DIDSBURY - Robin McDonald, a former Didsbury resident, returned to Alberta recently after spending the holidays in Davos, Switzerland as part of Team Canada for the Spengler Cup.
McDonald was the equipment manager for the team, which fell short of a fourth straight gold medal this year.
"I've done that event 15 or 16 times so far," said McDonald. "I spent most of my Christmases in Switzerland. It's an event that grows and changes all the time. "
McDonald is the equipment manager for Hockey Canada and looks after the equipment needs for about a dozen different squads from U-17 regional teams, to the men's and women's senior teams, to Canada's sledge team.
McDonald said the organization at the Spengler Cup has greatly improved over the years he's been involved.
"The organizers get better every year," he said. "It used to be they didn't provide any help with laundry, they didn't provide towels, they didn't provide anything like that. Now they have hotels that provide laundry services for teams. They have towels for showers. They're improving every year."
McDonald said it was disappointing that Team Canada didn't win this year but he said it was exciting nonetheless.
Canada lost in the final game 2-1 in a shootout to Finland's KalPal Kuopio.
The Spengler Cup is an annual hockey tournament featuring mostly European club teams. Canada has competed for many years with a team consisting of professional and semi-professional players predominantly playing in Europe.
This year's Canadian team counted former NHL players Zach Boychuk, Kevin Bieksa and Maxim Lapierre among the players on the roster.
"It was a good event," he said. "Once you get down to the rule book and it becomes a shootout, it really does become anyone's game. I don't think anyone relished the shootout. When you get down to your eighth shooter it becomes a crap shoot. At that point it's not as devastating as it would be to lose with a last second goal."
McDonald grew up on a farm northwest of Didsbury. He went to school at Ross Ford Elementary and Didsbury High School (DHS). He left town shortly after graduating from DHS.
McDonald has been the equipment manager for Team Canada since 1999. Before that he worked as an equipment manager for the University of Calgary hockey program after graduating from the school with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology.
"I got involved a bit with the Canadian women's team going into the 1998 Nagano Olympics," he said. "I also did the Under 18 Men's Showcase in the Czech Republic before then. That summer the position of equipment manager for Hockey Canada came up and the vice-president at the time asked me to work for them."
McDonald said his job as equipment manager consists of equipment repair, sharpening skates, moving equipment around from arena to arena, ordering equipment and gear and repairing it as needed.
"It's also doing the day-to-day operations such as laundry, cleaning the dressing room up, setting it up for games and practices," he said.
McDonald has worked at five different Olympics -- four with the men's and women's teams.
"I've always been fond of the travel," he said. "The travel is something I look forward to every year but if I do a lot of travelling, then by the end I look forward to the year being over and spending time at home.
"When you're with a team your meals are set. At a three-week event you have the same breakfast every day and chicken pasta. It becomes quite tedious. Little things like watching Sports Centre or other Canadian shows on TV."
McDonald has had the chance to meet and get to know some great hockey players over the years.
"I've worked with a ton of NHL athletes and elite female athletes," he said. "Hayley Wickenheiser is a really good friend of mine. Mason Raymond is a great guy. We went through the Olympic cycle together. He just retired but we still keep in contact.
"On the NHL side, I feel really sorry for some of the superstars like Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid, so I try to give them their space. I know them quite well and have great respect for how they handle themselves in the public. So I stay away from asking for autographs. It's more important to give them their space."
