Downie controversy a ‘dead issue’ for Hockey Canada

‘ It’s time to move on,’ says Mackasey Forward is eager to wear Maple Leaf

When Steve Downie left the Windsor Spitfires in a cloud of controversy two months ago, he did so knowing it might cost him a chance to play for Canada at the world junior championship.

“I definitely thought, ‘Why would they want a guy who has been sitting out all year?’ ” Downie said. “ I just got lucky Peterborough got me and got me playing again.”

Downie’s trade to the Petes in the wake of junior hockey’s biggest scandal this season, combined with Downie’s play for the Petes since coming back, landed him among the 34 players invited to Canada’s final selection camp. And while there are no locks, it’s clear Downie will have to play himself off the team not to be included in Canada’s plans.

Downie’s well- publicized confrontation with former teammate Akim Aliu, which came as the result of a hazing incident, made national headlines. Not long after Downie was suspended five games by the team, he left the Spitfires and demanded a trade. Team Canada’s director of player personnel, Blair Mackasey, bristled at the notion the controversy would be a factor surrounding Downie on the Canadian team.

“This is something that will mark Steve Downie for the rest of his life and it’s time to move on,” Mackasey said. “ The fact of the matter is I know Steve Downie personally and I feel very comfortable bringing Steve Downie to camp. I would love to have him on our team. I’m not saying Steve Downie is an angel, but you know what, neither are 34 players that come to camp and neither are the people standing around here talking to me right now. We all have our ghosts. Let’s move on. It’s a dead issue.”

It has never been disclosed which players were pivotal in the hazing, in which rookies were required to strip and huddle together into the washroom on the team bus. Neither OHL commissioner David Branch nor Downie will say whether he was directly involved.

“ It was a whole team thing, it wasn’t individuals,” Downie said. “ Everybody had a part in it. I’m not going to say anything or blame anybody. It was just something that should stay in that room.”

Downie, does however, deeply regret the incident ever happening.

“ It’s not something I ever want to go through again,” Downie said. “ It wasn’t something I’m proud of and it’s something I’ve learned from.”