Miroslav Ihnacak

Ihnačák was involved in a true Cold War style spy movie escape from behind the Iron Curtain in late 1985. Just prior to Christmas he and his girlfriend had been smuggled into Vienna, sneaking out of Czechoslovakia in the middle of the night without even bringing any baggage after Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard spent over $100,000 to get the young superstar smuggled into Austria. There they were awaiting contact from Maple Leaf team officials including General Manager Gerry McNamara who was supposed to be arriving on a commercial flight, but there were reports of terrorists shooting in the airport forcing the plane to divert to another airfield causing the Maple Leaf officials to take a two-hour bus ride to make it back to the Austrian capital. From there further concerns arose including suspicions that the Czechoslovak secret police and even KGB agents were searching for Ihnačák to bri…