nivek_wahs
03-24-2008, 08:36 AM
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/sports/story.html?id=72df147a-921f-44b2-8d68-19f2ff801fc1
Hockey helping Chynoweths cope
Rob Vanstone, The Leader-Post
Published: Monday, March 24, 2008
Dean Chynoweth's emotions were apparent outside the Swift Current Broncos' dressing room at the Brandt Centre.
The media scrum had dispersed. One reporter lingered. The line of questioning was not pleasant -- a contrast to discussion about the Broncos' 5-3 Western Hockey League playoff victory over the Regina Pats.
The Broncos' players were revelling in a Saturday victory which tied a best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarter-final series at 1-1. Their head coach and general manager, as pleased as he was with the result, was comparatively subdued.
Ed Chynoweth -- Dean's father -- is bravely confronting cancer. Although he continues to battle the disease, his health is in decline.
The 66-year-old Chynoweth is at home in Calgary with his wife, Linda. Their two sons -- Dean and Jeff -- are both involved in the WHL playoffs.
Jeff Chynoweth is the vice-president and general manager of the Kootenay Ice, which is owned by his father. Kootenay is facing the Medicine Hat Tigers in the first round.
The Chynoweth brothers visit Calgary whenever possible. Father and sons also keep in touch via telephone.
"Throughout the whole process, the one thing my father has always been is a strong person," Dean Chynoweth said. "He tackles this the same way he tackles everything else. He just marches forward. You never hear him complain."
That said, the Broncos' head coach paused to compose himself.
"I've gone home every week for two or three days and that's been good," he continued. "That's kind of therapy in itself. We worry about our mother. Jeff has started to get back more.
"You know the end result. You hope that there can be some comfort and still some good times together. I talk to him every day. Some days he's not doing as well and it's short, and other days he's the same old Ed. He wants to know what's going on in the league and how we're doing."
The robust health of the league is a testament to Ed Chynoweth's immense contributions during 20-plus years as its president. In 1975, he became the first president of the Canadian Hockey League. The phenomenal growth of major junior hockey would not have been possible without his direction and foresight.
Chynoweth presided over a league in which a community of Swift Current's modest dimensions was welcomed. The business model established during the Chynoweth administration enables the Broncos -- who are situated in the CHL's smallest market -- to be viable. The same applies to Cranbrook, B.C., where the Ice is based.
The Ice's owner was diagnosed with kidney cancer late in 2006. A year later, his condition worsened. He follows Kootenay and Swift Current on the WHL's Web site, via streaming video. His sons' thoughts are never far away from home, but their teams are also a priority.
"It's what he would want," said Dean Chynoweth, 39. "That's the thing. We're not the first family to go through it. It's all around us, it seems now, with the age that I'm at. You know your parents and you know your parents' friends very well now. Everybody's dealing with it in some form or another with their own situations. Until you see it live and see it on a 24- or 48-hour cycle of what they go through ... "You can make the phone call and think, 'Oh, he's OK,' but when you see it live, you know how serious it is."
Hockey is helping the Chynoweths cope with the severity of the situation.
The other day, for example, the league circulated its logos for the playoffs. The WHL issued a redesigned logo for its championship series -- which, fittingly, culminates with the presentation of the Ed Chynoweth Cup.
"We were actually in the Rockyview Hospital -- he was getting a blood transfusion that day -- and I had my Blackberry with me," Dean Chynoweth noted. "I got the e-mail from (WHL commissioner) Ron Robison and downloaded the attachment and showed it to him, and a big smile came across his face."
That recollection brought a smile to the face of a proud son. The interview concluded on that positive note. One could only marvel at his remarkable handling of an adverse situation.
Like father, like son.
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2008
Hockey helping Chynoweths cope
Rob Vanstone, The Leader-Post
Published: Monday, March 24, 2008
Dean Chynoweth's emotions were apparent outside the Swift Current Broncos' dressing room at the Brandt Centre.
The media scrum had dispersed. One reporter lingered. The line of questioning was not pleasant -- a contrast to discussion about the Broncos' 5-3 Western Hockey League playoff victory over the Regina Pats.
The Broncos' players were revelling in a Saturday victory which tied a best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarter-final series at 1-1. Their head coach and general manager, as pleased as he was with the result, was comparatively subdued.
Ed Chynoweth -- Dean's father -- is bravely confronting cancer. Although he continues to battle the disease, his health is in decline.
The 66-year-old Chynoweth is at home in Calgary with his wife, Linda. Their two sons -- Dean and Jeff -- are both involved in the WHL playoffs.
Jeff Chynoweth is the vice-president and general manager of the Kootenay Ice, which is owned by his father. Kootenay is facing the Medicine Hat Tigers in the first round.
The Chynoweth brothers visit Calgary whenever possible. Father and sons also keep in touch via telephone.
"Throughout the whole process, the one thing my father has always been is a strong person," Dean Chynoweth said. "He tackles this the same way he tackles everything else. He just marches forward. You never hear him complain."
That said, the Broncos' head coach paused to compose himself.
"I've gone home every week for two or three days and that's been good," he continued. "That's kind of therapy in itself. We worry about our mother. Jeff has started to get back more.
"You know the end result. You hope that there can be some comfort and still some good times together. I talk to him every day. Some days he's not doing as well and it's short, and other days he's the same old Ed. He wants to know what's going on in the league and how we're doing."
The robust health of the league is a testament to Ed Chynoweth's immense contributions during 20-plus years as its president. In 1975, he became the first president of the Canadian Hockey League. The phenomenal growth of major junior hockey would not have been possible without his direction and foresight.
Chynoweth presided over a league in which a community of Swift Current's modest dimensions was welcomed. The business model established during the Chynoweth administration enables the Broncos -- who are situated in the CHL's smallest market -- to be viable. The same applies to Cranbrook, B.C., where the Ice is based.
The Ice's owner was diagnosed with kidney cancer late in 2006. A year later, his condition worsened. He follows Kootenay and Swift Current on the WHL's Web site, via streaming video. His sons' thoughts are never far away from home, but their teams are also a priority.
"It's what he would want," said Dean Chynoweth, 39. "That's the thing. We're not the first family to go through it. It's all around us, it seems now, with the age that I'm at. You know your parents and you know your parents' friends very well now. Everybody's dealing with it in some form or another with their own situations. Until you see it live and see it on a 24- or 48-hour cycle of what they go through ... "You can make the phone call and think, 'Oh, he's OK,' but when you see it live, you know how serious it is."
Hockey is helping the Chynoweths cope with the severity of the situation.
The other day, for example, the league circulated its logos for the playoffs. The WHL issued a redesigned logo for its championship series -- which, fittingly, culminates with the presentation of the Ed Chynoweth Cup.
"We were actually in the Rockyview Hospital -- he was getting a blood transfusion that day -- and I had my Blackberry with me," Dean Chynoweth noted. "I got the e-mail from (WHL commissioner) Ron Robison and downloaded the attachment and showed it to him, and a big smile came across his face."
That recollection brought a smile to the face of a proud son. The interview concluded on that positive note. One could only marvel at his remarkable handling of an adverse situation.
Like father, like son.
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2008