Nitzy's Hockey Den

Training camp methods have certainly changed over the years, I did some google.news digging and found some good descriptions of Toronto Maple Leafs training camps from years gone by. 1930 The Leafs have encountered wintery conditions in the Parry Sound district. On Sunday some of them attempted to motor to that town, but had to turn back after reaching the Muskoka district because of the snow drifts on the highways. Most of the players took their golf sticks to the camp, but reports from there tonight are that unless mild weather comes soon, the outlook for golf is poor indeed. Come to Parry Sound for camp, bring your golf sticks, enjoy the snow drifts!  1938 "Yesterday was the last rehearsal for fancy-skating. Sonja Henie has her partner." This read the not posted in the Leafs hotel lobby by Maple Leafs coach Dick Irvin after a lacklustre practice by his men. Apparently this "burned up" his 15 Maple Leafs, 16 Syracuse Stars and the six amateurs invited...

Here we go again.  Another year, another training camp, another season filled with hope for my Toronto Maple Leafs. It's been the same way every year for the last 50 seasons just about. The hope that this will be the season in which the Leafs finally climb the summit once again. Each and every season for the past 46 years, they have failed. As a realist I ask myself, is this season really going to be any different from the past? I doubt it. I've been a die-hard Leafs fan since my childhood in the late 1970's and early '80's. I've seen a LOT of hope and potential come and go. From the potential arriving in the form of draft picks like Gary Nylund and Dan Hodgson, to the acquisition of my favourite Stastny brother, Marian. The drafting of Wendel Clark first overall brought excitement, as did the trade for Doug Gilmour six years later. The 1990's brought repeated deep playoff runs aided by electrifying goaltending from the likes of Felix Potvin and C...

Legendary coach Pat Quinn had a tough time transitioning from his career as an active player to that of a coach. This is evidenced by the fact that a mere few days into his career as head coach of the American Hockey League's Maine Mariners he engaged in an on-ice brawl with an opposing coach. His opponent, coach of the New Brunswick Hawks and fellow ex-NHLer Ed Johnston. In 1978, Quinn was 35 years old and just over one year removed from his last season playing with the Atlanta Flames. Ed Johnston, just shy of his 43rd birthday, had played 16 games the previous year in net for St.Louis and Chicago. The mid-October match between Maine and New Brunswick unfolded as follows; Oct 18, 78 AP An AHL game between the New Brunswick Hawks and the Maine Mariners was delayed for more than an hour after both teams became involved in a brawl that eventually involved both coaches. The fight began when Rocky Saganiuk of the Hawks got into a scuffle near his team's bench with John Pa...

Bashin' Bill on the Toronto Maple Leafs blue line in the 1950's. The first thought is this is a reference to Bill Barilko the great young defender who perished in a plane crash in 1951. However, there was another Bashin' Bill...Burega, who had but a mere cup of coffee with the big club in 1955. Over these, his only four NHL games Bill Burega collected his only point, an assist and four minutes in penalties. "Booger", another of Burega's nicknames was by all rights a poor-man's Barilko. Five years younger than Barilko, Burega was cut from the same cloth as a legitimate hard-checking defenceman, ending up in near the top of the penalty minute parade in every league he played. He was an inch taller and slightly heavier than Barilko but lacked the offensive talents of Barilko who scored at least  five goals in each full NHL season he played. While Barilko was scoring the winning goal for the 1951 Stanley Cup, 19 year-old Burega was helping his junior...

Here's a gem I found on ebay this week. It's a puck that was said to used by Hall of Famer Norm Ullman to notch his first ever professional hockey goal in 1953. The link to it can be found  here . The listing says the puck comes from Ullman's personal collection and has carved onto it "N.Ullman First Pro Goal" as well as "Dec. 29th, 1953" with the "3" backwards.  The puck apparently comes with a certificate of authenticity. I managed to find the boxscore of this game and low and behold, there's Ullman with his goal. He was called up on an emergency basis from the junior Edmonton Oil Kings in the midst of a 56 goal, 101 point season. His goal was assisted by team leading scorer Enio Sclisizzi and Don Poile. This was Ullman's only pro game of 1953/54 before returning for a full campaign the next. He would collect 59 points in 60 games in 54/55 before finally graduating to the NHL and the parent Detroit Red Wings.  A ...

I was watching a bit of the NHL Network's Pioneers series a few days ago. It was a half hour bio/interview with Mr. Goalie, Glenn Hall. Near the end of it, I saw this... http://youtu.be/QcteEVEyhnI?list=UUkoJHSS6M7nvYPWGN6TIIbw It was shown without any description or reference to it, simply a highlight of Hall's career. I just had know what the heck was going on in this clip. From what I could derive, the game took place on February 16, 1969 when Minnesota visited St. Louis and the Blues won 6-0. At the start, Hall is seen bolting from the net on what can only be assumed is a delayed-penalty on Minnesota. As the Blues defender (Barclay Plager) clears the zone, Minnesota's Bill Goldsworthy stabs at it and pokes it directly into Hall's path. Hall takes the opportunity, and skates with the puck for a bit. Knowing he'd be penalized for handling the puck past the centre line, he dishes the puck to teammate Terry Crisp. #12 Terry Crisp turns the N...

John Brophy was head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs for two and a half seasons in the late 1980's. He had been a hard-playing defenceman in the old Eastern Hockey league from 1955 through 1973. Playing in cities from Baltimore and Charlotte to New Haven, Long Island and Philadelphia he collected 3699 PIM's in 1064 games. Brophy began a role as playing coach in 1968 while with the Long Island Ducks.  He was suspended and fined over his career many times for transgressions including; "attempts to assault referee", "physically abusing referee", "deliberately shooting puck at referee", "jabbed stick at fan after fan bit him", "pushing linesman during fight", "pushing referee to the ice", "throwing stick at referee", "throwing object at referee". Needless to say, he had anger issues.  When he finally got his chance at an NHL coaching job, his attitude did not change. He guided the Leafs to...