Lab Re Transcript

7/30/2019 Lab Re Transcript

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Labre Memories Transcription

. and the fact that ah Abe Pollin sold the Capitals to the right person. Because thatperson put a lot of effort, lot of money into them to make them better and look whatits created. I mean the fact that he sells out this building is just fantastic to me, its

just unbelievable.

Why? I can look at the camera, hi Todd how are you? (laughter) Yeah, I have noproblem with that, Im just messing with you.

Well I thought it was a fantastic time in the actual building of the WashingtonCapitals and, and identifying it with Washington DC. Ah the fact that the buildingwas built right here revitalized this whole downtown area, and I think its donewonders for the city itself.

Oh absolutely, I mean even the first year that they moved here if you remember they

went to the Stanley Cup Finals against Detroit. I mean we, thats, thats as far as itwent but the activity and all everything that it generated I mean people were justflocking to the area and ah that was fantastic to see because you know I mean, I was,Ive been here since 1974 the first day the first year. And there werent a lot of greatthings to talk about back then but you have to start somewhere, and 74 was theyear (laughing)

I loved it! Because you know I had been part of ah another team, PittsburghPenguins by the way, but we wontmention them. Uh the the Washington Capitalspicked me up in the draft, uh early in the draft, and uh I was very very excited.Because uh I had fought long and hard to try and get to the National Hockey League

and thats what I wanted to do and uh I did it. And uh I I had seven great years here.Uh all obviously culminating with the fact that Abe Pollin retired, decided to retiremy jersey and that doesnt happen to a lot of players that played the game like I didbut so I dedicate it to all the guys that played the game hard, fought in the cornersand everything. I called them the Clydesdales of the game. And you know and andsomebody brought it to my attention, he says, You know Ivan, Clydesdales are alsothoroughbreds I said I didnt know that. But uh, its been a, holy smokes 74! it goesback a long time. Uh obviously probably before you were born. But thats a lot ofhistory and uh I think its culminating in whats happening now and I think itsfantastic.

Oh I was what they call a stay at home defenseman. I dont think they have too manyof those now because its a five man unit and it rotates constantly youll finddefensemen going down now. And, but but I do like the game a whole lot better theway its played now instead of up and down your own wing like it used to be played,uh I think it creates a lot more excitement. Even tonight, even though the Capitals uhwhat happened, uh you know it was a great game even though they, you know,didnt score. But they had their chances and they played hard. And uh I didnt see


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that at the start of the year, butIm seeing it now, Im seeing a team coming togetherand playing very very hard for each other. And I think thats fantastic

Uuuhhhh (laughing) I Id be lying if I said yes. But uh, no I dont uh, but uh, I I I cantuh, you know what itits kind of hard. Uh I cant believe I know who was playing for

for the hawks at that time. You know the old guys like stamekita and bobby hull andand those the likes of those guys and theyre theyre ancient history now too just likeI am but uh. Uh you know I, you had to start somewhere and uh you know we didnthave that many wins that first year, and if Chicago was one of them, well they musthave been pretty mad at that time. Because we were holding up the rest of theleague (laughter)

Well it it is because uh ya ya know you cant, I also scored the first goal in theCapitals Centre, and that was something you cant take away because you cant scorethe first goal in the building again you know? It it was one record I said Id neverlose! So you know it it it was exciting and it was the best times of my life, although

uh you know time flies by. Just like Ive seen so many players come through that Icant even remember who they all are now. You know, I used to know them all byname and now I cant I cant ah tell you who they, they all are because theres beenso many.

