at Lake Placid, N.Y., which became the sports story of the century for many fans [read rest of story].

DU Hockey's 60th Reunion News & Notes

News & Notes from the DU Hockey's 60th Anniversary Website.

• Jon Art, class of ’62 and a leader on and off the ice, knows a good thing when he sees it! He was the first to register. So has George (Curly) Kirkwood ‘62.

• Mark Rycroft, class of 2001 and former Colorado Avalanche, has registered and has gotten his former teammates Hobie Baker Award Winner, Matt Carle who is currently playing with the Philadelphia Flyers and Paul Stasney of the Colorado Avalanche to register as well.

• Gerry Powers class of ’69 and 2 time NCAA Champ is communicating with all of his teammates and says the 67-69 Pioneers will have more members of their team at the celebration than any other team. The gauntlet has been laid down!

• Ed Zimmeru, Captain of the 1st DU NCAA Championship team back in 1958, has committed as have several of his teammates.

• Rod Summers, Class of 1990, is working the phones and e-mail to get the Backstrom era to turn out.

• Angelo Ricci and Mark Luger says the Serratore era will be well represented. Mark Luger and Donald McLennan have already registered.

• Marshall Johnston was in town in February and stopped by the Magnus Arena to do a video promotion that was aired at the last few DU games of the season as well as on local TV.

• Many, many Denver area fans are coming out of the woodwork and have asked to attend/participate in the celebration. We have even received unsolicited donations from fans saying how much Denver Hockey has meant to them and the community over the years.

Ralph Backstrom Retires After 53 Years
Former DU Coach & 6 Time Stanley Cup Winner

From: Denver Post
by Mike Chambers

(left) Ralph Backstrom is the President and General Manager of the Colorado Eagles hockey team

The affable Ralph Backstrom, a longtime Colorado resident and one of the most respected men in hockey, is hanging up his skates after 53 years of hanging out at ice rinks from Montreal to Los Angeles.

Backstrom, 69, retired Wednesday as president and general manager of the Colorado Eagles, completing a magnificent career that included winning six Stanley Cups as a player with the Montreal Canadiens.

"Lots of wonderful times; lots of painful times, too," Backstrom said. "But I'm leaving the game healthy and ready to enjoy the twilight years of my life."

A six-time NHL all-star, Backstrom - who amassed 278 goals and 639 points in 1,032 career NHL games - also was an NHL and college coach and scout. He said he made his decision after attending last week's funeral of John Ferguson, a former Montreal linemate.

"A lot of guys I played with who are my age are passing away. I said, 'Heck, I got to smell the roses,"' Backstrom said.

The 1959 Calder Trophy winner as NHL rookie of the year has called Colorado home since 1975, when he played half a season for the Denver Spurs of the World Hockey Association.

After 16 seasons in the NHL and four in the WHA, Backstrom joined the coaching staff at the University of Denver. He spent four years on Marshall Johnston's staff, then one as an assistant for the Los Angeles Kings, before beginning eight seasons as DU's head coach. He guided the Pioneers to the 1986 Frozen Four and was named NCAA coach of the year.

Backstrom later became coach of the International Hockey League's Phoenix Roadrunners, commissioner of Roller Hockey International and a scout for the St. Louis Blues. The native of Kirkland Lake, Ontario, said one of his fondest memories was in 1958, when he captained the Ottawa-Hull Junior Canadiens to the Memorial Cup.

"The six Cups are big, and I was very fortunate to win the Memorial Cup," Backstrom said. "I'd compare that to winning the Stanley Cup, and then we won a couple championships here in northern Colorado."

Backstrom said he would continue to reside in Windsor with his wife of 21 years, Janet.

"Ralph has been an icon and ambassador for this great sport for many years," Eagles coach Chris Stewart said in a release. "His vision brought the Eagles to northern Colorado, and we will continue to build on the foundation that he laid."

DU Alum Watches Stanley Cup Finals With Interest
Marshall Johnston Sees His Trades Paying Off

From: Denver Post

by Terry Frei

(left) When asked what was the best moment of his playing career, Marshall Johnston said, "Winning two National Championships at the University of Denver in 1960 & '61."

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Speaking from his home in Bemidji, Minn., Marshall Johnston laughed.
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"We had a salary cap before the salary cap," the former University of Denver and Colorado Rockies coach said Friday.
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What Johnston meant was that during his 1999-2002 tenure as the Ottawa Senators' general manager, financial troubles and conservatism meant the payroll wasn't even in the same rink with those of Detroit, Colorado and the New York Rangers.

Yet the Senators were competitive, and a significant number of the players now wearing Ottawa sweaters in the Stanley Cup Finals - including center Jason Spezza and goaltender Ray Emery - were drafted when Johnston was the GM. He was also the director of player personnel from 1996-99. The Senators drafted Chris Phillips, Mike Fisher and Chris Neil during that period.

"Sure, I'm happy for the players, I'm happy for the fans there," said Johnston, 65, now the Carolina Hurricanes' director of professional scouting. "They were supportive of the team from the get-go. They got progressively better and they've been knocking on the door, and now they're banging on the door."

The catch is that in 2005, Johnston sued Senators president Roy Mlakar and former team vice president of finance Mark Goudie for $275,000, and the case has yet to be decided. "That's taken a little bit of the shine off my support," Johnston said.

