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TIM WHARNSBY HOCKEY REPORTER December 31, 2007 PARDUBICE, CZECH REPUBLIC -- Michelle Horton, a telecommunications employee, was surfing the Internet this year in her St. Thomas, Ont., home and found what she believed would be the perfect vacation for her boyfriend, Paul Callaghan. "Paul was in the next room and I said to him, 'Where does that friend of yours in Europe live?' " she said. "When he answered the Czech Republic, I asked him, 'What would you think about going there for the world junior tournament?' " Callaghan, a truck driver, didn't hesitate to say yes. He's a hockey nut and wanted to meet up again with his old Czech buddy who emigrated to Canada in the late 1960s, ran a pool hall in St. Thomas and returned to his country once its Communist regime fell. So the couple called Destiny Tours, one of a handful of travel companies that offer world junior packages, and booked their journey. After several days at the world junior championship here, the smiles can't be wiped off their faces. They are among the more than 3,000 Canadians who forked out between $3,000 and $4,500 (depending on the package chosen) to travel to the 11-day tournament. "It's certainly not your traditional winter holiday," said Callaghan, dressed in Canadian red from head to toe, including a Canadian pin hanging in his goatee. "But I know I won't get diarrhea or sun burnt. This has been absolutely the perfect holiday. I love the game of hockey and have played it since age 5 and still play old-timers hockey. Plus, we get to see a beautiful city like Prague." This trip, as Ron Asselstine of Destiny Tours says, is mainly for Canadians to come over and watch hockey and cheer on Canada. But there were side trips organized, and for those who paid the full freight, there will be a river boat New Year's Eve cruise down the Vltava river that winds through Prague. Jennifer Wolf, 28, a retail saleswoman from Edmonton, will be there with Horton and Callaghan on the cruise tonight after Canada plays Denmark. After sitting in her living room last January consumed by the excitement of the Canada-United States shootout semi-final, she decided to travel to this year's tourney. "It's always been a Boxing Day tradition for me to sit down and watch Canada play in this tournament, whether I was at home or at work," said Wolf, also an Edmonton Oilers fan. "I must say that to watch it live is way better than to watch it on television." They come to games wearing Team Canada sweaters, as well as jerseys from junior and NHL teams. Young and old are here cheering Canada on. Asselstine, a former NHL linesman from Guelph, Ont., points out all 10 provinces are represented, and there are few families from as far away as Yellowknife and Nunavut. It used to be that when the Canadian juniors travelled to Europe for this tournament, they only played before friends, family, a few expatriates and some Canadian Armed Forces personnel stationed abroad - unless the host country was the opponent. But now those empty seats are occupied by Canadian fans on these tours, which started in Moscow for the 2001 event when less than 50 people purchased packages to watch the championship. Dan Smith of Destiny Tours said that 90 people bought packages from his company for Pardubice in 2002, and that number increased to 380 last year in Leksand, Sweden, and 455 this time around. The Canadian juniors certainly have noticed the frenzied support and have frequently said in interviews that they appreciate the encouragement. Last year when they struck gold, the players skated to the end where most of the Canadian fans sat and hoisted the trophy up to the glass so the fans could revel in the victory, too. After beating the Czechs 3-0 in the tournament opener last Wednesday, they saluted the Canadian contingent in the stands by raising their sticks in the fans direction. "It gave me goose bumps all over to see that," Smith said. |
