Nice IIHF.com piece about Carbo and Maccabi

Guy's been back in the limelight lately due to bringing home hockey gold at the Maccabi Games in Israel a few weeks back.  Here's what IIHF.com had to say:

METULA, Israel – Guy Carbonneau’s 18 NHL seasons produced three Stanley Cup Championships, three Selke Trophies and profound hockey acumen.

But a gold medal on the international stage remained elusive for the defensive specialist from Quebec never afforded the opportunity to represent Canada during his playing days.

But, that is no longer the case for the 53-year-old Carbonneau who led Canada’s hockey team to gold at the recently concluded Maccabiah Games (or so-called “Jewish Olympics”).

Canada defeated familiar foe USA 7-1 in the final of the open division at the games. Ukraine and Israel also fielded sides in the four-team tournament.

“Anytime you get a chance to get behind the bench, coach and represent your country it’s a thrill,” Carbonneau noted after the tournament.

“I love competition and never got the chance to play at the Olympics or World Championships. Whenever you get a chance to be part of Hockey Canada, it’s a tremendous opportunity,” added Carbonneau, who was coaching the Canadian U18 national team in 2010.

The Maccabiah Games are held every four years in Israel and are open to Jewish and Israeli athletes, promoting competition and the opportunity for participants to further explore Israel and Jewish history.

Hockey made its first and most recent appearance at the Maccabiah Games in 1997 but had a comeback in the 2013 Maccabiah Games.

The event took place in the northern Israeli city of Metula near the Lebanese border. Metula possesses the only full-sized ice rink in the country fittingly called the Canada Centre Ice Rink.

Canada also won the tournament in the junior division, while the United States claimed gold in the masters division.

Previous international coaching engagements for Carbonneau include serving as head coach at the 2010 IIHF U18 World Championship and assistant coach at the 2001 World Championship and at the U18 World Championship the same year.

Yet, Canada failed to medal in all three of Carbonneau’s experiences, while gold at the Maccabiah Games almost never materialized.

Legendary coach Mike Keenan was scheduled to be behind the bench for Canada until he took over duties for Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL in mid-May.

“I got a call two months ago asking if I was interested,” Carbonneau explained. “They could’ve played it anywhere and I would’ve said yes. I really enjoy having the opportunity to travel and coach internationally.”

Not only did the tournament produce a long-awaited gold for Carbonneau, but it might have also rekindled his passion for coaching.

“I’d love to coach again. I’m passionate about working with players, but the situation must make sense,” said Carbonneau.

“It’s not a money thing. The lifestyle must make sense for me as well,” he added.

Currently, Carbonneau serves as an analyst for French-Canadian broadcaster RDS on hockey telecasts, a role he relishes due to the cerebral nature of watching and analyzing the game.

Someone entrenched in the game for so long offers a unique perspective on the future of the game both in terms of quality and expansion.

“Being in Israel, you notice how much the game is growing in non-traditional places. It’s a lot like my time in Dallas, or places like Phoenix or Los Angeles. It’s hot, you’re already sweating on the way to practice, but hockey is still being played there,” Carbonneau remarked.

Carbonneau went on to explain how the game at the youth level is constantly improving and how impressive it is to see hockey played in places like the Middle East.

He used Switzerland’s inclusion in the gold medal game at the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship as a prime example of how countries not typically considered major hockey powers are now putting their stamp on the game.

Events similar to the Maccabiah Games and the inclusion of quality hockey characters such as Carbonneau will continue to drive the game into previously unchartered territories.  (link)

A myth debunked at last, and Carbo on Maccabi

At last, an official debunking of the "Carbo threw the Cup off Vinnie Paul's balcony" story:  Official Stanley Cup keepers Philip Pritchard, Mike Bolt, Walter Neubrand, and Howie Borrow say it never happened.  (link)

Also, here are a couple of quotes from Guy regarding the recent Maccabi Games in Israel, where he coached the Canadian men's hockey team to a gold medal:

“It was a little different,” Carbonneau said of ice hockey in Israel, where the sport was part of Maccabiah for the first time since 1997.

“They’re just starting to understand what hockey is,” he said. “It’s a small country. Hopefully in the next little while there will be a little more, and if [so], more kids are eventually going to skate and they’ll be better.” ( link)

And another Carbo news item

Today, Guy and Team Canada at the Maccabi Games in Israel won the gold medal in men's ice hockey! Bravo, Coach Carbonneau!  Now go and bug those NHL general managers with this, because that is where you really belong.

More about Guy in Israel

From the Canadian Jewish News:

TORONTO — When Maccabi Canada announced that Mike Keenan would be coaching the Canadian hockey team at the Maccabiah Games this summer, it was expected his reputation would give the program instant credibility and attract top-notch players.

