http://www.letsplayhockey.com/online-edition/news/2928-the-20th-time-s-the-charm.html

On February 1 at the 2016 Bandy World Championship in Ulyanovsk, Russia, Team USA veteran Rick Haney will compete in his 208th international match. This year’s tournament will also be his 20th Bandy World Championship, making him a world record holder. These extraordinary accomplishments are a true testament to the type of player and person Haney is.

Like most U.S. bandy players, Haney grew up playing hockey. The Duluth, Minn., native recalls that skating outdoors was a way of life for Duluth hockey players, even in the extreme cold. With this background, it is no surprise that Haney loves the outdoor aspect of bandy, even if that means playing in temperatures of 30-below zero as he has at several World Championships in Siberia.

“I absolutely love skating outdoors,” Haney said. “The cold enhances the experience. There is nothing quite as exhilarating as skating outdoors in the fresh and crisp frigid air.”

Growing up, Haney skated for the storied Duluth Stewart’s PeeWee and Bantam A teams, both of which were state tournament participants, including a state runner-up title as a PeeWee A. Haney’s greatest memory of his youth hockey days was playing hockey for his father, Dick.

“My dad was both a great coach and a great mentor to all of his players,” he said. “But above all, he was a great father.”

Three years of varsity hockey followed and after graduating at the top of his class, Haney began a four-year hockey career at Harvard, where he skated for legendary coach Bill Cleary.

“We had very strong teams,” Haney said. “We made it to the NCAA tournament for three straight years and were the runners-up to Michigan State in 1986.”

Haney studied Economics at Harvard and went on to earn a graduate degree from the Graduate School of Banking in Madison, Wis.

Beyond college, Haney continued to have a powerful drive to compete as an athlete, and fortunately for USA Bandy, he became a bandy player in 1989. He adapted so quickly to the sport that by March 1990, Haney joined the U.S. National Team where he competed in Budapest, Hungary. Over the course of the 25 years that followed, Haney became a force in the U.S. Bandy League and continued to be a key player for the National Team.

“Rick lifted both his game and that of US Bandy to another level,” Chris Middlebrook, USA Bandy Hall of Famer and longtime coach and teammate of Haney, said. “His skating ability and endurance were unparalleled. Combined with his ice vision and intelligence, Rick has been a dominant player for USA Bandy for years.”

In the early 1990s, Haney married his college sweetheart, Erin, and took her overseas, along with his bandy game. He played for Orebro in Sweden from 1991-92, and for the Norwegian Elite Team, Ready, from 1995-97. Back on the homefront, in the U.S. Elite League, Haney played for Stabaek before joining the Bandoliers. In 2006, he formed the Duluth Dynamo, bringing many Duluth athletes to the sport.

Haney is a four-time U.S. champion and eight-time North American Cup champion. His U.S. National Team résumé includes not only 200-plus international matches and 20 World Championships, but also another world record – over 100 World Championship matches as a player. It is no surprise that Haney served as captain of Team USA from 1995 to 2015. 
Chris Halden, another USA Bandy Hall of Famer and the head coach of the U.S. National Team emphasizes that at the age of 50, Haney remains an outstanding player. “Rick is on the National Team because he remains a key component of our squad.”

In regard to Haney’s seemingly agelessness, Halden added, “Rick is to USA Bandy what Gordie Howe and Chris Chelios were to ice hockey. He continues to play at a very high level regardless of his age. He remains committed to maintaining his fitness and conditioning, but above all, I commend Rick for driving 300 miles round-trip to the Oval several times a week.”

During the season, Haney, who still lives in Duluth, makes the 300-mile trek to the Guidant John Rose Oval in Roseville, Minn. for training and games.

Overall, Haney is fortunate to have bandy as a long-standing part of his life. “I was able to live and compete in Europe for three years. And the sport has taken me to so many places I would have never been – Sweden, Norway, Finland, Hungary, Kazakhstan and to Russia many times. I have been able to represent my country and compete at a high level my entire adult life. And I have been able to form lifelong friendships, not only with my teammates but with players from around the world”.

As with many things in life, what goes around comes around and Haney’s greatest thrill has been coaching his sons, Porter and Nolan, in both Duluth youth hockey and bandy. Haney also serves as President of the Duluth East Youth Hockey Club, PeeWees and Bantams.

“Just as my father coached me and was so involved with me growing up, I have been able to do the same with my boys,” he said. “It does not get any better than that.”

Photos: John Hedenstrom