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Continued from page 21 by the Ottawa Nationals as well as the California Golden Seals. “I chose Ottawa, because I thought they offered better opportunities and besides, California players had to wear white skates (unheard of at that time).” For all the hockey buffs who remember 1973, it was the year Johnny Bassett moved the Ottawa franchise to Toronto to become the Toronto Toros. During the third year of Mike’s career with the Toros a contract dispute forced him to resign from the team. Through the help of a good friend and Toro team mate, Frank Mahovolich, he was offered a position with the American Hockey League in Rochester, where he finished the season. Mike, scanned his options and decided his best opportunity was in Sweden, playing for a young, upcoming team. “It was a time when many of us were playing in Europe. Countries like Holland and Finland had tremendous teams and were putting a lot of support behind the sport,” Mike sai His first year in Sweden was also the year the team won the Division Swedish championshi, and went on to play in the Elite Series (the Euro- pean equivalent to the NHL). Sweden became the birthplace of Mike and Catherine's first daughter, Amy y. Toronto Maple Leaf great, Carl Brewer, at that time with the WHA, was on a scouting trip through Europe and was impressed with the skills of 27 year old Michael Amodeo. Thinking of things you need done this spring? THINK OF US! “ae HOME RENOVATIONS _INTERIOR/EXTERIOR RETAINING WALLS MINI HOE LANDSCAPING BOBCAT SERVICE INTERLOCKING STONE WORK For FREE Home Estimates Call 905-986-1090 or cell: 905-261-7840 24 FOCUS - FEBRUARY 2009 Trading card while with Winnipeg Jets. “We spoke and before I knew it I was playing with the Win- nipeg Jets.” Winnipeg won the Avco cup two years in a row while Mike played for them and his ring is a proud remind- er of those days, more than 25 years ago. It became obvious that Canada could not support two major hockey leagues and in 1981 the WHA merged with the NHL. Mike finished the year with the Tulsa Oilers of the Central league and the following year returned to Sweden. “1 was fortunate my wife joined me everywhere, we kept the family unit together. She was extremely supportive of my career and we certainly were able to see the world,” Mike beamed. He had signed a long (three year) contract with Sweden, however, at the end of the first season the club ran out of money and Mike’s contract was cancelled. Mike was recruited by the Italian team in Merano, which was a well respected team in the European League. The one downfall was in order to play he needed an Italian citizenship. After what ap- peared to be a hopeless situation it came to light that Mike’s grandfather, an Italian immigrant, had never registered him- self with the Canadian government and therefore his father was also not classified as Canadian, making Mike the first generation. Obtaining an Italian passport suddenly became easy and Mike went on to play for Merano for two years. Mike and Cathy’s second daughter, Corby, was born during this time and an opportunity for Mike to play with the national Italian team presented itself. “We beat the US 7-5 and tied Canada 3-3 that year in the World Champion- ships" he said, proudly. i as appointed to the ttaltan league and his aim was to bring more local talent. was time for Mike and Cathy to return home and hang up his skates. The couple moved to Whitby where Mike took a sales position with a brewery, a position he still holds today. To keep in shape Mike jogged and cycled from Whitby to Port Perry and fell in love with our community. As Whitby expanded and their children moved into their own homes, the Amodeos longed again for the country life, which they so enjoyed in Gravenhurst. It was then they decided to relo- cate in Port Perry. Mike still plays pick-up hockey a few times a week with the same guys he has been with for 25 years. He has also gained the respect of many NHL old timers and although he doesn’t boast about his relationships he does see the likes of Peter Conacher, Bobby Lalonde, Howey Menard and Bobby Baun ona regular basis. Hockey is a great sport and has captured the hearts of many generations of Port Perry enthusiasts. It is great to see players with the calibre of Michael Amodeo reside among us and mentor the up and coming stars of the future. Jonathan van Bilsen Focus on Scugog