Evander Kane
Born	(1991-08-02) August 2, 1991 (age 20) Vancouver, BC, CAN
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position	Left Wing
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Winnipeg Jets Atlanta Thrashers
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	4th overall, 2009 Atlanta Thrashers
Playing career	2009–present

Evander Kane (born August 2, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left wing with the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Selected fourth overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Thrashers, he was drafted from the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League (WHL).

During his major junior career, he won the Memorial Cup with the Giants in 2007, finished as runner-up for the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as WHL rookie of the year in 2008 and was named to the WHL West First All-Star Team in 2009. Kane also set the Giants' franchise record for single-season goals in 2008–09.

Internationally, Kane has won gold medals with Team Canada at the 2008 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and 2009 World Junior Championships. He has also competed in the 2010 IIHF World Championship.

Early life[link]

Kane was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, on August 2, 1991, to Perry and Sheri Kane, who named him after American boxer Evander Holyfield (he later met Holyfield at age 18).^[1][2] Kane has two sisters, Brea and Kyla, who are two and four years younger, respectively.^[3]

Coming from an athletic lineage, his father was an amateur boxer^[4] and hockey player. He played with the Cole Harbour Scotia Colts and Dartmouth Arrows of the Metro Valley Junior Hockey League (MVJHL) in Nova Scotia,^[5] as well as with St. Francis Xavier University.^[1] Kane's mother was a professional volleyball player.^[1] His uncle, Leonard Kane, is a member of the Canadian Ball Hockey Hall of Fame.^[6] Kane's cousin, Dwayne Provo, played in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for seven years and spent one season with the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL).^[5] Another cousin, Kirk Johnson, boxed for Canada at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and later fought John Ruiz for the 2007 World Boxing Association (WBA) Heavyweight title.^[5]

Growing up in East Vancouver, Kane attended high school at John Oliver Secondary.^[7] In addition to hockey, he played baseball, basketball and soccer growing up.^[5] After beginning to skate at the age of three, he began playing minor hockey at eight. His father instructed him in his early years and initially wanted to keep him out of organized hockey until Kane was ten.^[8] At fourteen-years-old, Kane recorded 140 points in 66 games with the bantam North Shore Winter Club,^[9] followed by a 22-goal, 54-point campaign to finish fourth in league scoring with the Greater Vancouver Canadians of the BC Hockey Major Midget League (BCMML).^[10] Kane also played minor hockey with the Vancouver Thunderbirds, prior to bantam and midget.^[7]

Playing career[link]

Kane during the 2009 WHL playoffs.

Vancouver Giants (2006–09)[link]

Kane was drafted 19th overall in the 2006 WHL Bantam Draft by the Vancouver Giants and immediately played eight games for the Giants in the 2006–07 season.^[9] He received his first WHL call-up for a game against the Seattle Thunderbirds on December 13, 2006, due to other Giants players international commitments in the World Junior Championships.^[9] Kane scored his first WHL goal, a game-tying marker, on March 25, 2007, the last game of the regular season.^[11] He also suited up for five WHL post-season games, being originally called up for the playoffs after Giants forward Tim Kraus was suspended for game three of the opening round.^[11] He later appeared in two Memorial Cup games, tallying an assist,^[12] as part of the Giants' 2007 Memorial Cup championship.^[13] Kane's gritty play (he accumulated 150 penalty minutes in 30 games during midget)^[10] earned him an early comparison to Darcy Tucker from Giants head coach Don Hay, who had coached Tucker as a junior with the Kamloops Blazers.^[9][14]

Set to begin his rookie campaign with the Giants the following season, Kane experienced a minor setback as he was forced to miss the start of training camp with a case of mononucleosis.^[14] He nevertheless recovered and joined the Giants full-time to tally 24 goals – third in team scoring –^[15] and 41 points in his first WHL season. Finishing tenth in rookie scoring, he was nominated for the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as league rookie of the year, which was awarded to Brayden Schenn of the Brandon Wheat Kings.^[13]

Kane emerged with an impressive start to the 2008–09 season, registering at least a point in each of his first 22 games.^[16] After recording his first WHL hat-trick on October 10, 2008, against the Kelowna Rockets, he was named WHL Player of the Week on October 12, succeeding linemate Casey Pierro-Zabotel who had been chosen the previous week.^[17] Shortly thereafter, the WHL selected Kane to represent the league at the 2008 ADT Canada-Russia Challenge.^[18] However, due to a bruised heel suffered on November 15 in a game against the Kelowna Rockets,^[19] Kane was not able to compete for Team WHL.^[20] Kane recovered and earned a spot as an injury replacement at the 2009 World Junior Championships with Team Canada. Upon returning with a gold medal, Kane was named player of the week for the second time in the season on January 12, 2009, after scoring six points in two games immediately following the World Juniors.^[21] Later that month, he participated in the 2009 CHL Top Prospects Game^[22] as captain for Team Cherry.^[12]