Oh! Absolutely! Okay lets set the stage, we got

Lindsey interrupts Labre restarts

Okay so lets set the stage Lindsey, it was against LA and roggy Vashon was in net.My good friend Billy Lazook was digging the puck and fighting the battles in the

corner, he came up with the puck, I saw that he was looking up, so I skated into theslot area near the top of the circles. He gave me the puck, I walked in

Id love to say I did it like Semin and you didnt even see it, but I think itwas more ofa knuckle ball than anything else. He missed it and it was a 1-1 tie and that was ourfirst point that we ever got. And you know years and years later like I knew all theoff ice officials and they were a bunch of great guys, one of them came up to me andgave me the score sheet I think about thirty years later. He gave me that score sheetfrom that first night against LA, that was our first game in the Capital Centre.

Well it was exciting for me, I mean it was exciting for the fact that we also got a

point. And I know that I came into every season back then when I was playing,looking to do a whole lot better than we did. But unfortunately history is history andit never happened but you know when they made the big trade for that uh withmontreal when they traded rick green and ryan walters and they got five excellentpeople, along with Rod Langway, Wes Jarvis, Bryan Engbloom and the other two I I Icant remember. But that was the start of something good. The team winning 14games in a row, setting all kinds of different records, started scoring, started makingthings happen in Washington.


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I do have the puck, somewhere. I dont know exactly where.

Well you know the biggest moment was having my jersey retired. I mean that wasjust an incredible night, that was uh I couldnt believe it was happening. Other than

that its just been watching these guys play hard day in day out and watching hockeyand making sure, you know way back then if you follow the history, they had alwayshad the Save the Capitals campaign. And I would have hated to see hockey leavethe area. So I was very very happy that the fans came out and the fans supported itso we didnt lose hockey because lets face it, that was an extreme possibility,because lets face it the baseball Senators, look how many years it took baseball tocome back to the area. So I was very very happy to see that the Capitals did notleave.

Well like I said, it was one of the biggest moments of my life you know, I meanyoure out there on the ice and I got the message from our public relations director

that Abe Polin wanted me on the ice with him to give Ron Webber 500 games ofbroadcasting. And so I said well, why would he want me out there? You know, Imean, and so I was out there and you know he did the presentation to Ron Webberwho was already up in his booth. They put the spot lights on Ron and Im waving tohim and then Im ready to walk off you know, and then Abe starts with the talk ofThis gentleman beside me and all. And I was so speechless lets face it, he hands methe mic and all I could say was thank you, thats all I could manage because I was so,I couldnt believe it was happening

No, did not.

Yeah, to me and everybody else I think. And it was, like I said it was one of the bestthings thats ever happened to me and I love the fact that I played here inWashington and Ive stayed here all these years. Well I live up in Baltimore now butI still, I still enjoy watching the Caps. If I cantget down here Ill watch it on TV but Itry to come to as many games as I can.

Well when I saw him reaching inside his jacket and didnt even know he had thejersey hidden inside his jacket all this time that he was, and I went, Im lookingaround going, what is going on here? You know? And I dont know I try to askaround a PR guy says a lot of the fans and people were calling in at the time andsaying that you know Id worked hard at playing the game, and they recognized that

and theyve got a phone calls saying they should do something special for me and,and thats when it happened. And I was, like I said, very very surprised.

Well when I saw it go to the rafters I felt very proud. I was excited but lets face it, Idedicated to all my other teammates who were never allowed the opportunity toplay in Washington. I was able to stay in Washington for seven years, I would have


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liked to play more but unfortunately the knees were crying out I had enough so Ihad to retire.

Yea, well you know I can remember we were playing against Hartford at the timeand Hank was a hard, solid hitter. I was yelling for a pass from Pete Ska Mora and he

was handling the puck and taking his sweet old time and by the time he gave it to meI was side by side with him at the blue line, but then when I got to the red line he putthe pass behind me and when I looked down thats all I could remember. Hank hitme and it was lights out! *laughs* But we became good friends over the years. Hankhas stayed in the area and we played yesterday in the fundraising game and we hada good time. We always talk about it, but theres no hard feelings. It was just a goodclean hit, period. Nowadays he wouldve probably gotten five minutes for that*laughs*

Hm, I dont know, I dont know. He said he eased off, and I said well thank you, but Istill got knocked out. He said I took it easy on you, and I said ok fine. But it didnt

matter who I was playing with if they came from another team they played hardagainst me and I played hard against them. You dont carry that forever, you justdont.

