Soviets had plenty of excuses for losing at hockey, Canadian diplomats found in 1976

Canadian diplomats wryly noted the Soviets were "never short of reasons" as to why their hockey team stumbled against the world's best four decades ago, newly declassified documents reveal.

Millions of Canadians watched with delight in 1976 as the home side captured the inaugural Canada Cup — a forerunner of this month's World Cup of Hockey tournament in Toronto.

Behind the scenes, Canadian foreign service officers in Moscow keenly observed the reaction to the games, widely televised in the Soviet Union, through the lens of the then-simmering Cold War.

The Canadian Embassy reported to Ottawa in a post-tourney memo that interest in hockey remained "intense and pervasive" in the Soviet Union.

"The games became the instant topic of conversation whenever an embassy employee engaged in conversation with a Soviet citizen," the cable says. "Even the admission by a jay-walking employee that he was Canadian brought forth a 'go-go Can-a-da' from an otherwise taciturn militiaman and allowed the Canadian to avoid a stern lecture on the necessity of using the underpasses."

The Sept. 23, 1976, memo is among several documents in RCMP security files obtained by The Canadian Press from Library and Archives Canada through the Access to Information Act.

The Canada Cup featured select squads from Canada, the United States, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Sweden and Finland. The games took place in five Canadian cities as well as Philadelphia.

The event came four years after Canada's professionals first squared off against the Soviets in the unforgettable Summit Series, which Canada won by the narrowest of margins.

Russian standouts who became familiar names to Canadians in 1972 — including goalie Vladislav Tretiak, defenceman Valeri Vasiliev and forward Alexander Maltsev — could not lift their team to victory in the Canada Cup.

The Soviets finished third, with the Canadians besting the Czechs in the final.

Many in Canada saw the tournament as the closest thing to a genuine world championship, given that the best Canadian players were routinely busy battling for the Stanley Cup each spring when the actual World Championships took place.

Four more Canada Cup tournaments took place before the event was rebranded the World Cup of Hockey in 1996.

The Mounties diligently vetted Soviet players, officials and journalists who travelled to Canada for the 1976 tournament, the archival records show.

The Canadian Embassy found Soviet TV broadcaster Nickolai Ozerov to be "in good form" and "no more partisan than usual."

The diplomats got the impression that once the Soviets were eliminated, "references to Canadian 'roughness' were superseded by references to good Canadian backchecking and an admiration for the pressure that the Canadian team applied to the Czechs."

They also noted something of an infatuation with "old" Canadian stars such as the high-scoring Phil Esposito and Bobby Hull. But there was "even greater respect" for the "new" team members, particularly star defenceman Bobby Orr, who sat out the '72 series due to knee surgery.

Despite general Russian appreciation for the high level of play, the Canadians noted the Soviet media felt the Canada Cup's significance "should not be overestimated."

"They held that the World Championships in Vienna in 1977 will decide the true world champion team."

Still, the Canada Cup was seen as useful because it allowed Soviet officials to evaluate young, fresh players who might be part of the "main Soviet national team" in Vienna, the Canadian diplomatic cable says.

"You will appreciate that the Soviets are never short of reasons for not winning."