He finished his second WHL season with 48 goals and 96 points, fourth in league scoring.^[23] He surprassed Adam Courchaine's team record of 43 goals in a single season, set in 2002–03.^[24] Second in team scoring to Pierro-Zabotel's 115 points, the linemates finished one-two in all-time Giants' single-season scoring as Pierro-Zabotel and Kane both surpassed Gilbert Brulé's previous 87-point mark.^[25] Kane received WHL West First Team All-Star honours along with teammates Pierro-Zabotel and Jonathon Blum.^[26] In the subsequent 2009 playoffs, after the Giants swept the Prince George Cougars in the first round, Kane scored a double-overtime game-winner to force a seventh game in the second round against the Spokane Chiefs.^[27] After eliminating the Chiefs in the seventh game, the Giants were then defeated by the Kelowna Rockets in six games in the semi-finals. In 17 post-season games, Kane accumulated 15 points.

Preliminary rankings by NHL Central Scouting Services (CSS) listed Kane as the second-best draft-eligible WHL skater, behind Spokane Chiefs defenceman Jared Cowen for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.^[28] International Scouting Services (ISS) ranked Kane at eighth overall among all draft-eligible skaters.^[29] Following Kane's performance at the 2009 World Junior Championships, he rose to third overall among North American skaters, behind John Tavares and Matt Duchene, and first in the WHL in the NHL CSS's midseason and final rankings.^[30][31] Accordingly, Kane was selected by the NHL CSS as the WHL's nominee for the CHL Top Draft Prospect Award (the award was given to Tavares, the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) nominee).^[32] Leading up to the 2009 draft, the ISS listed Kane fifth overall in their April rankings.^[33]

Atlanta/Winnipeg (2009–present)[link]

Kane as a member of the Thrashers

After Tavares, Victor Hedman and Duchene were taken with the top three picks in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Kane was selected fourth overall by the Atlanta Thrashers. He became the highest drafted born-and-raised player from Vancouver since Paul Kariya was taken fourth overall in 1993 (Barry Beck was the highest at second overall in 1977),^[34][35] the highest drafted Vancouver Giants player in the history of the franchise (surpassing Gilbert Brulé, who was drafted sixth overall in 2005).^[36] and the highest drafted black player in NHL history.^[5] Less than a month later, the Thrashers signed Kane to an entry-level contract on July 20, 2009.^[37]

Kane made the Thrashers' lineup out of his first NHL training camp for the 2009–10 season. He recorded his first career NHL point in his debut on October 3, 2009, earning an assist on a goal by Rich Peverley against the Tampa Bay Lightning.^[38] His first goal was scored five days later, on October 8, beating Chris Mason with a snap shot in a 4–2 win over the St. Louis Blues.^[39] He played his first NHL game in his hometown a couple months later in an away game against the Vancouver Canucks on December 10. Kane had a near-goal go to review as the Thrashers lost 4–2.^[40] He suffered a left foot injury late in his rookie season, blocking a shot during a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 6, 2010. A CT scan three days later revealed a bone fracture.^[41] He missed 15 games before returning to the lineup on April 3.^[42] Playing in the Thrashers' last game of the season on April 10, he was challenged to a fight by Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Cooke. Kane landed two punches to Cooke's jaw, knocking him unconscious on the ice for several minutes.^[43] Kane finished his NHL rookie campaign with 14 goals and 26 points in 66 games, ranked 12th among first-year point-scorers.^[44]

Kane suffered several minor injuries during his second NHL season in 2010–11 season. During a game against the Colorado Avalanche on November 30, 2010, Kane suffered a left knee injury after he was struck by a shot from teammate Tobias Enstrom;^[45] he missed two games.^[42] The following month, he missed one game due to an arm injury,^[42] sustained during a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on December 7.^[46] In January 2011, he missed an additional six games due to a lower-body injury.^[42] Kept from the lineup for a total nine games, Kane increased his points total to 43 with 19 goals and 24 assists. He ranked fifth in team point-scoring – third among forward behind captain Andrew Ladd and Bryan Little.^[47]

