Brought to you by the Western Hockey Network

 Contact    AHL    ECHL    About Us     Radio    Josh's Column   Kevin Greenstein   Audio     Europe

SPECIAL FEATURE:
WHAT’S RIGHT ABOUT THE GAME:
WORLD POND HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS
AT PLASTER ROCK, NB’S ROULSTON LAKE.

CAYMAN ISLANDS -- Glistening sun and intense heat on sandy beaches sprinkled with sun loungers, parasols, turquoise-colored warm water, coral reefs and many multi-colored fish (an Eldorado for divers) – who could think of hockey in this context? The only ice on the Cayman Islands is in the freezer or the cubes in cocktails!

If you believe that, you’d be mistaken.

Roughly a quarter of the population of this colony of the British realm (approx. 40,000) finds its origins in Canada. In 1794, when ten British ships struck a reef off the east coast and sunk, the islands’ inhabitants rescued all the crew members (it’s likely that at least one member of the royal family was on board) and were thus granted eternal tax and military service exile by English ruler King George III. 

This natural paradise and tax haven also attracted four ex-hockey players Marty Goschl, Norm Klein, Bill Messer and Joe Stasiuk, who are now Caymanians. During their Great White North upbrinings, all four participated in the Canadian national sport, hockey, with varying success.

Of course, it left a big gap in their leisure activities when they emigrated, as ice is only known in the Caribbean as a means of cooling. They were forced to do without a slippery surface, yet were not prepared to relinquish the sport completely, so they took up organized street or ball hockey instead.

43-year-old Bill Messer, born in Tisdale, Saskatchewan and an inhabitant of the Cayman Islands for 14 years, came up with a glorious, if for many, absurd, idea: to take part in a pond hockey tournament in New Brunswick, Canada.  

The first ever “World Pond Hockey Championships” was held in Plaster Rock, New Brunswick, Canada on January 19 and 20, 2002.  It features four-on-four round robin play, then a playoff (no goalies). 

The local community contributes mightily to the care of the ice and the event in general.  Truly, this new tournament, held in a snowy paradise, represents all that’s right with the game of hockey.  For these Canadian expats living in a tropical paradise, the Pond Hockey tourney represented a glorious opportunity to return to their roots.

Messer’s idea to found the Cayman Breakaway Ice Hockey Team was met with great enthusiasm from his three fellow Canadian friends. Norm Klein immediately agreed. Klein, born 42 years ago in North Bay, Ontario has lived on the Caymans for 11 years and works there as an attorney. At an early age, Klein played alongside future NHL Hall of Famer Ron Francis (Toronto Maple Leafs).

The next recruit, Marty Goschl, who left his home town Oshawa in Ontario 19 years ago and now manages a landscaping company, was also motivated to join. Goschl played minor league hockey in the region of Newcastle-Cobourg.

The fourth musketeer is Joe Stasiuk, who arrived in Grand Cayman 8 years ago. He agreed in a flash too. In his youth, Stasiuk played with many famous players (e.g. Charlie Huddy and Ed Hospodar). During his 1976-1977 Junior season and at the Toronto Junior All-Star Game, Stasiuk had the pleasure of playing against the greatest hockey player of all-time, Wayne Gretzky.

When Stasiuk, still living in Canada at the time, had to go to Australia for business reasons, he played on their national team. Eventually Stasiuk went to Beijing, China, where he continued playing the world’s fastest team sport with many Russian and Canadian diplomats in his leisure time.

The family probably has a built-in hockey gene, as his uncle Vic Stasiuk played in 740 NHL games as a left winger, winning the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings three times.

At Plaster Rock, New Brunswick, their Cayman Islands’ club won two of five games and just missed out on the final round. However, the “beach boys” were lauded for their performance and a team from Boston won the pond hockey tournament.

During my stay at the wonderful “Reef” resort on the east coast of this paradise – now rapidly recovering from the destruction of Hurricane Ivan from September 11/12, 2004 – I had the opportunity to talk to these globetrotters about the Cayman Islands and the World Pond Hockey Tournament:

Photos - Brian Smith

BACK TO TOP

HOME

Copyright 2006 Western Hockey Network