STRATHROY, ONT.—The phone rings inside Pat Stapleton’s bungalow in this rural community just west of London.

“Hockey heaven, Strathroy division,” the 75-year-old, known as Whitey, answers with grin.

Callers are confused. They say they’re looking for Pat Stapleton, the former 1972 Team Canada and Chicago Blackhawks defenceman.

“Well, I’m the only guy in hockey heaven,” Stapleton will quip.

While Stapleton may kid a lot, he’s all business when it comes to planning the direction of Team Canada Inc., which went corporate three years ago.

Later this week, 44 years after the Summit Series brought this nation to a standstill, a contingent of eight Team Canada players will start on a “once-in-a-lifetime” speakers tour that will take them through Montreal on Sept. 2, Winnipeg on Sept. 6, Vancouver on Sept. 8, and Toronto, at the Sony Centre, on Sept. 10.

They are the four Canadian cities that hosted the first four games of the eight-game series between the Soviet national team and Canada’s best NHL players, and the dates are almost an exact match.

“Before we all die, these stories should be told because the whole story has not been told, in my humble opinion,” Stapleton says. “All this knowledge, if it’s not captured, it will go to waste.”

Now in their 70s and 80s, these proud hockey warriors from the Cold War era have stories. You might hear Rod Gilbert describe how his own brother called him “a disgrace” after Canada suffered an embarrassing 7-3 defeat in the opener. You might hear Phil Esposito talk about the two interesting phone calls he got after his emotional outburst on TV in Vancouver. And what about the puck from the last game? Stapleton picked it up but how did he smuggle it out of Moscow?

Stapleton has a magazine photo in his house that captures him, Eddie Johnston and Frank Mahovlich looking dog tired at a practice before the first game in Montreal.

Stapleton then pulls out a painting that replicates the scene.

This canvas had ended up in his Blackhawks locker after the series without packaging or a note. He didn’t know how it got there or who painted it. The canvas bears the artist’s signature of R. Merkel. Or it could be R. Markel. The letters have faded over time.

“Somebody did a nice job and, 44 years later, I’d like to thank the person,” Stapleton says. “That’s an untold story.”

The tour has come at the right time for many reasons.

“We were dying off,” Stapleton says.

Five members have been lost so far — John Ferguson Sr., Richard Martin, Gary Bergman, Bill Goldsworthy and J.P. Parise. Some, like Stan Mikita and Wayne Cashman, are too ill to take part in the tour and Paul Henderson, who is battling cancer, plans to attend only in Toronto.

The surviving players pulled together a few years ago to become businessmen with a mission to save their legacy. The turning point came in September, 2011, the day before a golf tournament in Toronto. Twenty-five players met at an Airport Road hotel to discuss the upcoming 40th anniversary the next year. They talked about who was healthy and who wasn’t. They knew they had to find an organizational structure that would outlast them and provide an avenue to give back for all the honours bestowed upon them.

Like the old Team Canada of 1972, they started forming a tight bond again.

In 2013, the team formed an entity called 1972 Summit Series Hockey Team Inc., with a French equivalent, Equipe De Hockey De La Serie du Siecle 1972 Inc.

“If we hadn’t done this, the story would have disappeared,” Stapleton says. “When nobody is around to talk about it, how would it continue?”

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Since then, the corporation has expanded into a multi-pronged enterprise with an educational component and marketing and merchandising arms.

A website, teamcanada1972.ca, was launched and later, in conjunction with the tour, 72summitseriestour.ca was established.

As part of their mission, they are targeting four demographic groups: those 50 and over (to refresh the memories); 35-50 (to confirm the legend); 20-35 (to tell the story), under-20 (to advocate team values).

One of the pillars is a venture called: “28,800 Seconds: The Power of Teamwork,” signifying the number of seconds over the eight games, to inspire Canadians with the lessons learned from the Summit Series, particularly those highlighting what can be achieved through teamwork.

On the 40th anniversary in 2012, Team Canada was honoured with a glitzy banquet at Toronto’s Royal York Hotel and 17 players and their families were invited back Russia to sample life in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yaroslavl.

Several months earlier, Stapleton, Esposito, Hull, Parise and Park dined on caviar at the private residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the lunch were Russian stars Alexander Yakushev, Vladimir Petrov, Boris Mikhailov, Vladimir Lutchenko and Vladimir Tretiak.

“Geez,” Esposito said at the time, “I’m starting to warm up to Mikhailhov.”

Putin took a jab at Esposito, who is revered in Russia for his play and personality.

“Mr. Esposito, I thought you hated all Russians,” Putin chided.

“Mr. Putin, I did until my daughter married one,” Esposito replied.

Further initiatives between the Canadian and Russian players are planned for the 45th anniversary in 2017 and the 50th anniversary in 2022.

“We are custodians of an important milestone in Canadian history,” Stapleton says, “and we take our role very seriously.”

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