During the off-season, the Thrashers franchise was bought and relocated by True North Sports and Entertainment, becoming the Winnipeg Jets. Kane expressed excitement at the move and being able to play in a Canadian hockey market with a passionate fanbase. Although the previous incarnation of the Jets represented a separate franchise (the team became the Phoenix Coyotes in 1996), the team had retired the number 9 jersey in honour of Bobby Hull. In preparation of the move to Winnipeg, Kane made it apparent to the media that he would personally ask for Hull's permission to continue wearing the number he had worn as a Thrasher.^[48]

Kane was enjoying a successful first season as a Jet, leading his team in scoring with 18 goals and 31 points by mid-January 2012. During that month, however, he was sidelined with a concussion that was reported on January 21.Following a seven-game absence, Kane returned to the lineup early the next month. He then told reporters that he had been playing through concussion-like symptoms for a month since receiving a hit during a game against the New York Islanders on December 20, 2011. ^[49] Later in the season, he recorded a four-point game (two goals and two assists) in a 7–0 win against the Florida Panthers on March 1, 2012.^[50]

International play[link]

Medal record
Competitor for  Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Gold	2009 Ottawa
Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament
Gold	2008 Pardubice

Coming off his rookie season of major junior, Kane competed in the 2008 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, capturing gold with Canada's under-18 team.^[51] He totalled four points in four games,^[52] including an assist in the 6–3 gold medal game win against Russia.^[53] Later that year, Kane was invited to Team Canada's selection camp for the 2009 World Junior Championships along with teammate Tyson Sexsmith.^[54] Although he was not initially named to the final roster, a knee injury to Dana Tyrell in tournament exhibition play made a roster spot available and Kane was chosen as his replacement.^[51] As the youngest player on the team,^[55] Kane contributed six points in six games, helping Canada to a fifth straight gold medal with a 5–1 victory over Sweden in the final.

Following his rookie season in the NHL, Kane was named to the Canadian men's team for the 2010 IIHF World Championship in Germany. General manager Mark Messier made a specific effort to assemble a young team;^[56] as a result, Kane was one of five teenagers on the roster.^[57] He finished the tournament with two goals and two assists in seven games. Canada was eliminated in the quarterfinal by Russia and finished in seventh place.^[58]

The following year, Kane returned to the national team for the 2011 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia.^[59] Kane recorded two assists over seven games as Canada suffered a second consecutive defeat in the quarterfinal to Russia.^[60]

Career statistics[link]

International[link]

Awards[link]

CHL[link]

WHL[link]

International[link]

Records[link]

• Vancouver Giants franchise record; most goals, single-season - 48 in 2008–09 (surpassed Adam Courchaine - 43 in 2002–03)^[24]

See also[link]

• List of black NHL players

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Evander Kane

• Evander Kane's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Evander Kane's NHL player profile
• Evander Kane's TSN profile

Alexei Emelin
Born	(1986-04-25) April 25, 1986 (age 26) Tolyatti, Soviet Union
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Montreal Canadiens KHL HC Lada Togliatti Ak Bars Kazan
National team	Russia
NHL Draft	84th overall, 2004 Montreal Canadiens
Playing career	2003–present

Alexei Valerievich Emelin (born April 25, 1986) is a Russian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League. Emelin was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the third round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft with the 84th overall.

On May 17, 2011, the Russian defenceman signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Montreal Canadiens for the 2011–12 NHL season.^[1]

Playing career[link]

He spent a large portion of his career with HC Lada Togliatti in the Russian Superleague before signing with Ak Bars Kazan. He was also a member of Russia's U18 and U20 national squads and has also become a regular member of the senior national team, skating for both in EuroTour and the World Championships.

He played his first regular-season NHL game on October 9, 2011 in a 5-1 victory against the Winnipeg Jets. In addition, he scored his first regular-season NHL point, an assist, on December 6, 2011, in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

On January 25, 2012, Emelin scored his first NHL goal against the Detroit Red Wings.

