Accomplishments: Bronze Medalists, 1968 Winter Olympics (Grenoble, France)
Coached by Saskatchewan’s Jack McLeod the Canadian team took the bronze medal in the 1968 Olympic Games. The Saskatchewan players selected to compete on the Canadian Olympic team were Marshall Johnston, Fran Huck, Jack McLeod, Gerry Pinder, Morris Mott, Herb Pinder, Scotty Clark, Ted Hargreaves, Dr. Reid Taylor and Gary Begg.
The national team was established in 1965 in Winnipeg, however with competition of pro contracts the Canadian team was made up of amateur players. Fran Huck was an anomaly as he was expected to go to the National Hockey League on a big salary but instead decided to compete with the national team adding another scoring threat to the bench.
In 1968 the team headed to Grenoble, France for the Olympics. This marked the last time that the Olympic games would also serve as the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships.
The tournament opened with Canada overwhelming West Germany 6-1 with Huck and Mott contributing to the win by getting one goal apiece. The second game was a disappointment for the Canadian team, losing to Team Finland 5-2. Game three was a blowout against East Germany with Canada winning by a landslide victory, 11-0, with Saskatchewan players contributing to more than half of the points, Mott scoring four, Huck recording two and Herb Pinder with a single goal. The next matchup was against Team USA. After a tough battle Canada won by a slim margin 3-2, with Johnston of Saskatchewan scoring the game winner. In the fifth game Canada beat the undefeated Czechoslovakia team, 3-2 with Huck starting off the scoring for Canada. Using their momentum Canada finished off their sixth game against Sweden with a shutout victory 3-0, Johnston and Gerry Pinder both putting points up on the board.
After 6 games Czechoslovakia, Canada and the U.S.S.R. were all tied with a record of 5-1. As a tiebreaker Canada played the U.S.S.R. and the Soviet Union pros blanked the Canadian amateurs in a 5-0 victory. Czechoslovakia tied Sweden at the end of the 7 game tournament, placing them ahead of Canada in the standings. The Soviet Union clenched the gold medal with a 6-1 record, Czechoslovakia the silver with a 5-1-1 record and Canada the bronze with a 5-2 record.
Fran Huck was selected to the tournament’s All-Star team. Fran Huck, Marshall Johnston, and Jack McLeod were all inducted into the International Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999, 1998 and 1999 respectively. Fran Huck was individually inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.
Installed in the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 1980.
Left to Right:
Front Row: Ken Broderick, Gary Dineen, Gerry Pinder, Father David Bauer, Jack McLeod, Morris Mott, Fran Huck, Wayne Stephenson
2nd Row: Scotty Clark, Ken Esdale, Barry MacKenzie, Terry O’Malley, Danny
O’Shea, Brian Glennie, Steve Monteith, Ted Hargreaves, Jean Cusson, Dr. Reid Taylor, Dr. Jack Waugh
3rd Row: Bud Holohan, Herb Pinder, Marshall Johnston, Brian Harper, Gary Begg, Ray Cadieux, Billy MacMillan, Paul Conlin, Phil Reimer