Well it is. Its a good family. I love getting together like we did yesterday with thefundraisers. You got guys like Peter Bondra there, Silvan Coutey, Rod was there hecouldnt play because of his knees. I shouldnt play because my birth certificate tellsme im too old, but you know I still get out there and have a good time.

Absolutely, I was trying to keep up with Bondra and all those guys, but like I said atmy age, I think I may have been the oldest guy out there, but it was great to be part

of it. I had a lot of fun, and well the best fun I had was when the capitals took the iceand beat the Pittsburg Penguins. That was the most fun I had out there.

It was great, the camaraderie thats built up throughout the years. Because like I saidI had to introduce some of the older guys to some of the younger guys because theydidnt all played together, so they dont all know each other. Thats what I findbecause ive been here so long I sort of know most of them so I have to introduceguys. You know because Peter Bondra didnt know a lot of the guys that playedbefore him, so I would introduce guys. It was a lot of fun, I was excited. Even whenhank was leaving he came up to me and said Ivan, how come your so excited andwound up at the end of the game? I said Hank, because Im alive! I made it through

this one and Im alive! But you know things calmed down because the trip therewas great. We left at around 6 oclock, I wanted to go there and watch thatgame thenight before that they had, but we never made it. Halfway there my son says, Didyou pack the tickets? We had to turn around and go all the way back to Baltimore toget the game tickets. I went Oh boy! So by the time we checked into the hotel forthe winter classic it was about 2, 3 in the morning by the time we got to our room. Isat there in the corner chair rocking until about five oclock and then I went and gota shower, went downstairs, had a coffee, then got onto the bus at 6 oclock then


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went and played the game. That night was new years eve and my son says to meDad, you havent slept! and I said No, but I feel great

I was so tired and hanging my head so I cantwalk you through the play, theres nodoubt about that. But I was so happy that he got it. You know, Bonzai, he can still

play I played with him yesterday and I played with him Friday morning he came out.And hes such a great guy to have around you know, and hes fast, hes still fast. And Iwas glad because if we didnt have the guys like Bonzai you know Mario Lemieuxhad put all these Hall-of-Famers together. And even the announcers who were doingthe game for the NHL channel were saying how it was gonna be come and drop thepuck and go back to center ice, and it was gonna be Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh,Pittsburgh. But we played hard, and we skated hard and Bondra scored the tyinggoal and that made it all a lot of fun.

Thats right, it always is. It is, its fantastic. I just love the rivalries that have built up.You know like we used to have rivalry with uh, like playing against the Flyers in our

own building was like goin on the road! There were more Flyer fans here than therewere Cap fans, but uh, that has changed. Lets face it, that has changed. They cant getthe tickets anymore and that is fantastic!

Thats a great question, well the thing is the team, that you put on the ice that makesyou passionate. You put a winner on the ice, thats gonna build the passion, in anysport. Okay? I think that, you know just to show you how far its come I mean thatfirst year 1974, they had wanted me to go to a mall to sign autographs and I think Iwas the only one that showed up. But now you get these guys going to a mall orgoing an autograph session and theyre lined up for three, four, five blocks. Andthats a big difference, and thats all credit to the fans, and the atmosphere thats

been built up here over the years and I think thats fantastic.

Well I think its always important, you know if youre going to be in a community,you have to be in that community. You know? And the fact that like, Peter, he doesall the youth hockey now, and I used to do a lot of that. I used to go visit hospitals, Iused to go visit schools, and taking equipment with me and everything else. And itsnice to see that theyve continued it, and they do so much more now. And I think itsvery important. Look we honor the service people and the dedicated service to thecountry, and I think thats a fantastic way to give back to the community andeverybody else involved. I think it does a lot of good things.