After a 2012 IIHF World Championship game against Sweden he was heavily accused by Swedish media for diving.^{[2] [3]}

Career statistics[link]

International statistics[link]

Year	Team	Event	Place		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2004	Russia	WJC18	1 !		6	0	0	0	10
2005	Russia	WJC	2 !		6	1	0	1	8
2006	Russia	WJC	2 !		6	2	5	7	39
Junior Int'l Totals					18	3	5	8	57
2007	Russia	WC	3 !		9	1	2	3	6
2010	Russia	WC	2 !		9	1	1	2	33
2011	Russia	WC	4th		9	0	0	0	29
2012	Russia	WC	1 !		9	2	2	4	4
Senior int'l totals					36	4	5	9	72

References[link]

External links[link]

• Alexei Emelin's career stats at Eliteprospects.com
• Alexei Emelin – player profile and career stats at European Hockey.Net
• Alexei Emelin's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Alexei Emelin's NHL player profile
• Alexei Emelin Profile at Russian Prospects

This biographical article relating to a Russian ice hockey defenceman is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2009)

Don Cherry
Don Cherry at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Born	(1934-02-05) February 5, 1934 (age 78) Kingston, ON, CAN
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	Hershey Bears Boston Bruins Springfield Indians Trois-Rivières Lions Kitchener-Waterloo Beavers Sudbury Wolves Spokane Comets Rochester Americans Tulsa Oilers Vancouver Canucks
Playing career	1954–1972

Donald Stewart "Grapes" Cherry (commonly referred to as Don Cherry) (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian ice hockey commentator for CBC Television. Cherry co-hosts the "Coach's Corner" intermission segment (with Ron MacLean) on the long-running Canadian sports program Hockey Night in Canada, and has also worked for ESPN in the United States as a commentator during the latter stages of the Stanley Cup playoffs. He is known for his outspoken manner, flamboyant dress, and staunch patriotism.^[1]

Prior to his broadcast career, Cherry was a professional hockey player and National Hockey League coach. He played one game with the Boston Bruins, and later coached them for 5 seasons, starting with Bobby Orr's final 93 games as a Bruin. He is also well known as an author, syndicated radio commentator for the Sportsnet Radio Network,^[2] creator of the Rock'em Sock'em Hockey video series, and celebrity endorser. Cherry was voted as the seventh greatest Canadian on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's television special, The Greatest Canadian. In March 2010, his life was dramatized in a two-part Canadian Broadcasting Corporation made-for-television movie, Keep Your Head Up, Kid: The Don Cherry Story, based on a script written by his son, Timothy Cherry. In March 2012 CBC aired a sequel, The Wrath of Grapes: The Don Cherry Story II.

Biography[link]

Early life and family[link]

Cherry was born in Kingston, Ontario to Delmar (Del) and Maude Cherry.^[3] His paternal grandfather, John T. (Jack) Cherry, was an original member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and a Great Lakes ship captain. His maternal grandfather, Richard Palamountain, was a British orphan of Cornish parentage who was emigrated to Canada as one of the Home Children. The name Palamountain is a corruption of the Cornish language 'pol-mun-tyr' meaning 'pool by the mineral land'.^[4] Palamountain was also a veteran of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.^[5] Cherry's father Del was an amateur athlete and worked as an electrician with the Canadian Steamship Lines.^[3] On the March 15, 2008 edition of Coach's Corner, Cherry wore the green and gold colours of County Kerry, Ireland. In his segment following the game, he claimed ancestry from that region. Cherry's younger brother, Dick Cherry played hockey at various levels, including two seasons in the National Hockey League with the Philadelphia Flyers.^[6]

In his first year with the Bears, he met his future wife Rosemarie (Rose) Cherry née Madelyn Martini (born 1935 in Hershey, Pennsylvania). Rose was hugely influential in Don's life—because of Don's minor-league hockey lifestyle, they moved 53 times; they rarely had decent housing or furnishings, and Don was often away playing during major events, such as the birth of their daughter and first child, Cindy Cherry.^[7] Six years after Cindy's birth, Rose gave birth to son Tim Cherry.^[8] When Tim needed a kidney transplant at age 13, Cindy donated one of hers. The two currently live across the street from each other, around the corner from their father, in Mississauga.^[9]

Rose died of liver cancer on June 1, 1997 and in honour of her perseverance, Don created Rose Cherry's Home for Kids.^[7] Her name has motivated Cherry to always wear a rose on his lapel. Cherry contributed in developing Rose Cherry's Home for Kids which has since been renamed to The Darling Home for Kids, in Milton, Ontario.^[10] The Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario is located on "Rose Cherry Place," a street named for his late wife.

