|
 Toronto
Maple Leaf defensemen Brian Glennie was another of the youngsters included on
Team Canada. The idea was that everyone would get into a few games, as Canada
was supposed to walk all over those Russian amateurs. However that changed
quickly as it became obvious Canada had their hands full with more than they
could handle. As a result the younger players were used sparingly, or as in the
case with Brian Glennie, not used at all.
Brian got the invite after Boston
Bruins' stalwart Dallas Smith turned down his invite due to farming commitments.
And it is an experience he was glad to partake in, even if he didn't get to
play.
"At every hockey banquet I go
to, I thank Dallas Smith for saying no," Glennie half-joked. "It made
me a better hockey player and turned out to be one of the greatest moments in my
life."
"I believe the series made me a
much better hockey player. Even though i didn't play against the Russians - I
played against the Swedes and Czechs - I practiced with the best players in the
National Hockey League for that entire period of time," he wrote in the
2001 book Team Canada 1972: Where Are They Now.
Brian stated the lasting memory for
him would always be the 3000 Canadian fans who made the trip to Moscow and
cheered Canada to victory, and belted out the Canadian national anthem in the
otherwise quiet Luzhniki Ice Palace.
"I don't think I've heard O
Canada sung with such feeling in my life. It still brings tears to your eyes
to think about it. That's something I'll never forget," he said
|
