Willie O'Ree serves as the Director of Youth Development for the NHL Diversity Task Force.
Well, my hockey juices have started flowing again with the regular season getting started. As usual, I can't wait. With the exception of the beginning of the Stanley Cup playoffs, I think this is most exciting time of the year for any hockey fan.
I had a very busy summer this year, and even had to cut back a little on the number of columns I wrote. But now with hockey "back in the air," I will resume the normal twice-a-month pace.
I want to thank you all for the many e-mails I have been receiving, especially from overseas. I look forward to continue hearing from any and all of you with ideas, suggestions, questions and anything you would like me to comment on.
Sadly, I must begin this column with a heavy heart. My great friend, Stan Maxwell, passed away in Truro, Nova Scotia, on Friday, September 7, losing his battle with cancer. I had the great honor of delivering the eulogy for Stan. There were 1,100 people in attendance, showing what a legacy this great guy left in a small town like Truro.
Stan and I were both "Maritimers" (that's "Atlantic Canadians" to you younger folks) although we didn't know each other growing up. However, we both turned pro in 1956. That was the beginning of a lifelong friendship and a thousand memories that I cherish dearly and will never forget.
We played together for a couple of seasons for Coach Punch Imlach with the Quebec Aces, and then both moved on to the Eastern Pro League and played for the Kingston Frontenacs and then the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens. Eventually, we both went west at about the same time, and played for the Los Angeles Blades of the Western Hockey League.
Stan and I even played on the same line for a while. He was a really good center and could thread the needle with the puck. He could get his wingers the puck as long as there was the slightest of openings.
I simply can't tell you how much I am going to miss Stan. I probably will think of him every day for the rest of my life. There is so much to remember, and all of it is good. Stan's wife, Cleo, passed away last year. The Maxwells are a huge family, and my condolences go out to all of them.
I am also very saddened to learn of the recent passing of Billy Harris, a super center who came up through the Toronto Maple Leafs, first with the great Toronto Marlboros junior teams and later with the Leafs themselves, where he played for 10 seasons.
Billy's career wound down with the Detroit Red Wings, Oakland Seals and Pittsburgh Penguins. I played against Billy many times, and remember him as a really good defensive player. He was tall, but not very heavy, and very adept at avoiding body checks, somewhat in the manner of Wayne Gretzky. My condolences to Billy's family as well.
I didn't know Shawn Walsh personally, but when you hear of someone dying at the age of 46, it sure gets your attention.
Shawn forged a great career as a college hockey coach, the last 17 years of which he spent at the University of Maine, where he won two national championships and coached some great players like Paul Kariya and Scott Pellerin. Kariya and Pellerin both won the Hobey Baker Award, which goes each year to the leading college hockey player in the United States.
Shawn's record at Maine was truly outstanding: 399 wins, 214 losses and 44 ties. Shawn graduated from Bowling Green University in 1978, and began his college coaching career with the Michigan State Spartans in 1979 before moving on to Maine in 1984.
On a much happier note, I am pleased to offer my personal congratulations to Dave Christian, Paul Johnson and Mike Ramsey on their recent elections to the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. The U.S. Hall of Fame, located in Eveleth, Minn., is a wonderful facility that is often overshadowed by the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. Fittingly, all three of this year's inductees hail from Minnesota.
A native of Warroad, Minn., Dave Christian came out of the University of North Dakota and starred on the 1980 U.S. Olympic team that won a gold medal at Lake Placid, N.Y. He went on to play 15 productive seasons and 1,009 games in the National Hockey League with the Winnipeg Jets, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks.
Paul Johnson, a native of West St. Paul, Minn., starred on many U.S. National teams in the 1950s and 1960s, but the highlight of his career was when he won a gold medal with the 1960 U.S. Olympic team at Squaw Valley, California. Following his amateur career, Paul played five seasons in the International Hockey League and seven more in the United States Hockey League.
Mike Ramsey, a native of Minneapolis, was Christian's teammate on the 1980 U.S. Olympic team. He went on to play 18 seasons and 1,070 games in the NHL, 14 with the Buffalo Sabres and four seasons split between the Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings.
Christian, Johnson and Ramsey will be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday, December 3. It will be the Hall's 28th annual induction.
My friends, that's it for this time around. I encourage you all to pray for the victims of the tragic events of Sept. 11.
?Til next time ...
WILLIE O'REE
Don't forget to keep writing me at wordsoreason@nhl.com. Thanks!
"Through his sheer perseverance, Willie has created, and continues to create, hockey history," writes Cuba Gooding, Jr., in his foreword to The Autobiography of Willie O'Ree: Hockey's Black Pioneer. In this book for young readers, co-written by Michael McKinley, Willie O'Ree tells of his personal struggle and victory against the odds. Readers of all ages will not want to miss reading about Willie O'Ree's trail-blazing role
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