It was hockey’s version of ‘The Great Escape’ and one of the masterminds of the was Cornwall native Gilles Leger, at the time Quebec Nordiques’ director of player personnel and trusted adviser to Nords’ owner Marcel Aubut, who held the president and chief executive officer titles.
The Stastny brothers – Marian, Peter and Anton – who held superstar status in Czechoslovakia, were coveted by every team in the National Hockey League.
One problem. At the time Czechoslovakia was part of the Communist controlled Eastern Bloc. Like all Iron Curtain countries, anyone trying to escape to the West faced possible death or at best harsh punishment.
Despite knowing the odds of him being granted permission by the Czech officials to leave were slim to not at all, the Nordiques had drafted Anton.
However, in 1980, prior to the world tournament in Austria, the Nordiques received word that the brothers wanted to flee their native land and play in the NHL.
With help from Canadian officials, Leger and Aubut in a series of secret meetings hatched an elaborate escape plan that was executed under the eyes of Czech security officers who kept a close watch on the brothers. It even involved a late-night car chase, with Czech secret service agents in hot pursuit, through the streets of Vienna.
Marian, who stayed behind because his pregnant wife was back home, was not part of the escape plan. However, a year later Marian with his wife and family escaped to the West.
All three played with the Nordiques.
The escape was featured in two books and a TSN documentary.
The easy-going, never-in-a-rush Leger was arguably the best all-round athlete to grow up in Cornwall.
Long-time friend and team-mate Jimmy McDonald said Leger was nicknamed “sleepy” because of his laid-back style on local sandlots and rinks. The two played on the 1958 New York Cafe Aces who won the Ontario juvenile softball title.
He played hockey, football, basketball, lacrosse, fastball/softball and baseball. In one year, he played on five championship teams. Then S-F sports editor Ray Shank nicknamed him “Goldfinger”. “Everything he touches, turns to gold,” wrote Shank.
In 1964, he coached the Cornwall College Classics to a stunning upset win in the Quebec Intercollegiate Football League championship game. The Classic were huge underdogs.
From Cornwall he moved to Nova Scotia to coach the St. Francis Xavier University varsity hockey team.
In 1979, after brief stints as a coach and general manager in the World Hockey Association, he joined the Nordiques as director of player development and assistant general manager. He doubled as president of the Nords’ American Hockey League farm team, Fredericton Express.
He left the Nordiques in 1983 to become a pro scout with Edmonton Oilers, and when general manager Glen Sather moved to the New York Rangers, he convinced Leger to join him as a pro scout in the Big Apple. Sather regarded Leger as one of the best in the hockey biz.
Few years back, Leger retired and settled down in the Toronto area, but Cornwall was always his real home.
Last week, age 83, Leger passed away in a Toronto nursing home.
THIS MONTH IN 1965: “They did what?” That might have been the response by Mag. P. C. Bergeron when he was told police couldn’t transport several prisoners to court because guards at the Counties’ jail had lost the keys for the cells. After a half-hour delay to the start of court, the judge was notified an all-hands-on-deck search had found the missing keys. It was never disclosed where they keys were found. … A Gallup poll showed that 78% of adult Canadians supported a 9 p.m. curfew for teens under the age of 16. … Cornwall Collegiate and St. Lawrence High School were expecting record enrolments in the new school year. Each school anticipated 1,650 students. Space was in such demand at CCVS, a shooting range and part of the cafeteria were converted to make-shift class rooms. … Construction of Sims Cabs in Long Sault was under way. It was expected to employ 20 people. … Cornwall Gas Bar at Second Street and Brookdale Avenue had a unique give-away at its grand opening. A 10-pound bag of potatoes was given to customers who purchased at least $3 worth of gas. … There were 10,000 colour television sets in Canada with 11 Canadian-basedcompanies making TV sets.
HERE AND THERE: Referring to our mention of Shirley’s Restaurant as an after-high school mecca for CCCVS and SLHS students in the 1960s, retired city lawyer Pierre Guindon noted that Chez Mae’s on Montreal Road was a favourite gathering spot for students at Classical College which he attended. The restaurant was operated by the Laframboise family.
THIS AND THAT: Talk about a long-distance pizza delivery. Steve Dryden, who broke into the biz at the Standard-Freeholder in the early 1980s and went on to become editor-in-chief of The Hockey News and later managing editor of The Sports Network (TSN), was in town last week for a visit. Just before leaving he picked up a pizza at one of the family-owned pizzerias to take back to the Big Smoke. The much-travelled Dryden claims Cornwall has the best pizzas on the planet. It is a claim supported by former Leafs’ defenceman Paul Ranger who once noted in a Toronto Star interview that the best pizza he had ever eaten came out a Cornwall pizzeria oven.
TRIVIA ANSWER: ‘Nearer My God to Me’ is associated with the sinking of the RMS Titanic as some survivors reported that the ship’s string ensemble played the hymn as the vessel sank.
TRIVIA: Cy Denneny, who played on five Stanley Cup winning teams and is in the Hockey Hall of Fame, was born in 1) Ottawa, 2) Cornwall, 3) Farran’s Point, 4) Mille Roches, 5) Dickenson’s Landing.
QUOTED: “Nobody’s ever been treated badly like me … Although they do say Abraham Lincoln was treated really badly.” – Donald Trump
