1960 - 61 Trail Smoke Eaters This team represented Canada at the 1961 World Championship . Tour . Jan 31 8 - 3 ( 2 : 1 , 2 : 0 , 4 : 2 ) Norway @ Oslo History . From : The WIHL League News January 5 , 1973 Volume I , Seventh Edition The 1961 Smoke Eaters - - World Champions By Jack " Buck " Kavanaugh There ' s the saying , " If you want the best , send the west . " How true this statement was back in 1960 - 61 when the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association named the Trail Smoke Eaters to represent Canada at the World Hockey Championship in Switzerland . The Smoke Eaters were the runners - up to the champion Chatham Maroons for the Allan Cup in 1959 - 60 . Chatham defeated Trail in five games , but turned down the offer to participate in the World Championship , in favour of an earlier tour of Russia that year . It turned out to be a disastrous trip for the Maroons , who won one one game and tied one , while losing five in their seven game series behind the Iron Curtain . The Maroons upon their return to Canada made the statement that the Smoke Eaters would have to be fifty percent stronger than the previous year , to defeat the Russians . One thing the Maroons forgot was that Trail had a firey coach in Bobby Kromm , and a crew of determined hockey players who never game up . The CAHA ordered the Smoke Eaters to strengthen their roster with five players - - and Kromm went out and picked up five of the best players in Canada . His first move was to Penticton , where he hired Walt Peacosh - - who was the hottest player in the Okanagan League . Next came Jackie McLeod , a recent reinstated pro from Swift Current . Darryl Sly from Galt ' s Terriers , was added to the list - - and many fans will remember him as coach of the Barrie Flyers in the Allan Cup finals last year . Claude Cyr , a 21 year old goaltender from the Montreal Royals , was selected as back up to regular goalie Seth Martin . Mike Legace , from Quebec City , joined the club at a later date . Earlier in the season ( actually in the summer - - Charlie ) the Smoke Eaters had picked up Dave Rusnell from the Yorkton Terriers , who had previous overseas experience in the English League . The Smoke Eaters knew they had a big job facing them , for the last British Columbia team to win the World Championship was the fabulous Penticton V ' s in 1955 . Kromm said , " We will show the fans that a true amateur club can win , and we don ' t need to be paid high wages to do so . " With this spirit apparent in the team ' s attitude , the entire City of Trail , and surrounding centres , pitched in to help raise the $ 23 , 000 needed to make the trip . Students in Trail staged blitz campaigns for funds : businesses were persuaded to pay full salaries to the players ' families while the team was away . Trail raised over $ 14 , 000 of the amount , with many other Kootenay cities kicking in - - especially the City of Nelson - - and the Maple Leafs were having their own money problems that year . Top Shape Kromm , who emphasised conditioning , had his team in excellent shape , playing a total of 36 ames in British Columbia , before starting their long journey . They won 32 games while losing four ; with Nelson giving them the most trouble . The Smoke Eaters played only two exhibition games out of the province , before flying out of Montreal on January 31 . The Smoke Eaters defeated the Moose Jaw Pla - Mors 4 - 1 , before 3 , 300 fans - - with future Dynamiter star Bill Steenson a stand out for Moose Jaw . Next , they trounced the Yorkton Terriers 14 - 1 , with 2 , 125 fans giving the smooth skating Trail team a rousing send off . The Smoke Eaters realised the sum of $ 2 , 850 for their two prairie encounters . Landed In Norway The Smoke Eaters landed at Oslo , Norway , and opened an 18 game exhibition tour , with a 8 - 3 victory over the Norwegian National team - - but lost the services of playing - coach Bobby Kromm , who suffered a broken nose . The Smoke Eaters moved on to Stockholm , Sweden and lost a 4 - 0 verdict to the Swedish National team . Kromm didn ' t press the panic button , despite the poor press reports . Trail got revenge by knocking over the Swedes 4 - 1 before 13 , 000 sad fans . The Smokies managed to win three out of their four games in Sweden . It was on to Finland for one game , with the Smoke Eaters winning 10 - 5 over the Finnish National team , before 12 , 000 fans , who cheered the Trail team for their smooth passing and end - to - end rushes . The Smoke Eaters invaded Moscow for a three game series that drew capcity crowds of 17 , 000 for each contest . The first game finished in a 3 - 3 deadlock , with the Russians taking the second fixture 3 - 2 - - but only to have Trail come fighting back to conquer the third game , 4 - 1 . The Smoke Eaters were red hot in Czechoslovakia , winning all five of their games , before sellout crowds of over 16 , 000 fans . The Smoke Eaters rounded out their exhibition swing with easy wins in Germany and Italy . Trail won a total of 15 games , lost two , and tied one - - and outscored their opposition 104 goals to 47 . Finals The World Championship finals were played in Switzerland , from March 2 to 12 , with the Russians rated strong favourites to win . The experts were wrong , with Canada and the Czechs finishing in a tie for top honours , with each having a record of six wins and one tie - - with Trail declared champions , having a better " goals for and goals against " record than the Czechs . Canada scored a total of 45 goals and allowed eleven , with the Czechs picking up 33 goals and had nine scored against them . Trail met Sweden in their opening game and won easily , by a 6 - 1 score . Next they defeated West Germany 9 - 1 , and then took the American squad out , 7 - 4 . Canada had their hands full in defeating East Germany 5 - 2 , with all the scoring coming in the final period . The Czechs defeated Russia 6 - 4 in the biggest upset of the finals , and it set the scene for the important game between Canada and the Czechs . The game ended in a 1 - 1 tie , with the Czechs going ahead in the first period . Hugh " Pinoke " McIntyre played the hero role for Canada by taking a pass from Jackie McLeod and scoring the equalizer late in the second period . Seth Martin was a standout in the net for Canada , with the Smoke Eaters playing short handed most of the game . Trail then made short order of Finland 12 - 1 , and now faced Russia in their final game . A sellout of over 12 , 500 fans were happy indeed , when the Smoke Eaters blasted the Russians 5 - 1 . Jackie McLeod paced the club with two goals , with singletons going to Harry Smith , Harold Jones and Norm Lenardon . The game was such a close checking contest , that Seth Martin was called on to make only twelve saves , and Tchinov in the Russian net , nine . Russian coach Chernyshev later said Trail was a great team , and their win was absolutely deserved . Seth Martin was picked the outstanding netminder in the tournament . Jackie McLeod was the Smoke Eaters ' leading point getter in the series , with 12 points , followed closely by Harold Jones with 11 , and Dave Rusnell with ten . One unique note of the finals was that Walt Peacosh was Trail ' s bad boy in the penalty parade with sixteen minutes , followed by Don Fletcher , with nine minutes . Home Welcoming Never in the history of the Kootenays has such a crowd turned out to welcome home their heros , and the last team to ever win a World Amateur Championship for Canada . Over 5 , 000 people greeted the team at the Castlegar Airport , and an estimated crowd of 20 , 000 fans jammed the streets of Trail to serenade the team . Mayor Les Read , in welcoming home the players , said it was a wonderful day for Trail , and all of Canada . Members of the champions were : Seth Martin and Claude Cyr ; Bobby Kromm , Harry Smith , Don Fletcher , Darryl Sly , George Ferguson , Ed Cristofoli , Jackie McLeod , Hughie " Pinoke " McIntyre , Harold Jones , Norm Lenardon , Dave Rusnell , Ad Tambellini , Walt Peacosh , Cal Hockley ( team captain ) , Gerry Penner and Mike Lagace . The trainer was Joe Garay , Ugo DeBiasio was general manager , and James Cameron was President of the club .