In 1999, Don married his second wife, Luba.^[11]

Playing career[link]

Cherry played junior hockey with the Barrie Flyers and the Windsor Spitfires in the Ontario Hockey Association. Cherry won the Memorial Cup as a defenceman with Barrie in 1953. He dropped out of high school, and in 1954 he signed with the American Hockey League's (AHL) Hershey Bears.^[12]

Cherry had a long playing career in professional minor hockey, and in 1955 played his only NHL game when the Boston Bruins called him up during the playoffs. According to Cherry, a baseball injury suffered in the off season kept him from making the NHL despite his almost 20 years playing in the minor leagues. He retired as a player in 1970.^[12] Cherry won the Calder Cup championship (AHL) four times—1960 with the Springfield Indians, and 1965, 1966, 1968 with Rochester Americans. He also won the Lester Patrick Cup, the Western Hockey League Championship, with Vancouver Canucks in 1969.

Career statistics[link]

Coaching career[link]

After the end of his playing career, Cherry struggled for a time as a Cadillac salesman and a construction worker. He worked as a painter earning $2 per hour.^[13]

In the middle of the 1971–72 season, Cherry became the coach of the American Hockey League's Rochester Americans and won Coach of the Year. The following year, the title of General Manager was added. In his third season behind the bench, Cherry was voted the AHL's "Coach of the Year". After his three-year stint in Rochester, he was promoted to the NHL as head coach of the Boston Bruins, a team that was coming off a successful run of two Stanley Cups and three first-place finishes, but would soon see the exit of superstars Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito.^[14]

Cherry quickly developed a reputation for being an eccentric, flamboyant coach who strongly encouraged physical play among his players. It has been alleged he modeled the Bruins' playing style after that of his dog, Blue, a feisty bull terrier. While the team had previously been known for Orr and Esposito who were highly skilled scorers, their impending departures had Cherry remake the team with enforcers and grinders which became known as the "lunch-pail gang" (or "lunch pail A.C.") and "the Big Bad Bruins". Albeit for a brief slump until Esposito was traded to the New York Rangers for Brad Park, as Esposito disagreed with Cherry's coaching while Park would thrive under it, this approach rejuvenated the Bruins as they continued to be one of the NHL's best teams during the latter half of the 1970s, capturing the division title four straight seasons from 1975-76 through 1978-79. In the 1977–78 season, Cherry coached the Bruins team to an NHL record of 11 players with 20 goals or more on a single team. Cherry won the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year in 1976.^[15]

The Bruins were able to defeat the rough Philadelphia Flyers twice in the playoffs under Cherry's tenure. The Bruins made the Stanley Cup finals twice, both times losing to their arch-rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, in both 1977 and 1978. In the 1979 semi-final playoff series against the Canadiens, Cherry's Bruins pushed the series to the limit but they were undone by a late penalty in the seventh game. Up by a goal with less than two minutes left in the seventh game, the Bruins were called for having too many men on the ice. The Canadiens' Guy Lafleur scored the tying goal on the subsequent power play and ultimately won the game in overtime. Montreal went on to defeat the New York Rangers for their fourth straight Cup title. Cherry, who had an uneasy relationship with Bruins General Manager Harry Sinden, was fired by the Bruins afterward.

Cherry went on to coach the Colorado Rockies the following season. Under his tenure, the Rockies adopted the motto "Come to the fights and watch a Rockies game break out!" and the slogan could be seen on billboards all over Denver in the 1979–80 season. Cherry's hiring as head coach immediately rejuvenated the ailing franchise's fortunes.

However, as he later admitted, his outspokenness and feuding with Rockies general manager Ray Miron did not endear Cherry to management. While Cherry did much to motivate the players, goaltending was still the team's weakness as Miron refused to replace Hardy Åström, whom Cherry dubbed the "The Swedish Sieve". Cherry recalled one game where his players had got ten shots on goal without scoring, but Åström then conceded a goal from the opponent's first shot and so was yanked from net. Of course, Cherry didn't help things when, after watching defenseman Mike McEwen ignore him and refuse to come off during a game, he reached over the boards and manhandled McEwen to the bench. His NHL career and the Rockies ended on a positive note when they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-0 in the final game of the season held at home. Years later, while commentating during the 2001 Stanley Cup final between the Colorado Avalanche and New Jersey Devils (the Rockies franchise moved to New Jersey after 1982), Cherry recalled the experience of the Rockies' last game where he was wearing cowboy boots and after it ended, the Rockies players formed two lines so he could depart the ice between them while acknowledging the cheers of the crowd.