Johnston had filed a grievance with the league before the Senators filed for bankruptcy protection and eventually were sold to Eugene Melnyk, but the NHL front office sided with Mlakar. So Johnston sued. His stance is that when he became GM, he was promised he would be making the same salary as his predecessor, Rick Dudley - and that he discovered later that Dudley had been paid more.

"I've been into it now for so long and have had so much in attorneys' fees," Johnston said, "I'm going to see it to the end. But forget about that, and, yes, you're in it to see the players you drafted or traded for do well."

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The major move in Johnson's tenure was a 2001 trade. The deal seems incredibly lopsided now. On June 23, 2001, the Senators sent disgruntled center Alexei Yashin, who had sat out the entire 1999-2000 season in a contract dispute before the league ruled he had to play an additional year for Ottawa to fulfill the terms of his deal, to the Islanders for defenseman Zdeno Chara, winger Bill Muckalt and the No. 2 overall pick in that year's draft.

That turned out to be center Spezza, now one of the NHL's young stars.

"There's as much good luck as good management in these types of things," Johnston said. "Here was a guy who had a contract who had renegotiated a couple of times. The irony was that when he tried it a third time, I don't think the franchise was in a financial position to renegotiate, anyway. But to me, it was a matter of principle."

Johnston said at that point, it was inevitable that he had to trade Yashin after he played out his contract.

"Fortunately, he was a good player with some market value," Johnston said. "There were quite a few teams interested at the time, and when push came to shove, we were able to make the deal we were able to make."

Johnston was familiar with Chara, who had struggled at times in his four seasons with the Islanders, because he had done some scouting work for the Islanders in the late 1990s. With the Senators, Chara blossomed into one of the league's top defensemen before signing as an unrestricted free agent with Boston a year ago.

And Emery, the frequently combative goalie who went to the Senators in the fourth round of the 1999 draft?

"The credit for drafting Ray goes to Frank Jay," Johnston said of the Senators' director of scouting. "I had hired Frank and we had worked together at New Jersey. ... I went to see Emery play at Sault Ste. Marie, and Craig Hartsburg was coaching him. I remember telling Hartsburg, 'Tell him not to fight so he stays in the game!"'

He apparently did.

THE MARSHALL JOHNSTON FILE

A native of Saskatchewan, Johnston was a star defenseman at the University of Denver and had a seven-season NHL career with Minnesota and California. Head coach at DU (1977-81), assistant and head coach with the Colorado Rockies (1981-82), director of player personnel with the New Jersey Devils (1982-92). Has also worked for the N.Y. Islanders and Chicago, and was with Ottawa for six years. Currently the Carolina Hurricanes' director of pro scouting.

DU Hockey Legends

Marshall Johnston: From DU To The NHL

Career Stats

Marshall Johnston won a National Championship as a player and coached at the University of Denver, but is best remembered for becoming General Manager of the NHL's Ottawa Senators.

Johnston began his journey to the big leagues at the University of Denver in 1959 where he won a National championship and upon his graduation he joined Team Canada in time for the 1964 Winter Olympic Games. His five years with the National Team included two World Championship appearances as well as a second trip to the Olympics in 1968. He joined the National Hockey League in 1967.

By 1968, Johnston was a veteran of Team Canada and he was named captain of the team. The Canadians faired well at the games and Johnston's solid defensive play helped lead the team to a Bronze medal victory.

After the Olympics Johnston made the leap to the National Hockey League when he joined the expansion Minnesota North Stars late in the 1967-68 campaign. But despite his international experience, he couldn't secure a regular spot on the North Stars blue line and after appearing in just 49 games for Minnesota over four seasons his career required a change of scenery. His final year in the North Star organization, 1970-71, was a very successful one for Johnston, even if he did spent just one game in the NHL. In the minors that year he scored 56 points in 69 games and captured the Eddie Shore Award as the American Hockey League's outstanding defenseman.

Despite his performance with their farm club, the North Stars traded Johnston to the Montreal Canadiens in the summer of 1971, but he did not remain with the club very long. Before he could head to camp with his new club, he was on the move again when the Canadiens shipped him to California Golden Seals in exchange for cash.

With the struggling Seals, Johnson was able to win a full-time job for the first time in his NHL career. He spent the next three years patrolling the blue line for California, and enjoyed solid offensive production in 1972-73 when he scored 10 goals and 30 points for the Seals. The following season was his last as a player, but his involvement in the game continued for decades after his final lap around the rink.

Johnston returned to his alma mater and became the head coach of the University of Denver following his retirement and continued the success he began as a player years before. He took over the reins at Dufrom his former coach Murray Armstrong. In his four years behind their bench he guided them to a WCHA title and captured coach of the year honors.

He then moved to the NHL by joining the Colorado Rockies as an assistant General Manger and assistant coach in 1981. This stint also included a brief run as the team's head coach as well. When the franchise was relocated to New Jersey, Johnston remained with the club and eventually ascended to the job of Director of Player Personnel, a position he held for ten years.

He then joined the Ottawa Senators organization in 1996 and held the same position before being named the club's General Manager for the 1999-00 season.

Also around this time Johnston was honored for his outstanding career with the Canadian National Team by being named to the International Ice Hockey Federation's Hall of Fame.

After three years at the helm of the Senators, Johnston announced his retirement so he could spend more time with his wife Barbara and daughters Jill and Amy.