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VIEWPOINT: CHRIS CUTHBERTWhat you never read about minor hockey
CBC Sports Online | Jan. 26, 2005
Two years ago a Hockey Day in Canada report on CBC featured
Mike Clewlow, a Brampton minor hockey coach who was a source of
inspiration to his players, their parents and the local hockey community
as he battled cancer.
Mike was not only a tremendous coach, but a key organizer of Brampton
Inline Hockey, one of the most successful programs of its kind in
the country. Mike lived at the rink all year long. He was a world
champion, serving as a trainer with Canada’s gold medal inline
team last summer.
Sadly, Mike passed away earlier this month after a courageous struggle.
More than 400 people attended the funeral to pay tribute to a man
who had touched so many lives. At his wake one of his closest friends
surveyed the gathering and made an important observation. “This
room is full of kids and parents, now lifelong friends who wouldn’t
have met each other without minor hockey,” he said. “Nobody
ever talks about that.”
In recent weeks minor hockey has been discussed frequently in
the news. There were sensational headlines of a misguided hockey
parent charged with assault for allegedly choking his son’s
coach during a game. The Greater Toronto Hockey League struggled
with the issue of Stuart Hyman, a man turning minor hockey into
a lucrative personal business. Other parents were taking the game
to court over the right to relocate their sons to a more competitive
environment. Somewhere along the way the pure virtues of minor hockey
have been badly overshadowed, if not forgotten, at least by the
media.
To be sure, minor hockey in Canada isn’t perfect. It has
blemishes like that of our political, medical, educational and social
systems. But there is also much to celebrate in Canada’s minor
hockey system: teaching kids the right values, challenging them
to be their best, bringing children and adults from all walks of
life together and forging lasting friendships.
Unfortunately, it takes the death of an outstanding coach and fine
man to remind us of what minor hockey is truly all about.
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For Chris Cuthbert, versatility has been the key
to success.
A Queen's University graduate, Cuthbert got his start at Radio CFRC with play-by-play
coverage of the Queen's Golden Gaels - Vanier Cup champions - while still a
student. From there, at radio station CJAD in Montreal, he was the voice of
the Montreal Manic of the NASL and the CFL's Montreal Alouettes and Concordes.
In 1984, Cuthbert moved to Edmonton to work for CBC Sports.
Along with his play-by-play duties for the CFL on CBC, where he made his Grey
Cup debut in 1996, Cuthbert also called the play-by-play for Hockey Night in
Canada's second game of the weekly doubleheader.
In addition, Cuthbert hosted CBC's coverage of the World Figure Skating Championships
and he was figure skating commentator at the Nagano and Salt Lake City Olympic
Games. He also covered gymnastics and cycling at the Commonwealth Games.
Cuthbert received glowing reviews for his work as the rowing and canoe/kayak
commentator at the 2004 Olympic Games. He also had the call of the controversial
figure skating events – revolving around Jamie Sale and David Pelletier
– in Salt Lake City at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
An episode that aptly demonstrated Cuthbert's true versatility occurred during
a NHL playoff game in 1988 in New Jersey, where he learned about the pressure
of live television. A power failure in Montreal forced Hockey Night in Canada's
to switch to a Washington vs. New Jersey game. Cuthbert was supposed to supply
updates to the national broadcast but when focus shifted, he became host, analyst,
commentator and runner. Cuthbert was nominated for a Gemini Award for that program.
Cuthbert co-authored The Rink - Stories from Hockey's Hometowns with
fellow CBC Sports broadcaster Scott Russell.
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