The Vancouver Canucks’ Family Cook Book: An Important Introduction
Just in time for the Canucks’ 50th anniversary season, this is the first in a series of important articles re-examining history and food through the lens of the 1980–81 Vancouver Canucks’ Family Cook Book.
In 1980–81, one season prior to their improbable first run to the Stanley Cup Finals, and after a fairly dismal first decade of existence (they’d yet to win a single playoff round), the Vancouver Canucks produced perhaps their greatest accomplishment to date — The Vancouver Canucks’ Family Cook Book.
The cookbook was produced by the players’ wives and sold in support of the new B.C. Children’s Hospital, whose construction was completed in 1982.
It’s hard to know what the reception to the cookbook might have been, either critically or commercially (it was priced at $2.00). One can only assume very positive. There is truly something for everyone, from Stan Smyl’s Mom’s Perogies to Ivan Boldirev’s Three Bean Salad to Kevin & Rhonda McCarthy’s Tomato Soup Cake.
The cookbook is conveniently indexed by both player jersey numbers (from Glen Hanlon’s #1 to Richard Brodeur’s #35) and recipe type (Appetizers, Salads & Dressings, Soups & Sauces, Vegetables, Main Dishes, and Desserts). It’s not entirely clear why three “Vegetable” dishes were placed in a category of their own.
Each two-page spread features an introduction to the players’ families, followed by their favourite recipes and, if they don’t seem to know enough recipes to fill up a page, a list of their favourite drinks, snacks, restaurants, and dishes.
The introductions, beyond an eclectic checklist of hobbies, seem to have a particular fixation on the players’ marital status and love lives.
“Dave is one of the many bachelors on the Canuck team,” it says to introduce defenceman Dave Logan (#2), who played the final seven games of his brief NHL career that season (he also enjoys fly fishing).
“Rick is a bachelor,” it concludes of Rick Lanz, whose favourite drink is listed as beer.
“Bachelor Brent,” as winger Brent Ashton is introduced, “lives in a condominium in Burnaby.” He is pictured shirtless on a horse, and his favourite drink is Pepsi. As per his Wikipedia page, Brent for some time held the record for most-traded player in NHL history, though still — the cookbook writers would be glad to know — eventually settled down and get married.
Darcy Rota is described with some concern as “still single” and living with his parents during the offseason. His recipe contributions are “Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs” and “Meatballs.”
Unusually, there is no explicit mention of Curt Fraser’s marital status, but his recipes are “Popcorn” and “Spaghetti Sauce” (without the pasta).
For those players who are married, we are given some gossip into their romances.
Of Bobby and Paula Schmautz, who met in Portland, Oregon, we learn that “the romance developed over 2 years of letter writing, and occasional visits when Bobby, then playing for the old Western League Los Angeles Blades, came to town for a game against the Portland Buckaroos.” This must’ve been sometime during the ‘64-65 to ‘66-67 seasons, when Bobby was usually the youngest player on a series of journeyman Blades rosters, which included former Canucks defenceman Murray Hall and Willie O’Ree (both after their NHL careers had already concluded).
Paula Schmautz may have been among the more qualified contributors to the cookbook, having completed three years of “gourmet cooking classes” in Boston. No word on whether these classes included the Schmautzs’ contributions of Crab and Shrimp Appetizers, featuring one package of Kraft “squeeze-a-snak” sharp cheese spread, or “3 Flavours Chinese Style Fried Rice,” featuring a cup of shredded lettuce.
Of Dennis Kearns and his wife Lynn, it is eloquently stated, “Dennis and Lynn were introduced in 1971 in Kingston, Ontario, their hometown. That same year Dennis became the property of the Vancouver Canucks.” He became their property after being recruited by his former Portland Buckaroos head coach, Hal Laycoe. Laycoe, who coached the Canucks for their first two NHL seasons, presided over the Buckaroos for much of the ‘60s, including when Paula Schmautz might have been in attendance to see Bobby’s visiting L.A. Blades.
“Lynn (Kearns) keeps herself busy in the kitchen in the kitchen experimenting with recipes,” according to her intro. Such experiments apparently included “Hamburger Soup” and “Meatballs in Mushroom Sauce.”
Jerry Butler and his wife, also named Lynn, met in 1972 in Omaha, Nebraska, where Jerry was playing for a farm team of the New York Rangers (this must’ve been the Omaha Knights of the Central Hockey League). It’s not clarified how Lynn, whose hometown is Winnipeg, had ended up in Omaha at the time.
Ivan and Carol Boldirev met in high school in Sault Ste Marie, and had a miniature schnauzer and a pet bird both, amazingly, with the same name (“Cinders”)!
The cookbook is not limited to just the players. Everyone from general manager Jake Milford to the team trainers, Ken Fleger and Gord Geisbrecht, are given a shot, though the trainers are forced to share a page. However, their expertise and older age do not seem to translate into particularly better recipes.
The Milfords’ go-to topping for their buttermilk pancakes was a type of homemade “maple syrup,” consisting of a Mapleline-flavoured corn syrup mix. “Serve it hot and store any that is left in the fridge,” they state.
Head coach Harry Neale and his wife Peggy’s go-to dessert, after a main of “Sausage and Cheese Surprise,” is a special Key Lime Pie recipe obtained in Pensacola, Florida, which gets its distinctive colour from green food colouring and is topped with Dream Whip. “Keep in freezer for 1 hour,” they advise.
Assistant Coach Tom Watts — who would later come back to the Canucks as head coach — and his wife, Mabs, pitch in with a main dish of Salmon Balls — primarily canned salmon and cream cheese covered in peanuts and parsley — followed by an ice cream cake topped with Crispy Crunch bars. The ice cream flavour is left up to you, but they suggest that “chocolate, maple walnut, and vanilla make a nice combination.”
Both Tom and Mabs Watts apparently worked off their meals by being avid joggers, with Tom in particular claiming to have not having missed a day in over two years. They would move to Winnipeg the next year, where he promptly won the Jack Adams Award as a rookie NHL head coach.
One of the trainers, Kenny Fleger, seems like a particularly no-nonsense kinda guy. His contribution is entitled “Kenny Fleger’s Working Man’s Lunch.” The entire recipe is as follows: “Barbecue a steak over a real hot fire, quickly. It’s always tender that way. Rub some butter over steak just before taking off the barbecue to give it a better flavour.” His favourite dish? Steak, preferably from Bobby McGee’s in Phoenix, Arizona.
The Vancouver Canucks’ Family Cook Book is not all just recipes and dating profiles. It also surprises with some flashes of important life lessons and reflections.
“Through the years, we’ve shared great heights of joy and depths of despair,” waxes Billie Milford, wife of Jake, just before their Baked Pork Tenderloin recipe. “It’s been a great thrill,” she concludes.
Harry and Peggy Neale’s secret to longevity in what they call the “hectic life of a hockey coach”? “Just simply spending time together.”
Ken Fleger’s secret to relaxation is to “sit in the shade sipping his favourite drink” (Bacardi and 7-Up).
Larry Popein, the Canucks’ Director of Player Personnel (and former New York Rangers great) and his wife Joyce are dreaming of a retirement of “sun, health and happiness” on Vancouver Island.
The Popeins’ pages are the last in the cookbook, and their dessert, “Fresh Fruit Salad,” is the final recipe. It consists of various fresh fruit doused in one full cup of Grand Marnier.
