‘Elbows up.' Canada's new leader was a Harvard goalie and he's using his hockey background to fight Trump's threats.
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In one sense, it was no surprise that Carney turned to hockey in a country that originated the sport and reveres it like a religion.
But Carney's verbal slapshot wasn't just icy rhetoric. He actually laced up the skates as a goalie in the mid-1980s on Harvard University's hockey team. One of his
teammates,
told the Globe that he predicted — half-kiddingly — when they were freshmen that Carney would be prime minister one day.
Now, with
has degrees from Harvard and Oxford (where he was
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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (right) skated with Derek Ryan of the Edmonton Oilers during the team's practice Thursday in Edmonton, Alberta.
JASON FRANSON/Associated Press
'Up to now, he's relied on his background and pedigree. Now will be a time to show he can connect with regular folks, with everyday Canadians, because that's not something he's had to do in his career,' said Sébastien Dallaire, executive vice president of
In January,
He's used hockey to distinguish his personality from Trudeau's
Elbows up, Canada.
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney)
His reliance on hockey to connect with voters isn't without risk.
Listed at 5 feet 9 inches tall and 160 pounds,
total Harvard
statistics.
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He appeared in only one game.
Carney, 60, has admitted he played
'He could have been a top-two goalie at probably 10 or 15 other teams in D-1,' Chiarelli told the Globe. 'He worked very hard. He wasn't your bigger goalie … but [he was] athletic, could handle the puck.'
And Carney has something few goalies do:
Harvard was playing Colgate in the Eastern College Athletic Conference playoffs on March 9, 1985, and the contest had gotten out of hand.
Congratulations to former goaltender and alum
— Harvard Men's Hockey (@HarvardMHockey)
Carney, the third-stringer, skated onto the ice. He faced five shots and stopped them all, leading his college friends to dub the game 'the shutout.'
'I was with Mark the other night and we were talking about that and he says, 'I'd like to think that I made a difference because the game could have changed if I let in a couple of goals,' ' said Chiarelli, now vice president of hockey operations for the St. Louis Blues, who remains close to Carney. 'I said, 'Don't kid yourself, Mark. That game wasn't changing.' '
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Carney's
'That first week, I said, 'Mark, you're going to be prime minister.' I half-meant it because he was so impressive. And he half-digested it, like, 'You know what? That wouldn't be such a bad thing,' ' said Chiarelli, who remains close to Carney. 'You could tell he was very smart, and as the time progressed, I could tell he was special.'
Carney's political opening came after
In the past couple of months, the Liberals have erased a 20-point deficit in the polls and now are
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Carney has stressed his experience dealing with economic crises to argue he's the right person to lead Canada in this tumultuous time. As head of the Bank of Canada from 2008-13, he worked with other central bankers to
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke during a news conference with his Cabinet ministers at Rideau Hall after a swearing-in ceremony on March 14, in Ottawa.
DAVE CHAN/AFP via Getty Images
'He has this image of being more of a technocrat, someone really calm, thoughtful,' said Daniel Béland, director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada in Montreal. 'So far [the Conservatives] have been unable to wage really effective attacks against him. They are still trying to find out what will stick.'
Chiarelli said his longtime friend is using lessons about teamwork from their Harvard hockey days as he skates in the political arena for the first time. And Chiarelli relishes his accurate forecast about Carney's future, with hopes it continues.
'I was right,' said Chiarelli, who attended Carney's swearing-in ceremony in Ottawa. 'I'll be bugging him about that until we're in rocking chairs.'
Jim Puzzanghera can be reached at
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