Teams
See also: 1981 Canada Cup rosters.
The Soviet Union treated the 1976 Canada Cup with disdain, but entered this tournament intent on re-asserting themselves following their upset loss to the United States at the 1980 Winter Olympics. They were led by the KLM line of Vladimir Krutov, Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov on offence, as well as the "Bobby Orr of the Soviet Union", Vyacheslav Fetisov, and Alexei Kasatonov on defence, with the venerable Vladislav Tretiak in goal. With a strong mixture of veterans and young players, the Soviets entered the tournament as favourites.
Canada brought a considerably younger team as compared to their 1976 entry. Three defencemen – Ray Bourque, Paul Reinhart and Craig Hartsburg were under the age of 22, while 20-year-old Wayne Gretzky was expected to be the offensive catalyst. Gretzky's pairing with Guy Lafleur was highly anticipated (and they would combine with each other on 22% of Team Canada's goals), while the New York Islanders quartet of Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier, Butch Goring and Clark Gillies were also expected to be offensive leaders.
With 17 National Hockey League (NHL) players on their roster, Sweden felt confident they could upset the Soviet Union and Canada by utilizing a system of strong team play. Kent Nilsson, coming off a 131-point season for the Calgary Flames, Thomas Steen, Ulf Nilsson and Borje Salming were expected to be the team's leaders. With only five returning players from their appearance in the 1976 final and suffering from the defections of the Šťastný brothers – Peter, Marián and Anton – to Canada, the Czechoslovakian team entered the tournament in the midst of a rebuilding phase and were not considered contenders in 1981.
The Americans, riding high following their gold medal victory at the 1980 Olympics were considered to have the potential of upsetting the stronger teams in the tournament. Mark Howe and Rod Langway and several players from the Olympic team were expected to lead the United States. Tony Esposito was the American goaltender for the tournament. Esposito represented Canada at the 1972 Summit Series, but gained his American citizenship in time to represent his new nation. As in 1976, Finland was expected to finish last in the six-team tournament despite the fact that the Finnish hockey association considered the team sent to Canada among the best their nation had assembled.
Read more about this topic: 1981 Canada Cup
Famous quotes containing the word teams:
“A sturdy lad from New Hampshire or Vermont who in turn tries all the professions, who teams it, farms it, peddles, keeps a school, preaches, edits a newspaper, goes to Congress, buys a township, and so forth, in successive years, and always like a cat falls on his feet, is worth a hundred of these city dolls. He walks abreast with his days and feels no shame in not “studying a profession,” for he does not postpone his life, but lives already.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)