Bernie’s Bits:Making Canada Proud: Canucks Alumni on the Olympic & International Stage
By Bernie Pascall
The Vancouver Canucks and Olympic Games have been synonymous over the years. As the 2026 Winter Olympic Games begin in Milan, Italy next month, it is the ideal time to reflect on members of the Canucks Alumni who have shared in this most exciting experience.
I have attended nine Olympic Games and have done the hockey play-by-play at three Olympics on CTV. Members of the Canucks Alumni have been an integral part of many of those telecasts.
Innsbruck Austria 1976 – Canada was not represented but a pair of future Canucks - Jiri Bubla and Ivan Hlinka - played for Silver Medal winners Czechoslovakia.
Lake Placid, NY 1980 – The ‘Miracle on Ice” was won by the U.S. but a group of Canucks Alumni made an impact with Team Canada including Jim Nill, Randy Gregg and Ken Berry. Vladimir Krutov was a 19-year-old rookie for Russia.
Sarajevo, Yugoslavia 1984 – Future Canucks Alumni members Russ Courtnall, Dave Gagner, Doug Lidster, JJ Daigneault and Craig Redmond played for Team Canada.
Canada won the Gold Medal in 2022 in Salt Lake City under head coach Pat Quinn whose roster included Alumni members Ed Jovanovski, Mike Peca and current Canucks’ head coach Adam Foote. Quinn wasn’t as successful in 2006 coaching Team Canada in Torino, Italy where Canada finished seventh. That roster included Roberto Luongo, Todd Bertuzzi and Bryan McCabe.
And who can forget the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver with gold medalists following Luongo’s stellar goaltending. The training and equipment staff included Pat O’Neill and Mike Burnstein from the Canucks.
(On a personal note, son Brad Pascall was vice president of hockey operations for Hockey Canada national teams that shared in three Olympic gold medals as well as five consecutive World Junior gold medals)
Several other members of the Canucks family representing Canada at World Championships played dominant roles on other of CTV telecasts I was part of during those earlier years.
Who would have thought … Canada’s goalie at the 1977 Championships in Vienna was Canucks president Jim Rutherford, then a teammate of Dennis Kearns. Canada lost to Russia but in 1978 in Prague Kearns and Don Lever shared in Canada winning a Bronze Medal. Moscow was the venue in 1979 where Ryan Walter celebrated his 21st birthday scoring four goals for Canada with Rutherford having joined that roster, as well.
In 1982 Canada won another Bronze in Finland with Alumni members Paul Reinhart, Rick Vaive and Walter. Other Canucks who made an impact on the international CTV telecasts over the years included Steve Tambellini, John Garrett, Doug Halward and Rick Lanz.
Canada captured a Silver Medal in Sweden at the l989 Championships with Dave Babych, Brent Ashton and Sean Burke on the roster.
It all comes under the title Making Canada Proud!