PAGE A6, THE HERALD, Thursday June 16, 1977

By GRANT KERR VANCOUVER (CP) — Left winger Jere Gillis, the fourth player selected Tuesday in the National Hockey League amateur draft, was “the best player available and we intend to sign him,” said general manager Jake Milford of

’ Vancouver Canucks.

Gillis, a 55-goal scorer in 1976-77. for Sherbrooke Beavers of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the all-star left winger in the Memorial Cup pl:voffs here last month, said in a telephone interview from Montreal that his sent “as already had ‘-aussions with a team

“1 the World Hockey

* ciation.

i talked to the agent last

tht and he didn’t give me we touch encouragement,” Milford said in an interview.

“but he did indicate that Gillis isn’t committed to anyone at this time.

“This is the guy we wanted real bad ever since the Memorial Cup. He was the best player available when it was our turn and we intend to make every possible effort to sign him to an NHL contract.’

Jerry Petrie of Montreal, who calls himself a representativerather than a player agent or lawyer, said Vancouver was one of two NHL cities which Gillis indicated he would consider playing in. NEGOTIATIONS UNDERWAY

“The WHA hasn’t had it's draftyet,”’ said Petrie, “But I've already talked with two teams from that league.

‘‘No deal has been made with the WHA, despite what some people may think.

Jere and I intend to be in Vancouver next week to talk again with Mr. Milford and the Canucks.”

Petrie, who also represents Guy Lafleur of Montreal Canadiens and Borje Salming of Toronto Maple Leafs, said Gillis was interested in playing in New York because two of his brothers are professional dancers on Broadway.

“Jere is a lot like Guy La- fleur,” said Petrie, ‘‘He’s quiet and shy, but a hell of a competitor.”

Gillis, 19, who scored four goals in the Memorial Cup despite four losing games by Sherbrooke, said his agent had talked “‘to someone with Quebec Nordiques.” He said he wasn’t sure of the extent of the talks and he is “looking forward to coming back to Vancouver because it’s a fantastic city.”

tied, | i

L

AH. + a> ie Taking to the Allison Fredricks, 9, (top) and his five-year-old brother were gettin a lofty

perspective on things yesterday in the playground at Veritas Separate School on Straume Avenue. (Herald photo by David Richardson)

va i 1 .

highwa y

Ball control is key to Canada’s chances.

Coach Jack Donohue says Canada’s national nasketball team will have to play a slow pace and maintain ball control tonight if it hopes to defeat the powerful Soviet Union in their Intercontinental Cup fame.

“The key with us is control,'’ Donohue said. “If we can keep things slowed down and not get involved in a race, we should be okay.”

But if the Canadians get involved in a scoring race, their lack of international experience begins to show through.

Donohue says a fast, running game doesn't help his key players like Martin Riley, Jim Zoet or John Cassidy.

The young and mostly in- experienced national team scored its third consecutive victory Tuesday night, 68-52 over Yugoslavia, after suffering five successive losses in the first segment of the tournament in Europe.

But while the Yugoslovian team Tuesday was an entirely different one than

95-74 in Europe, the Soviet Union is expected to have only two changes from the lineup that whipped Canada 107-65 in Europe.

SOVIETS ARE STRONG

“The Soviets are big and strong and they play a lot of the Yugoslavs,”’ Donehue said of the perennial world championship contenders. “We will have to play the same type of game we played Tuesday ... control the ball, especially on defence, and bry to take it to them on offence.”

Against the Soviets however, that is much easier said than done. Many an international team has had its game plan destroyed by Vladimir Tkachenko. The Soviet's outstanding centre stands seven-foot- four and weighs about 300 pounds, all of which he has successfully used under the baskets.

And despite his size, Tka- chenko is mobile and difficult to manoeuvre out of position.

Tkachenko almost single- handedly destroyed

bronze-medal game at last summer's Montreal Olympics and Donohue admits his defence will have its hands full tonight.

“We don’t really have a good defence yet,” he says. “Yt’s mostly a bluff defegce. We've found the one-two-twa zone to be our most consistent defence but even with it we have a lot of bad fouls.’”

Following tonight’s game, Canada travels to Ottawa where it winds up play in the Intercontinental Cup Saturday against Belgium. Canada goes into tonight’s game with a record of three wins and five losses while the Soviet Union has seven wins and one loss.

Italy and Brazil share first place with 16 points, one more than the Soviets and Yugoslavs. Israel and Argentina both have 14 points, while Canada, Mexico and the United States have 11 apiece, two more than Belgium.

A team gets bo points for a win and one point for a defeat.

The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder is a native of Bend, Ore., and moved to Montreal at the age of three. He played four seasons with the Beavers.

POPEIN IN CHARGE

Milford let personnel director Lary Popein call the shots for the Canucks in the draft and seemed happy with the outcome.

