Hi, this is Fred Wallace with ” Off the Wire “.
Christmas is 2 days away and we all have great Christmas memories….especially if you’re in my age bracket and demographic, there’s a lot of years there.
A neat Christmas memory was triggered last week when Alex Steen of the St Louis Blues announced his retirement
Unfortunately, Steen was forced to retire due to a back injury he sustained last year
A 15 year NHL’er Steen put up almost 500 points in his career which was mostly spent with the Blues.
Of course, Leaf fans will remember Steen was dealt from Toronto very early in his professional career.
Here’s why I associate Alex Steen with Christmas memories……….
On Boxing Day in 1976, the Midland Legion Midgets headed to Sweden to participate in the Aspelin Cup, a prestigious international hockey tournament hosted in Mora, Sweden.
Keep in mind we were teenagers…… and the Sweden junket came only 2 days after winning the Regional Silver Stick Tournament, so we were pretty full of ourselves.
Prior to the tournament there was a series of exhibition games, the first of which was Wednesday December 29th in nearby Leksand .
Somewhat overwhelmed by the size of the ice surface, maybe overwhelmed by the journey from Canada, but definitely overwhelmed by the Leksand squad, we got crushed 12-3. TWELVE-3 !!
The star of the Leksand team that day was Alex Steen’s father,Thomas Steen. I don’t know how many points Thomas Steen got that day, but he got a lot.
How good was Thomas Steen as a midget ? Good enough to play for the Leksand Men’s team in the Swedish Elite League at one point that very same season.
I know Leaf fans lament the Alex Steen & Carlo Colaiacovo deal for Lee Stempniak , but for me, regardless of when and where Alex Steen played, I always thought his famous father, Thomas, and the Christmas blowout of 1976 in Leksand, Sweden.
A devasting loss…but deacdes later a warm Christmas-time memory.
I’m Fred Wallace