http://www.nhl.com/features/pond/france082406.html

French is one of hockey's major international languages, thanks to the many contributions of the game's French-Canadian players and the unparalleled success of the Montreal Canadiens. Quebecois players, coaches, scouts and front office personnel have long been vital parts of the NHL and international hockey landscape.

So when Montreal Canadiens goaltender Cristobal Huet led the NHL with a .929 save percentage during the 2005-06 season, many fans simply assumed he was the latest in a line of Quebec kids who made good for Les Habitants. Inevitably, people were surprised when they found out the goalie was 31-years-old and comes from St. Martin, D'heres, near Grenoble in the French Alps.

France is far from a world hockey power. Apart from Huet, former St. Louis Blues left wing Philippe Bozon is the only other French born and trained player to play in the NHL. France currently competes at the international Division One level, a step below the elite level.

Former Philadelphia Flyers assistant coach Wayne Fleming, who has extensive international coaching experience, once offered this blunt explanation of the lack of players from France in the NHL: "Because there just hasn't been anybody good enough."

Even when the French were able to hold onto an elite division spot prior to being relegated to Division One in 2004, they lacked the roster depth to pose much of an upset threat to any of the top seven countries.

"I've watched Huet play for many years for France's national team," said Andy Murray, his former Los Angeles Kings head coach to the Los Angeles Times in 2003. "France isn't really a hockey powerhouse, but he kept them in the 'A' group all by himself."

Huet is hopeful that his success in the NHL will inspire more young players in France to take up the game early and stick with it. Unfortunately, while hockey has a cult following in pockets of France, the sport maintains a minor presence overall.

"Back home, people in the hockey world are pretty excited and very happy for me," Huet told NHL.com. "I hope kids there are going to dream of playing in the NHL, and not just for the hometown team. They have to dream big."


Better known for foreign coaches than native players

To many in the international hockey community, the French national team is better known for the parade of foreign head coaches it has had than any of the players who've suited up for Team France.

Most notably, the late Herb Brooks helped bring international attention to French hockey when the architect of the "Miracle on Ice" at the 1980 Olympics accepted an offer from Team France General Manager Jim Tibbetts to Team France at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

"Our guys would just like a kick at the can," said the 2006 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee at the time. "You'd always like a chance at the big guys. It's a tremendous opportunity."

But there were no miracles for Brooks in Nagano. France was unable to advance to face the powerhouse medal contenders in the main tournament. Through 2006, France hasn't placed higher than eighth in the last 78 years of Olympic hockey. They finished 11th under Brooks in Nagano.

While Brooks was easily France's biggest name coach, he was actually just one in a line of well-regarded foreign coaches to try his hand at coaching Team France.

Until recently, the only person to coach the French national team for an extended period of time was Sweden's Kjell Larsson. Hired in 1987, he led France to a Pool A berth at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships and to the Olympic quarterfinals in Albertville in 1992. His defensive hockey approach kept France competitive, but critics said the France needed to create more offensive chances to win with greater frequency.

Next, Team France handed the coaching baton (and a hefty salary) to Finland's Juhani Tamminen. The style that Tamminen promoted, based on short shifts and a very aggressive forecheck, enabled France to beat Germany and Switzerland and pull off a monumental upset of Canada in the 1995 IIHF World Championships, reaching the quarterfinals. A year later, however, France slipped badly, avoiding relegation after beating Austria. That did it for Tamminen, who is a member of the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame. He later went on to mold Kérpét Oulu into a winning SM-Liiga club before coaching in Switzerland.

Former Team Canada assistant coach and Trois Rivieres (QMJHL) head coach Dany Dube succeeded Tamminen. A bright, energetic coach -- who cost half of what Tamminen did because he lacked widespread name recognition -- Dube started to build a development program for French hockey at all levels under his direction. Tamminen's team primarily consisted of players in their 30s, and Dube's plan was to infuse young talent onto the national team.

Unfortunately, the Fédération Francaise des Sports de Glace (French Ice Sports Federation) was having financial problems. The national team even had to make due without a medical staff at the 1997 World Championships, so the federation wasn't able to see through Dube's ideas for breathing new life into the hockey program. Frustrated by the lack of resources being pumped into the junior and senior national teams, Dube lasted only one year. The following year, the Federation employed part-time coaches.

Enter Brooks, who'd been scouting for the Pittsburgh Penguins. After failing in Nagano, the French pulled off a big upset win against the United States at the 1998 World Championships, but were badly outplayed in most of their other games and once again had to stave off relegation.

