There's still some fight left in Joe Drago.
The long-time hockey guru and champion of local charitable
causes was recently re-elected as president of the Ontario
Hockey Federation (OHF) for his second straight consecutive
term.
Drago has backed many new developments within the OHF and
Hockey Canada. There's still plenty of work to do and Drago
wants to continue his work at bringing the seven member
partners of the OHF together and working as a well-oiled
machine.
Drago will be at the helm for another two years.
As president, Drago sits on the Board of Directors for Hockey
Canada, and helps guide numerous special committees.
He's a life-time member of the Canadian Junior A Hockey League
because of his tireless work in junior hockey.
Drago earned a hockey scholarship to Clarkson University after
high school and then eventually came back to Sudbury to teach
at Lasalle Secondary School. It was then Drago dove headfirst
into the world of hockey as he became the coach, GM and
director of hockey operations for the Sudbury Cubs Junior B
team. The team went on to win the NOHA Championship.
Then he started a 17-year long relationship with the Sudbury
Wolves OHL club, serving as part owner, coach, GM and governor
among other titles.
Following that, Drago served as commissioner of the NOJHL. He
was an integral part of cleaning up the league's tarnished
image and established it as a productive league. He sat as
commissioner for 12 years.
Even though he has been busy with hockey, Drago has always
found more time to be involved in charity work in Greater
Sudbury.
Some of his work includes chairing the Sudbury Regional
Hospital Foundation, vice chair of the House of Kin and a
member of the Board of Governors at Laurentian University.
Drago's best supporters are his family: his wife Sylvia, and
their two daughters Lisa and Deana.
Now 65, Drago isn't slowing down at all, and in fact, is going
full steam ahead with making his mark as OHF president.
Recently, Drago took time out to talk to Northern Life reporter
Scott Haddow about being OHF president, the wild world of
hockey and his charity work.
SH: Why a second term?
JD: I was encouraged to run by the board members. I felt I
should do it again because the first term was a learning
curve.
There's seven member partners which make up the OHF. If there's one thing I feel I accomplished in my first term it was bringing the partners closer together and working with one another and having a better respect for each other. It's a difficult process and it's still not there yet. It's a lot better and getting everyone closer is, again, one of my top priorities. Before my first term, people told me I was in for a bad ride, but it has been rewarding and enjoyable.
SH: Why is it important to have the seven members working in harmony?
JD: With the diversity of Ontario, members never really got a
chance to earn trust with one another because they only saw
each other at meetings. We've done a lot of social work.
There's a much greater awareness of each other. To some people,
that may not seem important. But when you come into an
organization and it's splintered, work can't be done properly.
It can be done a lot better now and move forward on issues
faster.
SH: Hockey in Ontario, what stands out about it?
JD: If you count winning as something that stands out, the OHF
has had a highly successful year. We swept all the regional
championships. Our teams won a lot...including the Royal Bank
Cup and we had players on the teams, which won the women's Four
Nations Cup and the Canada Winter Games. On ice, we've been
great. We had a lot of success with the new Under-16
program...a partnership between the OHF and the OHL. We had
over 700 applications for 120 spots. We got great feedback...it
was an outstanding response. We will continue the program next
year with the hope of having an additional camp, with it being
held in either Sudbury or Sault Ste. Marie.
SH: What's your take on the Sudbury hockey scene?
JD: The Sudbury program is solid. I have no concerns with the
people running it. Our volunteers really stand out. I have
traveled all over Canada attending big events and our
volunteers are second to none...not just in Sudbury but Canada.
We don't take a back seat to anyone. It makes me proud I'm from
Sudbury.
SH: What's your motivation and drive right now?
JD: It's to keep bringing the OHF working as a team. When you
look at the Hockey Canada committees, a lot of key people are
leaders from the OHF. We have a lot of respect from Hockey
Canada. We're the biggest hockey organization in the world. We
have to keep being leaders and innovators. Working with these
people is more than enough motivation.
SH: What's your proudest moment in hockey?
JD: Working with the Sudbury Wolves from their inception into
the OHL. A few times we were one game away from going to the
Memorial Cup in 1975 and 1976...those were exciting times. I
look at some of the guys we helped get into the NHL (Randy
Carlyle, Mike Foligno, Dave Farrish, Dale Hunter, Don Beaupre).
There's still guys like Carlyle and Farrish, who just won the
Stanley Cup with Anaheim as coaches, in the NHL. It's nice to
know I played a small role in their lives and it's rewarding to
see them as leaders in hockey.
SH: What's some of the funniest things you've seen in hockey?
JD: I don't know if it's funny, but I remember one game between
Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie. The Greyhounds' tough guy Tony
Horvath took a run at Ron Duguay and hurt him badly. Tony went
to the penalty box and then Ron's dad came flying down the
stairs and corked Tony a real hard shot. The whole arena was
glued to that side of the rink. The police were there. Another
time, Sudbury was playing Windsor and a bench-clearing brawl
happened. The Windsor coach, Marcel Pronovost, got on the ice
and started tussling with one of our players. I came down from
the press box and tried to grab Marcel. He was in the midst of
throwing a punch. As he swung, his watch came flying off and
went into the stands. He turned to me, in the middle of all
this, and says Joe that's my NHL watch can you get it back for
me. He was more concerned with getting his watch back than
stopping a brawl. There's a million of those stories. That's
what makes being involved in hockey so wonderful.
SH: Sudbury still has no Sports hall of Fame, something you've been pleading for over the years. Smaller towns have them, has it reached an embarrassing level yet?
JD: I'm concerned with it and have been for a long time. No
matter where I go, I look at other cities and see the pride and
admiration they have for their athletes. The city disappoints
me they're not on board. We do little for our great athletes.
This town is a tourist attraction and a sports hall of fame
would be another spoke in the wheel in encouraging people to
come here. It's important to our heritage and we should have a
facility.
SH: How has charity work impacted your life?
JD: It's been a beautiful ride. It's a team approach...it's so
enjoyable working for a charity because everyone works as a
team and towards the same goal. I have life memberships with
the Salvation Army, the Alzheimer Society and the CJAHL. They
make you feel you've contributed in a positive fashion and
helped people.