In 1983, Cherry was asked by businessman Bill Hunter, who attempted to purchase the St. Louis Blues and move them to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to coach his team in Saskatoon. However, the NHL's Board of Governors rejected the move, and the Blues remained in St. Louis.

Internationally, Cherry was an assistant coach for Team Canada at the 1976 Canada Cup and was head coach for Canada's team at the 1981 World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Cherry was the part-owner and the former coach of the Ontario Hockey League's Mississauga IceDogs. As owner and general manager, he gained notoriety by refusing to take part in the CHL import draft, and only play North American born players. The IceDogs' first three seasons were difficult ones with the team winning a total of 16 games combined. Cherry took over coaching duties in the fourth season. During Cherry's one season as head coach of the Mississauga IceDogs, the team managed 11 victories (only a slight improvement) and failed to make the playoffs for the fourth straight year. Cherry drew some criticism for his sudden decision to allow European born players onto the IceDogs line-up during the one season he coached the team.

Coaching statistics[link]

Broadcasting[link]

After his Rockies failed to qualify for the 1980 Stanley Cup playoffs, Cherry was hired as a studio analyst for CBC's playoff coverage that spring, working alongside host Dave Hodge. CBC hired him full-time in 1981 as a colour commentator, but he didn't last long in that role due to his tendency to openly cheer for one of the teams (especially the Boston Bruins or Toronto Maple Leafs). Instead, they created "Coach's Corner", a segment that appeared in the first intermission on Hockey Night in Canada, with Dave Hodge. In 1987, Hodge was replaced by Ron MacLean, with whom Cherry has been teamed ever since. For several years he also hosted his own half-hour interview show, Don Cherry's Grapevine, which began on Hamilton's CHCH-TV in the 1980s before moving to TSN. His loud, outspoken nature became notorious, and his shows are described as "game analysis, cultural commentary and playful parrying with host Ron MacLean."^[12] Cherry also hosted a syndicated weekly television show called Don Cherry's This Week in Hockey during the 1987–88 NHL season. It featured highlights from the previous week's NHL games. The highlight of each show was when Cherry awarded a Black and Decker cordless drill to the player who levied the "hit of the week" (called the "Drill of the Week" in order to tie into the cordless drill giveaway).

Cherry's commentary is usually peppered with catchphrases like "All you kids out there...," unrestrained affection for his favourite players (including Steve Yzerman and Kingston native Doug Gilmour, whom Cherry affectionately refers to as "Dougie" and once kissed on-air in a famous TV gag), and overall political incorrectness. Another trademark is his bull terrier Blue, originally a gift from the Bruins players. Some of the advice he gives is unchanging from year to year.

Cherry tends to have favourites among his many tidbits of advice. Virtually every week he spends time exhorting the evils of attempting to block a shot using only one's hockey stick (as it often causes deflections and impedes the goalie's view of the puck). Two other perennial favourites are the folly of touch icing (a rule he blamed for the premature end to Pat Peake's career) and (several years ago) bemoaning the extremely sensitive rules about crease violation. He also despises the two-minute penalty for firing the puck into the crowd from the defensive zone.

He also spends time extolling true grit, such as when, in the 1999 playoffs, a Phoenix Coyotes winger crawled off the ice after enduring a bone-shattering slap shot from St. Louis Blues defenceman Al MacInnis so that another could take his place. Usually at the end of the NHL season, his send off words in recent years have been about NHL prospects entering the NHL draft. His position is that unless a player is guaranteed to be selected in the first or second rounds, they should not physically attend the draft. The reason for this is that some players would be too disappointed if they are drafted later than expected, or worse, not at all.

Cherry returned to the news in May 2004 amid rumours that CBC would terminate his contract for Hockey Night in Canada. However, he re-signed with the network in July.

Branching out from his Hockey Night in Canada duties, Cherry began to release a series of videos called Don Cherry's Rock'Em Sock'em Hockey in 1989. The 15th anniversary video was released in 2003, with a 'Best Of' released in 2005. For the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals, NBC decided to feature Cherry in its intermission coverage, a rare appearance on American television. He was partnered with Bill Clement and Brett Hull and it did not conflict with his usual role on CBC as he appeared on NBC during the second intermission.

