Contentious? Controversial? Inspired?

Check out this article in the National Post yesterday, on a new book being released by former NHLer Bob Sirois on the systematic and institutionalized racism against French-Canadian hockey players in the National Hockey League. While I haven't yet had the chance to read the book, it certainly sounds like an interesting, if not controversial, read.

First, the important quotes:

... a book published Monday by former National Hockey League player Bob Sirois, examining four decades of professional drafts, comes to the explosive conclusion that francophone Quebecers are systematically thwarted by an "anti-francophone virus" plaguing the NHL.

Francophone Quebecers are wrongly disparaged as too small, too lax on defence and not suited to the robust "Canadian" style of play, Mr. Sirois writes in the book, published in French and titled Le Québec mis en échec (Quebec Bodychecked). "Myths, prejudices, stereotypes and favoritism make up an integral part of every draft session in the National Hockey League."

He concludes that francophones who are not first-line forwards, starting goalies or top defencemen are rarely drafted, and if they are picked, they do not last long. Looking at francophone Quebecers who played three or more seasons in the NHL, he found they were extraordinarily successful. Of the 176 players in this category, 42% won an NHL trophy or were named to the all-star team during their careers. "Only francophones of the highest level were able to have lasting careers; the other Québécois hockey players were quickly eliminated from the NHL," he writes.

The overall remedy he prescribes is twofold. He believes a return of professional hockey to Quebec City, as the city's mayor Régis Labeaume has been promoting, would increase the pressure on the Canadiens to be more representative of their province. He also proposes that Quebec field its own team at the World Junior Hockey Championship, saying the Canadian team regularly overlooks Quebec talent. A Quebec team would allow "our young elite hockey players to measure themselves against their peers from the other nations of the world," he concludes.

From a researcher's perspective, and even more from an academic perspective, Sirois' findings both intrigue and concern. While the research he's done provides evidence of what many have previously postulated - that Québecois hockey players are being overlooked, both at junior and senior level - the suggestion of causality is flawed. Without reading the book in full it is impossible to say, however based on the findings cited in the National Post, and the quotes attributed to the author and its reviewers, the implication behind the story appears to be that racism is the root cause of the declining numbers and involvement of French-Canadian hockey players in the NHL.

However, the study's results merely indicate that numbers are declining, and that top-level Québecois hockey players are being overlooked in the NHL draft, not WHY. Any number of reasons could be proposed, and indeed should be investigated, before accusing an entire league of institutionalized racism. The import of European and international players has directly coincided with the decline of Québec-born players, as has a shift in minor hockey in the province, towards a more recreational, less-competitive structure - a move in the exact opposite direct of Canada's other major hockey producing provinces such as Ontario and British Columbia. Moreover, legitimate concerns exist within hockey over the type of hockey being taught and developed in Québec's major junior system, where free-flowing, fast-paced, offensive hockey is the norm, and defensive systems and trap-based hockey is limited.

Moreover, as the game has changed over the past 20-30 years, so too have the roles played by certain provinces and countries in supplying talent to the highest levels of hockey. Following Patrick Roy's emergence and dominance between the mid-1980s and the 1990s, the butterfly style of goaltending he popularized, led to a widespread move towards Québecois goaltenders throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s. In other areas of Canada, where the stand-up style was more popular, the adaptation to the butterfly and the new dominant regime was slower. Today, however, the dominant goaltending style in the NHL is a hybrid of butterfly and stand-up, more reminiscent of Martin Brodeur's technique than Patrick Roy's, and is representative of the evolution of goaltending in other areas from stand-up to butterfly; from covering angles and stressing lateral movement, to being compact and square to the puck, covering the lower portion of the net. Without having the exact numbers in front of me, a quick look through current NHL rosters would indicate a relaxed reliance on Québecois goaltenders, as compared to 10 years ago. Sirois would be hard pressed to argue that racism has caused this shift.

Ultimately, Sirois' book presents both an interesting and likely contentious read. Of concern to Québeckers, the NHL, and the governing bodies involved, is that Québecois hockey players are incontrovertibly declining in the NHL. While racism has been, and will continue to be, cited as a key reason for this move away from French-Canadian players, it seems obvious that more research is needed into the actual and exact reasons behind this shift, dating back to the start of the NHL draft and the Montréal Canadiens' choice to take part in the draft with all other clubs, and not have first choice on the top Québec player each year...