The next coach, Sweden's Mikael Lundstrém, was a true hockey journeyman. He'd coached in Europe's top levels, leading Vésterés IK to a first-place regular season in Sweden's Elitserien in 1992-93. He'd coached in European secondary leagues. And he traveled the world, coaching hockey, including a stop in, of all places Kuwait. Named the French head coach with barely three months to learn about his roster and prepare a team for the 1999 World Championships. Once again, France barely averted relegation, but held its spot at the elite level.

The French then decided to go the youth route again behind the bench. The federation hired Viry-Essonne coach Stephane Sabourin, a Canadian, signing him to a three-year contract. The intention was for Sabourin to revitalize the program with younger players and then lead a more competitive team into the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. But Sabourin was the scapegoat when France was finally unable to hold its spot in the top pool and was relegated to Division I (then called Pool B).

Heikki Leime, a Finn, was brought in to replace Sabourin. A former defenseman for TPS Turku and a seventh round Buffalo Sabres draft pick in 1981, Leime won three SM-Liiga championships (1988-1989, 1989-90, 1990-91) before he turned to coaching. As the head coach of Caen in France, he led the squad from the second division to the championship finals.

Leime accepted the post with some reluctance. "It's not good to remove the coach each year. That's not good at all," he told Le Jounal du Hockey in 2001. "I hope they will give me a little more time."

Leime, who lasted four years, was able to guide the French to successfully qualify for the 2002 Olympics, but could only do so much with the limited talented he had to work with, apart from goaltender Huet. The keeper helped the French temporarily regain and hold a spot in the elite division of the IIHF World Championships. But France was relegated again to Division One after a miserable showing at the 2004 Worlds. Team France is now coached by Dave Henderson, a Winnipeg native who formerly played for Amiens.


A year of ups and downs

The French hockey world had a tumultuous season in 2005-06. The campaign started with potentially disastrous news. The AEHF, the hockey body within the French Ice Sports Federation, announced it was removing HC Mulhouse 2004-05 champions of the top French league (called the "Ligue Magnus") from the elite division, due to its unstable financial situation. To make matter worse, the other finalist from the previous season, ASG Tours, was in similar dire straights and were also removed from Ligue Magnus.

In a league with limited sponsorships and ticket revenues, Mulhouse found themselves 290,000 Euros ($371,000) in the red, while Tours was under-funded by some 250,000 Euros ($319,700). Unfortunately, this was not the first time a French champion found winning too costly. In 2002, a few weeks after winning the Ligue Magnus championship, HC Reims declared bankruptcy. This time around, Tours dropped to Division Two, while Mulhouse was unable to ice a team.

The AEHF also instituted a 454,000 Euros ($581,000) salary cap and dropped Ligue Magnus from 15 teams to 14 for the 2005-06 season: Amiens, Angers, Anglet, Briancon, Caen, Chamonix, Dijon, Epinal, Gap, Grenoble, Mont-Blanc, Morzine-Avoriaz, Rouen and Villard-de-Lans.

By far Rouen was the strongest Ligue Magnus team in 2005-06, capturing top regular season honors and then going on to win the French championship in a three-game sweep of Amiens.

The French then prepared for the 2006 IIHF Division I World Championships, held in Amiens. Playing in a pool with Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Israel and Japan, the French knew the Germans posed the strongest challenge to winning the pool and earning an elite division place for 2007.

In the opener, France easily defeated Japan 4-1. Next, in front of a small, but loud and partisan crowd waving French flags, Team France goalie Fabrice Lhenry fashioned a 1-0 shutout against archrival Great Britain. Early in the third period, France broke the scoreless deadlock. With former Philadelphia Flyers draft pick and University of Maine scoring standout Colin Shields in the penalty box for tripping, Francois Rozenthal buried a shut past British goalie Steve Lyle for the game's only goal.

Two days later, France suffered a setback when they were unable to protect a third period lead against Hungary and settled for a 3-3 tie. After cruising by an overmatched Israeli team by a 9-0 score (out-shooting Israel 55-9 in the process) France needed a win over unbeaten and untied Germany in the finale to win the pool.

But it wasn't to be. Former New Jersey Devils defenseman Sascha Goc scored twice for Germany in the first period and a three-goal German onslaught in the second period left no doubt as to the outcome. The French went down quietly in the third period.

In 2006-07, French hockey will continue its transitional period. Complying with IIHF guidelines, an independent hockey federation entirely separated from the French Ice Sports Federation will govern the sport. While France may have a difficult time advancing beyond Division One for the next couple years, the program could achieve greater financial and on-ice strategic stability in the near future. The French hope that translates to more wins on the ice.



Montreal Canadiens goaltender Cristobal Huet is the only French born player currently competing in the NHL.