In May 2008, ESPN announced that Cherry was joining Barry Melrose as a commentator for the remainder of the 2008 NHL Playoffs. He provided pre-game analysis for the conference finals, pre- and post-game analysis for the Stanley Cup finals, and appeared on ESPNews and ESPN Radio. ESPN also announced that he would donate his fees to the Humane Society.^[16]

Don Cherry has been criticized for comments targeting specific ethnicities such as French Canadians and Europeans and this has led to Cherry's broadcasts being put on a seven second delay by the CBC^{[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]}

Opinions on hockey[link]

Don Cherry is a strong advocate of a tough "Canadian" type of hockey which emphasizes physical play and a "code" of conduct among the players. He believes that fighting is an integral part of the game as it enforces respect between teams and players, as well as being popular with the public.

He has long been a champion of hardworking "journeyman" players, whom he identifies with from his time playing in the minor leagues. Don Cherry's favourite player of all time is Bobby Orr who he says is the greatest player of all time.^[29] Other favourites include Doug Gilmour, Vincent Lecavalier and Cam Neely. Cherry has criticized many players for what he considers dishonourable conduct, but perhaps none more than Ulf Samuelsson and Matt Cooke, whom he considered to be exceptionally dirty players responsible for many severe injuries.^[30][31]

Cherry has been very critical of the league's direction in recent years as it has been trying to reduce fighting and emphasize speed, and skill. Specific rules that he criticizes include the current rules for icing the puck and the instigator rule.

He is critical of elaborate celebrations by players after goals. In 2003 Cherry made headlines by criticizing then heavily publicized junior prospect Sidney Crosby for being a "hot dog" because of the way Crosby slid around on his knees after scoring. He also disapproved of a tricky behind-the-net goal the young star pulled off when a game was already out of reach for the team he scored on.^[29] He caused some controversy in his criticism of Alexander Ovechkin after he scored his 50th goal in 2009.^[32]

Political views and controversy[link]

Over his career on television, Cherry has generated significant controversy about both hockey and politics.^[9][33]

In 1989, he referred to Finnish-born Winnipeg Jets Assistant Coach Alpo Suhonen as "some kind of dog food", which triggered the threat of a lawsuit from Jets owner Barry Shenkarow.^[9]

In 2003, Cherry made comments on his CBC segment in support of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. On March 22, 2003, during Coach's Corner, a heated debate over the U.S.-led war with Iraq took place. Cherry criticized Montreal fans for booing the American national anthem before a game earlier in the week. The conversation then turned to the war when Ron MacLean said "everybody wants to know what you think". Cherry berated MacLean about being neutral on the war and strongly criticized the Canadian government for failing to support the U.S. in the war.^[34] Cherry appeared on the American radio program The Jim Rome Show the following week, stating, "You have to realize the CBC is government owned [...] You have to say the government was against [the invasion of Iraq] and I'm for it and I'm on a government program. I really thought this could be the end."^[35]

In January 2004, on the subject of visors, Cherry said on Coach's Corner: "Most of the guys that wear them are Europeans and French guys" to illustrate his claim that visor users have less respect for player safety. This statement triggered an investigation by the federal Official Languages Commissioner, and protests by French-Canadians. CBC consequently imposed a seven-second delay on Hockey Night in Canada. Later on, a study was published that proved Cherry to be partially correct: 50% of Europeans and 40% of French-Canadians wore visors, compared to 22% of North Americans born outside of Quebec, but players who wear visors committed proportionately fewer high-sticking penalties than players who do not.^[36] Cherry returned to the "Coach's Corner" for the 2005–06 NHL season without the seven-second delay.

After appearing in the Canadian House of Commons on November 7, 2006, he formally stated his support for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whom he called "a grinder and a mucker" by saying "I give a thumbs up to Stephen Harper for sure. He supports the troops and I support the troops."^[37]

On December 7, 2010, Cherry attended the inaugural meeting of Toronto City Council, where he placed the chain of office around incoming Mayor Rob Ford's neck.^[38] Cherry was asked to say a few remarks and he opened by stating “I’m wearing pink for all the pinkos out there that ride bicycles and everything, I thought I’d get it in.” He then went on to state that he had "been ripped to shreds by the left-wing pinko newspapers out there" and ended saying "And that's why I say he's gonna be the greatest mayor this city has ever, ever seen, as far as I'm concerned! And put that in your pipe, you left-wing kooks." Left-leaning councillors were critical of Cherry's speech, and the following day some of them wore pink clothing in protest, including Joe Mihevc (Ward 21, St. Paul's West) and Ana Bailão (Ward 18, Davenport) wore pink scarves while Janet Davis (Ward 31, Beaches-East York) wore a pink suit jacket.^[39] Mihevc said, "We all love Don Cherry and his comments and forcefulness in hockey games, but this is council. It’s a political arena where we make it a habit to reach out, talk to others and achieve consensus. To have that kind of, frankly, belligerence and pushing people aside, to start out this way I think is really unfortunate." Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong defended Cherry though he stated that it was "A little over the top" and that "You take it for what it is and you shrug it off and move forward." Cherry defended his comments by stating “Well, what can I tell you? Don’t invite me. You don’t invite a pit bull. If you want a pit bull, you get a pit bull.”^[40]