Well, that’s pretty much what happened, but in the last few weeks, Keenan, a 1994 Stanley Cup winner as coach of the New York Rangers, pulled out of the games, as did the rest of his coaching staff.

But the move, made for personal reasons and after Keenan signed to coach in the KHL, didn’t leave Maccabi Canada bereft.

Suspecting Keenan’s personal situation could be an issue – his daughter suffers from cancer – Maccabi Canada developed a back-up plan.

Enter Guy Carbonneau as head coach. A three-time Cup winner with the Montreal Canadiens (1986, 1993) and the Dallas Stars (1999) as a player, Carbonneau was also a coach with the storied Habs franchise from 2006 to 2009, including a stint as head coach.

Wayne Primeau has joined him as his assistant. Primeau played for a number of NHL teams from 1995 to 2010, including Buffalo, San Jose, Calgary, Boston and Pittsburgh. He ended his playing career in Toronto.

At a two-day mini-camp at York University’s Canlan Ice Sports facility earlier this week, Carbonneau got a chance to meet the players and prepare for the tournament. He admitted he’s at somewhat of a disadvantage, joining the team late and not being present at tryouts last year.

“We’ll try to keep things simple at the start, tweak it as we go on,” he said.

He’ll have to strategize for the Olympic-sized rink at the Canada Centre in Metulla, but he’s confident he has the personnel to do so.

“We have guys with good speed, good hands,” he said.

Carbonneau, who captained the Canadiens and was known as a defensive specialist, said, “I always want us to be sound defensively.”

Like the rest of the Maccabi hockey brain trust, Carbonneau is somewhat in the dark as to the level of competition they’ll face. The Americans have a lot of quality NCAA players to draw from, and they recently added Colby Cohen, a 215-pound defenceman who played a handful of games for the Colorado Avalanche and who was one of the Boston Bruins’ “Black Aces” the year they won the Cup.

The host Israelis recently won a gold medal in the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Division II B. Rounding out the tournament will be a team from Ukraine. Little is known about them, except that they replaced a team from France.

The Israeli team is coached by Jean Perron, the man behind the bench of the 1986 Stanley Cup-winning Habs. Carbonneau smiles at the prospect of going up against his old mentor.

“He’s a competitive guy. He always has been,” said Carbonneau. “But so am I.”

Montrealer Alan Maislin, who’s long been associated with hockey in Israel, recruited Carbonneau to Team Canada. He did the same with Perron 10 years ago, asking him to coach the Israeli national team – a task he’s assumed on several occasions.

Doing his due diligence, Carbonneau asked around and heard glowing reports about the Israel experience. One of the people he spoke to was Jacque [sic] Demers, who coached the Canadian team at the 1997 games – the only other time hockey was a Maccabiah sport. Demers was the Habs’ coach in 1993, when Carbonneau won his second Cup.

“Everyone had rave reviews about those Olympics,” he said, referring to the Maccabiah, which have been called the Jewish Olympics.

“I expect it to be a great experience for me and Wayne and all the players,” he said. “None of us has had the chance to win a gold medal, so we’re going to try.”

Guy to coach in Israel...and OT: farewell, Daniel Alfredsson

Mike Keenan was originally slated to coach the Maccabi Canada men's hockey team, but has been forced to bow out due to family medical issues.  Guy will be replacing him at the Maccabi Games in Metula, Israel which take place from July 16 to July 31.  We wish him and the team the best of luck!  (link)

And in a stunning turn of events, the longtime captain of my team, the Ottawa Senators -- Daniel Alfredsson -- has left us for Detroit, hoping for the chance to win a Stanley Cup before he retires.  Can't say as I blame him, but I'm left once again reaching into my Byrds/Gene Clark fandom to find words for what I can't express.  Probably silly, but here it is.

(Clark, with slight lyric modifications by yours truly)

"Tried So Hard"

Stopped awhile this morning on our way back home 
We had to realize this time that we'd be all alone 
Cause he is moving somewhere far away not slow 
And though we tried so hard to please him
He said he really had to go
Even though this time it really hurts us bad
We've been through similarities
It's not the first break we've had
And we just can't let it bring us down too low
And though we tried so hard to please him
There must be something more to know
Never thought that we would find our end this way
It seemed that everything was going fine
Still with all the things that we can do or say
It won't change the fate we know so well is ours

So we'll stop again and look right past the pain
Cause we've been in love before and we can love again
While he is moving somewhere far away not slow
And though we tried so hard to please him
He said he really had to go...

And the original:

Finally, to coincide with my previous post about Super Dave, I have found a "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" style connection between Guy and the Super One.  Featured in a 1990 episode of Super Dave was renowned Quebec impressionist Andre Philippe Gagnon, whose music video for "La Canada" featured...Guy!  (look for him at around the 1:28 mark)  And that's only 3 degrees!