Summit Series Heroes: Stan Mikita

Stan Mikita was a veteran member of Team Canada. He only got into 2 games against the Soviets. The primary reason for his lack of playing time was Team Canada's tremendous depth at center ice. Since the tournament was much closer than any Canadian had anticipated, the coaching staff opted to go with their hottest 4 centers and leave whoever was left over on the bench.

Mikita reportedly came close to leaving Team Canada along with the likes of Gilbert Perreault, Vic Hadfield and Rick Martin. But he wanted to remain for a very special game - a game in which he was promised he would participate in. After the 8 game series with the Soviets was over, Team Canada was to make a stop in Prague and play an exhibition game there before returning to Canada.

Mikita was born in the former Czechoslovakia. As a young boy his birth family smuggled him out of the country because of the heightening political problems regarding communism. He was adopted by his aunt and uncle who years earlier emigrated to Canada.

This game was very special for Stan (who's real name is Stanislav Gvoth). He was named Team Canada captain for the game, and was able to play before his his parents and his brother and sister. He had visited his family many times once he could afford the expensive trip thanks to professional hockey, but had never performed in front of his family.

So special was this game and always-too-rare opportunity to see his family that Mikita actually left Team Canada before game 8 against the Soviets so that he could get some extra visiting time in.

Mikita remembers spending the night of game 8 in a hotel in Prague. He convinced the restaurant staff to let him and his wife (as well as a CBC staffer) watch the game in the restaurant.

"All of a sudden, people started to come in. Most of them were Russian businessmen. We had some empty chairs so we let them sit with us," remembers Mikita

"When we were down 5-3, I said to one of the Russians that I'd like to make a wager. He said sure, so I said, 'Whoever loses has to buy champagne for everybody here.' He said okay because there were only five or six people there.

"But more people started coming in, and by the middle of the third period there were about 50 or 60 people there watching that little TV. After we won, I turned to the Russian and said, 'I believe it's your turn to buy.'

"He said he'd buy one bottle of champagne and I said, 'Sir, the wager was champagne for everybody and there's 50 or 60 people here.' When he heard that, he turned white. It ended up that he bought five bottles and I bought enough for everybody else.

"I wasn't at the game, but it's my fondest memory because not only did we win, a Russian had to buy drinks."