Nitzy's Hockey Den

John McCreedy's NHL career consisted of a mere 64 total games, but boy did he make the most of it. As a 30 year old rookie with the Maple Leafs in 1941-42 he notched 15 goals and another seven points in thirteen playoff games. He was a big part of Toronto's un-paralleled Cup Finals comeback from a 3-0 games defecit. Soon after, McCreedy would join the military and like so many other athletes of the day put his career on hold. He would help lead the Toronto RCAF squad to an Allan Cup appearance in 1943. He returned to the Leafs to finish the 1945 season and helped them win another seven game final over the Red Wings. Two Stanley Cups in two seasons, doesn't get much better than that. Of course, by the time he made his late debut in the NHL he was already well accustomed to winning champioships. In 1937 he led the Winnipeg Monarchs to a Memorial Cup victory with 13 goals in 9 playoff games. The following season he played with the Trail Smoke Eaters and was part of an Allan...

Eddie Dorohoy started the 1948/49 season as a 19 year old rookie with the vaunted Montreal Canadiens. The smallish (5ft 9in) centreman was not without credentials. He had tallied 81 points in 27 games the previous season with the Lethbridge Native Sons of the Alberta Junior League. To say he was unfazed by the aura of playing bigtime hockey in Montreal would be an understatement. Upon arriving at camp, coach Dick Irvin placed the rookie on a line with Maurice Richard and Elmer Lach. Dorohoy immediately began instructing the vets on how the game should be played. During a rush in an intrasquad scrimmage he abruptly stopped and demanded the old vets come confer with him. Dorohoy told Richard and Lach, “Listen,the trouble with you guys is that you’re out of position.” Upon seeing the coach doubled over in laughter on the side boards, Dorohoy demanded he cease the chortling. “What’s so funny?” he asked the boss. “Richard and Lach can ,make mistakes too. I’m only trying to help them”. No ...

I recently came across this snippet in the Sports Illustrated archives in an article about Andre Lacroix from May 28, 1979. It details the travails of playing in the sub-par facility that was the Cherry Hill Arena, short time home of the New Jersey (nee New York) Knights. "Of the 33 buildings used by WHA teams, perhaps the worst facility was the Cherry Hill Arena, where the New Jersey Knights played the 29 home games of their brief existence. There were no showers in the visiting team's dressing room, so the opposition had to dress at the Holiday Inn two miles up the road. "It was embarrassing to see Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe coming to the games with their uniforms on and their skates hanging around their necks," says Andre Lacroix. Most arenas have a long players' bench for each team, but in Cherry Hill the players' section consisted of three rows of five seats. The teams looked like choirs. There was little room for a coach in Cherry Hill, so one night Win...

Recently a friend of mine sent an article from Sports Illustrated detailing the things mosted missed from the good ol'days of baseball. I emailled some of my pals and asked them the same thing about hockey. What are some of the things you miss the most about the old days of hockey. Being that we are all at least in our late 30's and 40's, and all grew up in southern Ontario...alot of the answers pertain to our Maple Leafs and visiting The Gardens as youngsters. Here are some of the best memories of old time hockey that have gone by the wayside. 1. "The Bunker" at Maple Leaf Gardens How cool and unique was it that the owner Harold Ballard and whomever was his GM of the year along with the legend King Clancy would sit and watch the game a mere twenty feet from the corner boards. The odd puck would even strafe their perch (some perhaps intentional) sending the old boys scattering. 2. Puck scuffs on the wall behind your head Along the lines of number one, My buddy So...

Two of my favourites from my collection.......

I decided to select All-Star squads for the past season based on the ages of the players. One team of first and second All-Stars would be picked from all players 24 years old and under, one from players aged 25 to 29, and one for players aged 30 and older. Click on the chart below for an expanded version of the squads. Some pretty good looking teams there, to say the least. Which one is the best though? The Kids would have to come out ahead in the centremen category with Crosby and Malkin, and would probably win with Ovechkin and Parise as left wingers. The Old Boys would have to be considered the winners when it comes to right winger with Iginla and St.Louis. The defensemen are fairly well matched in each age group but overall the Old Boys would have to come out ahead with the likes of Andrei Markov and Scott Niedermayer as the second team all-stars. Coming down to goaltending, the Oldsters with Vezina winner Tim Thomas and Evgeni Nabokov will barely best the youngsters Ward, Fleury ...

Dallas Eakins was introduced recently as the new head coach of the Toronto Marlies, AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Big deal right? Not really, but in reading the article in the Toronto Star I learned that Eakins played a mere 120 NHL games in his career, yet somehow managed to play for eight different NHL teams. He started in 1992/93 with 14 games for the Winnipeg Jets and ended in 2001/02 with 3 games for the Calgary Flames. The most NHL games he played in one season was 23 for the 97/98 Florida Panthers. Apparently his one assist and 44 PIM's warranted being featured on a Panthers program cover, (pictured). So, 120 games for eight teams seemed like a unique and fairly difficult feat. It turns out it is quite difficult, but not entirely unique. Three players have played for at least eight NHL teams and still played less than 200 career games. Defenseman, Ken Hammond played 193 games for eight teams and Jarrod Skalde also suited up for eight squads for only 115 games, e...