Iceland review - 2006, Page 10

 ICELAND REVIEW
It’s a hockey night on this February evening in Reykjavík. It’s
colder inside by the ice than outside, where it’s a balmy five
degrees. The crowd at this game – about 80 people including
the players – is bigger than usual. This is an important match
between two Reykjavík clubs. Fans, probably mostly parents and
players’ mates and girlfriends, are snuggling together in the
cold with just a few strategic jackets to keep them warm – hats
would mess up their trendy Icelandic haircuts.
You’d think Iceland and ice hockey would have always been a
pair. In 1920, the first gold medal in men’s Olympic hockey was
awarded to a team from Canada comprised almost entirely of
Icelandic immigrants. But back in the homeland, this island has
always given more emotional and financial support to football,
handball and even basketball. Compared to its Nordic neighbors,
Iceland’s (relatively) warmer winters may take the focus away
from winter sports in general; the nation’s ski team had to leave
the country to train for the 2006 Winter Olympics for lack of
snow.
But there are signs that hockey could soon break the proverbial
ice.
This season, the Icelandic men’s national team chalked up a 50-
0 victory against Armenia in the under-20 Division III World
Championship. Now, in April, Iceland is hosting the standard
Division III World Championship. Iceland’s national men’s hockey
team is favored to win, and a new coach has been hired to get
the men’s teams in fighting shape.
Ed Maggiacomo coached hockey for 13 years in Manitoba, Canada
and was in Denmark for eight years improving the fortunes of
the women’s national team there. Ed started making changes
his first day on the job in Iceland, raising the professional
appearance of the game by publishing programs for each match
and instructing players to show up to all games in a suit.
“We’ve probably got about 700-800 players [members of the
Reykjavík skating club] in total, and we’re getting more and
more every year,” Ed says.
It’s not just the coaching that is changing. Reykjavík’s oldest
arena, Skautahöll Reykjavíkur, was open-air until a roof was
built only ten years ago. Vidar Gardarsson, head of the Icelandic
Federation of Hockey, says the rink became like a duck pond on
a mild winter’s day, making it a challenge to get in enough
practice time. Players now reaching their peak years are the
first generation of Icelandic hockey players to come of age
playing almost entirely indoors.
“We are seeing huge progress, and the quality of the hockey is
getting better and better,” says Vidar.
The biggest challenge to imminent Icelandic world hockey
domination is financial. “All the Icelandic players have to pay
their own way right now,” says Ed. “Our goal is to try to get
more people involved in the game so that our players don’t have
to pay so much.”
For now, everyone is hoping for success in April. While the sound
system bellows “Who Let the Dogs Out” during a brief pause in
February’s big regular season match, the players cluster around
their coach to listen to his words of wisdom. Those of us in the
stands can only speculate as to what he’s barking at his team.
Whatever it is, it seems to be working, and with a little luck,
there could be a new sport in town. ERB
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PHOTO BY PáLL STEFáNSSON