Greatest Canadian top ten[link]

In October 2004, the CBC program The Greatest Canadian revealed that its 'top ten' viewer-selected great Canadians included Cherry. Cherry remarked that he would have been inclined to vote for Sir John A. Macdonald (if he had lived in the same time period), who had also been a Kingston resident. He finished seventh in the final tally.^[41] Cherry is the only living member of the top 10 greatest Canadians who hasn't been awarded an Order of Canada.

Acting career[link]

As part of his fame, Cherry has also branched out into some acting roles. He was cast as Jake Nelson in the television series Power Play. Nelson was the coach of the Philadelphia team playing against the Hamilton Steelheads in the playoffs during the first season. Also, he and Ron MacLean provided voices for themselves in the animated television series Zeroman, which starred Leslie Nielsen. He also appeared on an episode of Goosebumps called "Don't Go to Sleep!" where he plays a hockey coach. His voice was also used in Disney's animated feature The Wild, as a penguin curling broadcaster. He also appeared alongside the Trailer Park Boys in The Tragically Hip's video "The Darkest One".

In 2008, he also appeared on an episode of Holmes on Homes, the widely-popular home improvement show. While not appearing scripted, Cherry apparently lived in the neighbourhood and he is shown speaking with Mike Holmes about the construction business and the ongoing project at his brother-in-law's house.^{[citation needed]}

Business and charitable work[link]

In 1985, the first of a chain of franchised sports bars/restaurants bearing Cherry's name was opened in Hamilton. Cherry started as a partner in the operation and has more recently licensed his name to the chain without holding a significant ownership stake in the company. "Don Cherry's Sports Grill" has locations in Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Alberta.^[42]

Cherry, who is an advocate of options for pet owners to keep their pets healthy, has also partnered with companion animal organisation Pethealth Inc. to offer Canadians the hockey-inspired CherryBlue Pet Insurance program. Cherry is pictured on cherryblue.ca with his popular bull terrier Blue, for whom the program is named.

Cherry has lent his considerable persona to selected charitable causes, most significantly, organ donation awareness.

Cherry is good friends with long-serving Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion. During her 87th birthday, he joked that while 98% of the city voted for her, he was looking for the remaining 2% that didn't.

Cherry in recent years has become one of the biggest public personalities to endorse Cold FX cold medication. In the first year Cherry worked for the company, $1 from every bottle sold of Cold-FX was donated to Rose Cherry's Home for Kids.

He has also done television and radio advertisements for the sandwich store chain Quizno's, in which he appeared with sportscaster Jody Vance, where he frequently utters the slogans "You get more meat", "Toasted tastes better" and "You're gonna love it". In 2007 Cherry lent his image on Rayovac brand batteries intended for sale in Canada.

On October 21, 2009, the Kingston Frontenacs celebrated "Military Night" by paying tribute to Cherry. Jerseys were made that resembled one of Cherry's famous suits, and afterward the jerseys were auctioned off for charity.

In September 2010, Cherry signed a multi-year deal to act as the corporate spokesman for Dominion Lending Centres, a nationally-franchised mortgage brokerage headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Other accolades[link]

In 1993, Cherry lent his voice to the charity song "Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Techno" for Canadian Techno group BKS. On November 14, 2005, Cherry was granted honorary membership of the Police Association of Ontario. Once an aspiring police officer, Cherry has been a longtime supporter of the police services. In his own words, "This is the best thing I've ever had." In June 2007, Cherry was made a Dominion Command Honorary Life Member of the Royal Canadian Legion in recognition of "his longstanding and unswerving support of ... Canadians in uniform". In February 2008, Cherry was awarded the Canadian Forces Medallion for Distinguished Service for 'unwavering support to men and women of the Canadian Forces, honouring fallen soldiers on his CBC broadcast during 'Coach's Corner' a segment of Hockey Night in Canada'.^[43]

See also[link]

Ice hockey portal

• List of NHL head coaches
• List of players who played only one game in the NHL

References[link]