Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 10, 2014, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE C1 OLYMPICS THREE PAGES OF OLYMPIC COVERAGE INSIDE C2,3,10 Birchwood BMW The Ultimate Birchwood BMW Driving Experience. * Plus freight, PDI, Tire Tax, AC Tax, PST and GST and admin fees. Vehicles may not be exactly as shown. See Birchwood BMW for details. Birchwood BMW 45- 3965 Portage Ave. 204- 452- 7799 birchwoodbmw. ca $ 399 / MO The BMW 320i LEASE STARTING FROM * SPORTS EDITOR: STEVE LYONS 204- 697- 7285 sports@ freepress. mb. ca I winnipegfreepress. com I CLASSIFIED C8 MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2014 C 1 S OCHI, Russia - Team Canada head coach Mike Babcock employed Ralph Krueger as a spy this season, a James Bond of hockey, if you will, and now he's hoping he can deliver From Russia with Love. Krueger has been Canada's secret agent this winter, tramping his way around Europe the past six months watching the coaches of every team but the U. S. and Canada go through their daily paces. He is now a double- agent. He coached Switzerland at the 2006 Olympics in Turin and put his name on the international hockey map with a win over Canada. That knowledge, how the Canadians were made vulnerable by the international game en route to a humiliating seventh- place finish, is what makes Krueger invaluable to Babcock, and why the Edmonton Oilers loss was Team Canada's gain. Krueger had little time last summer to process the fact the Oilers had just fired him, because the phone rang again and it was Babcock on the other end, offering the Winnipegborn, Steinbach- raised Krueger a position on his staff. " I've been telling people for 25 years that when you can't change something in life, find a positive process, and solutions, things that move you forward. I remember sitting on my daughter's bed at home in Switzerland, and my wife Glenda was in shock. She was screaming and yelling," said Krueger, watching Norway practice here in Sochi. " I quickly said, ' Can I change anything?' This is a done deal. ( Oilers GM Craig MacTavish) told me he had an option ( which was to hire Dallas Eakins). The first thing that came to my mind was, ' I don't need to understand this. It's a waste of my time, my life, of analysis. I'm not going to talk negative about anybody. Let's go.' " I swear, it was three hours after they announced it in Canada, Babcock phoned me. Three hours. So I threw myself into this. Mike got my number from Tom Renney. Three hours. My wife said ' You already accepted another job?' She thought I was nuts." Krueger needed to have an understanding of Babcock's process, and the head coach wanted to pick the brain of his tactician. Then the work began. Every power play, every penalty kill, every zone defence and every breakout to be used in this Olympic hockey tournament, Krueger has seen it, documented it, and will now pass it on to Team Canada. Krueger might not bang home the winning goal two weeks from now in the gold- medal game, but if Canada is in that position, his work will have played a major influence. He's been Canada's pro scout and tactical advisor. " So I had threefold responsibilities - one was the tactical preparation of the team. We set the tactical foundation, and I have been monitoring that now through the season, how it's going to apply to the big ice. The second track has been the preparation of the 11 opponents. We've got a full profile on everybody and we've got video footage to match their tactical approaches. All the coaches are full time, except for the U. S and Canada, so it's easier to monitor the trends. " The third thing is, as part of the management's coaching team, having the opportunity of being a part of the evaluation process of the players. So that was a lot of fun." There's been lots of talk about systems and the big ice playing a role in the outcome of this tournament. In Vancouver, on NHL- sized ice, Canada and the U. S. dictated the style of play and collided in the gold medal game. Here, on an international- sized surface, which is wider and has a longer neutral zone and two extra feet behind the nets, the style of play could favour the European- based teams. Krueger, who grew up in Steinbach in the house of his father Karl Hugo and mother Eva before boarding at St. John's- Ravenscourt School, spent nearly 20 years playing and coaching in Europe before taking a job with the Oilers. More than anyone on Team Canada's staff, he understands the way the international game is played. GARY LAWLESS From Russia WITH LOVE Canada's Ralph Krueger is the James Bond of international hockey IVAN SEKRETAREV / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Let's dance Figure skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir compete in the ice dance free program at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia on Sunday. Virtue and Moir were part of the nine- member Canadian team that won silver in the new team figure skating event. Please see story on page C3. Ralph Krueger Continued Please see LAWLESS C 10 OLYMPIC FRIENDS AND/ OR FOES C 10 C_ 01_ Feb- 10- 14_ FP_ 01. indd C1 2/ 9/ 14 10: 20: 24 PM ;