WINNING CANUCKS
A golden age of skiing
Erik Guay and Alex Harvey might receive only a cursory mention — if any — on the national TV sportscasts. They might be routinely nudged off the front page by Auston Matthews versus Patrik Laine for the Calder Trophy or the latest Toronto Blue Jays news out of spring training.
But make no mistake: This is a golden age for Canadian ski racers. On the alpine side, Erik Guay is the world champion in super G and the silver medallist in the men’s downhill. In Nordic skiing, Alex Harvey holds the men’s 50-kilometre title.
Both are remarkable achievements in winter sport disciplines with vast depths of field. Let’s just say the Canadian national anthem isn’t on the regular play list at either the alpine or Nordic world championships.
“It’s unfortunate that the world championships weren’t televised, because Canadians would have got to hear O Canada being played and see the Canadian flag being raised with both Alex and Erik,” says Kerrin Lee-Gartner, the only Canadian to win an Olympic downhill title back in 1992 in Albertville.
In some ways, Lee-Gartner sees Harvey as more of a pioneer as he is the first Canadian man to win an individual Nordic world title. John Kucera became the first Canadian man to win world championship gold in the downhill in 2009. Guay captured the world downhill title in 2011 and now, at age 35, is the super G champion and the silver medallist in the downhill.
Guay is once again a podium threat this week in both downhill and super G at the alpine World Cup finals in Aspen, Colo. With the home crowd behind him, Harvey is a contender this week at the cross-country World Cup finals on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City.
“Both Alex and Erik peaked at the right time,” Lee-Gartner says. “Those world championship races are at the same week that the Olympics will be on next year in Korea. It says really good things for both the alpine and cross-country teams. It means they’re on the right path.”
Another skier to watch this week is Manuel Osborne-Paradis. Fresh off winning super G bronze at the world championships, Osborne-Paradis finished third in Monday’s downhill training run in Aspen.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s Brad Gushue is rightfully basking in the spotlight this week after a storybook ending to his first home Brier, winning the Canadian men’s curling championship on the Rock. But we should perhaps take a moment to reflect on the skip who almost played the villain, mounting a comeback for the ages that fell just short.
Team Canada skip Kevin Koe is not a household name across the country, or even in his home province of Alberta. But the understated Calgarian is clearly one of the best shotmakers in the history of the roaring game.
Playing with Ben Hebert, Brent Laing and Marc Kennedy, Koe invokes fear in his opponents much like Kevin Martin in his prime.
“Koe is as good as it gets,” Team Ontario skip Glenn Howard says.
“He could be one of the best to ever play. He’s put quite a resume together already and if he keeps going down this path, he will be one of the greatest.”
At 42, Koe is a three-time Brier champion, two-time world champion and skip of the first men’s rink to qualify for the 2017 Roar of the Rings Canadian curling trials.
Gushue, the 2006 Olympic champ, is the favourite to represent Canada at the 2018 Winter Games.
But Koe is not far behind. “The thing with Kevin is he has all the shots,” Howard says. “And he’s a clutch player. Kevin always makes the clutch shots when he has to — whether it’s a key draw to the button, a key double or runback he makes it, and that’s what makes him great.”
So why is Koe relatively anonymous even in his home province?
“Kevin is the strong silent type,” B.C. skip John Morris says.
“He’s not the big character maybe the media or the TV might want to see in the game. But you have to be yourself out there to be your best. If he was putting a show on and being a character to ham it up, I don’t think he would play well.
“And besides, there’s already enough characters on his team.”