Burning a Crimson Flame

If you asked most Harvard students, they probably wouldn't know what province of Canada Calgary is in.

Or even that Canada had provinces.

They probably would know that hockey was the national sport of Canada.

And they'd be wrong--lacrosse is.

So Harvard students aren't all that smart.

But hey, why should Crimson undergrads care about some place up in Alberta, about 3000 miles northwest of Cambridge? What possible connections link Calgary and Harvard?

Here's a hint--it goes beyond both the words containing seven letters, the second and fifth of which are "a"s and the sixth of which is an "r".

It's got something to do with intelligence, and something to do with hockey--and yes, those two words were just used in the same sentence.

"The NHL is beginning to realize that intelligence doesn't hurt hockey players," Norm Kwong, part-owner of the Calgary Flames, jokes.

He's not the only one having a few laughs.

Calgary blueliner Neil Sheehy says, "I joke around with the management. I say, 'Look at that, you've got one Harvard guy here, you've got to get them all.'"

Just what is Sheehy, a 1983 graduate of Harvard, talking about?

The Flames, the league's second-highest scoring squad last season, selected Belmont Hill's Chris Biotti--now a freshman residing in Weld--as their first-round pick in the most recent NHL draft. In the fourth round, Calgary took sophomore Lane MacDonald, the Crimson's first line left wing.

Current Harvard goalie Grant Blair was a sixth round '83 Flames selection.

But that's not all.

Sheehy, a 6-ft., 2-in., native of Fort Francis, Ontario, played in 31 games for the Flames last year.

And even Kwong, the famous China Clipper, has a Crimson tie of his own--his son, Brad, captained the '84-'85 Harvard men's hockey squad.

Crimson Potential

"I think it's just a fact that the Calgary people like the program here at Harvard," MacDonald says. "They like how Coaches Cleary and Tomassoni develop players--there's a lot of potential for people to improve out of Harvard, and they like what they've gotten so far."

Blair agrees: "I really don't know how the connection got started, but it probably started with Neil Sheehy. They looked at him and saw they got a good player out of Harvard."

Nevertheless, it would be overly indulgent to dwell on what is probably little more than coincidence.

However, the coincidence actually reveals a definite trend--a trend which encompasses but also reaches beyond Harvard.

"It's less of a Harvard connection than a U.S. college connection," says Eric Duhatschek, hockey correspondent for the Calgary Herald.

"All I know is that the Calgary Flames have the most ex-college players in their organization," Biotti said. "They believe in the college player over the junior league player."

And the roots of this burgeoning interest can be loosely traced to the success of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey squad.

Since that squad captured the gold medal in Lake Placid, N.Y., professional teams like the Flames have gradually realized that the Canadian junior leagues are no longer the only breeding ground for the NHL--Harvard and other undergraduate institutions are spawning top-caliber players as well.

Preparation

"They [American college students] are certainly more equipped than players coming out of juniors, and I don't think five years ago that was true," Duhatschek says. "I don't know if it's because they're older. In school, they have a good time, they party pretty good, and they're men by the time they get here.

"A player matures mentally and physically in school, and it makes him more ready to step into the NHL than your average 17-year-old," he adds.

The case of Sheehy is a clear example. After spending just a year in the minors, he has now found a permanent niche with Calgary.

Gary, Sutter, the Flames' first-round draft pick the year Sheehy joined the organization, came to Calgary straight out of the juniors.

He's still not ready for the NHL.

"Once you have an education, they can't take it away from you," Sheehy says. "The pro game is much faster than the college game. But if you work within your limitations, if you're able to adjust and not try to do things over your head, you're OK."

With four years of higher education--and top-level playing experience--behind them, college players are prepared to spot limitations, to make adjustments.

The Calgary-Harvard connection is more than an interesting coincidence.

It's part of the larger NHL-U.S. college connection which is a tribute to the intelligence--and physical talents--of today's college athletes.