(Laughter) Ok, I laugh, but I mean the storys been around for a long time but if yourecall the first year, we only won one road game. And that was in Oakland. And Iremember Tommy Williams, who was one of the good players at the time, he got atrash can and had all the guys sign it. We paraded it around the dressing room like itwas, they called it the Stanley Can. So I mean, that was a funny thing that happenedat the time you know? But it was just a bunch of joking around that they did youknow? Thats all.


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Right. And it was the end of a long, long season believe me. And they called it theStanley Can (Laughs)

Well after my career, after the seven years, in 1981, the Capitals gave me a position.I was an assistant coach for one year. And then I became the Director, what they

called the Director of Community Relations. And like I said I went to a lot of schools,and brought the whole Capital uniform with me. And I would dress up one of thekids, just to show them that, how well the protection that the players wore. BecauseI would just shock the teachers, because I would just take a stick like a baseball batand really hit the kid in the legs. I knew that the leg pads were overlapped by thepants and I could hit em hard, and the teachers would be in shock. And yet, the childwas laughing you know? And so we did a lot of that, I went and visited like I said alot of hospitals. As Director of Community Relations I did a lot of youth hockeypractices, the hockey schools, the Washington Capitals hockey schools for, until I leftin the year 2000. And that was for three weeks in the summer, we used to do it attwo different places for three weeks. And we had a lot of kids, and that was very

important, because at that time there werent a lot of ice rinks in this area. And itpromoted the building of a lot of ice rinks, and it just grew from there. I mean, thereare so many kids playing hockey now, and the adults that are playing it late at night,and its all because of the Washington Capitals, and what the Washington Capitalshave done in the community. And I think its fantastic, because it generates a lot ofthose, they become fans. You know I told a friend of mine one time, I gave him sometickets to bring his family and he said to me, Theyre very expensive. I said Thatswhy I dont go after the parents!, I said, I take the kids. They drag the parents tothe game because thats what they want ok? I didnt concentrate on the parents andtry to sell to sell the parents, I went after their kids. If the kids like it, theyll drag theparents over to the game. And the Capitals have done a lot of that over the years,

and like I said I was fortunate to be part of it and it was fantastic. And I hope that Ima part of it for a long time to come, because I love to watch them play.

Yes, ok back when I retired back in 1981, DeMatha was one of the only high schoolsplaying hockey. So the DeMatha coach at that time came to me and said Would theCapitals be interested in helping us? And I went to David Poyle at the time who wasthe General Manager and he said Yes so we raised funds and I gave them $500.Then two years later all of a sudden other teams wanted to get into the league, andform a league with DeMatha, so he said, Would you forego the $500 to us to give us$2500 for a whole league? I said, Absolutely! And then thats how we createdwhat we call the Capital Cup, that now the high school plays for, their championship.

But that has changed even so much since I was there, ok? Because there was onehigh school league, now theres two or three, and theres A and B. Ah, and youthhockey has changed so much and theres so many more kids playing. And thatswhat its all about, because if you hadnt generated that interest, you wouldnt havethat interest from the fans ok? I think its fantastic because its a snowball effect, andsince the team has been taking over its been fantastic to see the improvement andthe building filling up every night. I mean, the excitement created by the fansthemselves in the stands, to me, is fantastic.


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Well what I remember is that the Capitals were out of hockey at that time and I wasalready back in Canada at my summer home and cottage, and I was working myrabbit ears on my TV, trying to listen to the last game. And I did get to watch it, I hadto adjust the rabbit ears a few times, and people oughtta go Rabbit ears, what

the..? Well we didnt have, in cottage country we didnt have cable ok? (Laughs) So,I did watch the game, and I was so happy because I know Mr. Polin, he lived for thatand his championship, and it was great for basketball. Just like it would be fantasticfor the Capitals to win the Stanley Cup, theyve come close, and theyre a good team,and theyve got a chance to do it.

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Lab Re Transcript