“We went into the draft looking for a centre, a right-

handed defenceman and a goaltender,” said Milford, ‘who replaced the fired Phil Maloney a8 general manager. June 1 after pre- viously resigning a similar post with Los Angeles Kings.

“We didn't get a centre because Dale McCourt was the first player taken (by Detroit). But we think we got a good player in Gillis just the same.

TOLD CFL ‘CLEAN UP ACT’ Drug allegations

got him fired

OTTAWA (CF) — Andre MeNicoll said Wednesday he has been fired as director of information for the Canadian Foundation on Alcohol and Drug Dependencies for writin two Canadian Footbal League teams asking that they “‘clean up their act as regards the use of amphetamines by players.””

MecNicoll made public a letter to the foundation president, James Edwards

of Edmonton, saying that™

MeNicoll had refused to resign for writing to Ottawa Rough Riders and Toronto Argonauts and that con- sequently he had been fired.

The MeNicoll letter said that Jake Gaudaur, CFL commissioner, refused an invitation two years ago to participate in a seminar on drugs in 3pcrt.

“That is unfortunate,” the letter says. “He (Gaudaur) would have discovered ... some alarming cases of amphetamine use in Canadian sports, including in at least one instance in,

junior hockey.” He says Gaudaur wrote Edwards a ‘‘terse and

sarcastic letter” about the Racing _. business pays dividends — ‘EDMONTON (CP) Gilles Villeneuve, the first

Canadian driver to be paid to compete in Formula I

Grand Prix competition, |

says his decision to treat his racing career as a business is paying dividends.

Villeneuve, 25, who won nine of 10 Formula Atlantic events last year and finished second recently at Mosport, near Toronto, in the first race of the $400,000 series for 1977, is committed to drive in at least four races for the Marlboro McLaren team this year.

“T start at the British Grand Prix,” he said in an interview Wednesday. ‘I go there (Silverstone, Engtand) immediately after racing in Edmonton in about two weeks.”

The native of Berthierville, Que., will attempt to retain his Formula Atlantic championship despite his contract with McLaren.

That means he will run at Gimli, Man., next weekend then in Edmonton, July 1-3. Other events are scheduled at Westwood Oval, near Vancouver, Shubenecadie, N.S., St, Felicien, Que., and Quebec City. .

He finished second at Mosport behind Price Cobb of Houston following a grim

battle with Keke Rosberg, ©

92, af "inland. The duel featured a pair of bumps that left Villeneuve with damaged steering and a consistent handling problem.

“I don’t know what to expect from Formula One— I have never driven a Formula One car,” said Villeneuve, a former snowmobile competitor who invested all his race winnings and sold his house to raise enough money for his first Formula Ford, which be bought in 1974.

“] have loved things with motors since I was eight years old. I realized 1 would ave to treat my racing career like any business. 1 would have to invest some money.

MeNicoll approach to the Ottawa and Toronto teams which led to the firing.

The MeNicolf letter adds that two years ago, Dennis Taylor, then executive director of the foundation, was ‘‘unceremoniously dismissed for having criticized the inaction” of a federal agency which is the “main funding source” for the foundation on alcohol and drug dependencies.

The letter asks Edwards whether the foundation is “ever to have policies independent of the federal

overnment or must it orever pay obsequious homage to its benefactor?”

In an interview, McNicol said he would not have been fired if his letters to the two CFL teams had been confined to alcohol, ignoring the question of drugs.

His letter says he has written on his own initiative “many similar letters to school boards, industries and other organizations alerting them to the danger of drug abuse.”

“The foundation is drifting badly as regards policies on drugs other than alcohol.”’

“We may have to trade for a centre, although the

Canucks had five of them at —

the end of last season.” 5 Vancouver, which finished fourth in the Conn Smythe Division last season, took defenceman Jeff Bandura of portland Winter Hawks of the Western Canada Hocke League in the second round. The Canucks selected goaltender Glen Hanlon of

Brandon Wheat Kings of the WCHL in the third round, then added centre Dave

Morrow of Calgary Ctennials of the WCHL and goaltender’ Murray

Bannerman of Victoria Cougars of the WCHL in the fourth. -

EXTRA CHOICE

_ Vancouver had two picks in the fourth round after trading veteran defenceman Tracy Pratt te Colorado

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Gillis best player available: Milford —

Rockies prior to the 1976-77 season.

“It was a good time to grab goaltenders,” said — Milford. ‘We don’t have any young ones in our system and there may have to be some changes here (in goal) next season.”

The Canucks already have the NHL rights to over-age goaltender Blaine Peterson - of New Westminfter Bruins of the WCHL. Paw;

Registration is for boys born between the years 1970 and 1959.

Parent or guardian must register boy.

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