When Doug Wilson was voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame last year in his 24th year of eligibility, I was very excited and happy for him because he belongs there.
When Dougie joined the Chicago Blackhawks as a 20-year-old rookie in 1977, you knew he could play right away. There was never any doubt. He just had that presence on the ice. He knew how to play, and he walked right in and he was good right off the bat.
He was just an all-around great player. There were no holes in his game.
He was big and strong, he could shoot the puck, play defense and break the puck out. He had everything. He obviously had great vision. He could see not only offensively on the power play, but we killed penalties together too.
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Every once in a while, there are defense partners who are just kind of matches and I think we were one of them. I was a steady guy, and Dougie had some freedom to play because he was obviously a great player. I think we complemented each other well, and we saw and thought the game the same way.
That's really important with a partner, if you see and feel the game the same way. From the beginning, Dougie was just so easy to play with and we kind of read each other's minds.
It was an honor and a privilege to play with him.
As we got older, we were broken up a bit to help the younger guys as they came in. Then late in games, we'd be put back together. So it was a really good run. It was a good defensive pair.
When Dougie won the
Norris Trophy
in 1981-82, I got injured and I was out for a while that year and I remember watching all those games.
He scored 39 goals that season, which is still the fourth most in a season by a defenseman in NHL history. It was just one of those years when he got on a roll. He could shoot the puck and he was shooting it. He had a cannon.
You could see it from Day One with him that there was just that presence and that shot. That was his strength and it all fell into place that season.
Unfortunately, he hurt his shoulder a couple years later. I'm not saying his shot wasn't as good after that, but that took a bit off it. He still has to swing the golf club funny because of that shoulder.
Because of his shot, I think the defensive part of his game was overlooked a little. We were a pretty good defensive team in those years too.
Dougie has never been one to fan his own fire. He kind of goes about his business and doesn't draw too much attention to himself, and that's how he was as a player. He just showed up and played every day, worked hard every day.
He was obviously a great player, but he didn't demand the attention others do, and that maybe hurt him a little bit in terms of getting into the Hall of Fame sooner. That and the fact that all those years we were really good in Chicago, unfortunately, there was a team that was much better than us in the Edmonton Oilers and we just couldn't beat them.
We had a pretty good team with Dougie, Denis Savard and Steve Larmer, who was a pretty good hockey player too. We reached the Campbell Conference Final five times. We just never won the Stanley Cup.
Only one team wins the
Stanley Cup
each year and you've seen those dynasties. It went from the Montreal Canadiens (1976-1979) to the New York Islanders (1980-83) to Edmonton (1984-1985, 1987-1988, 1990). We played through all those eras. That is the one thing with that group that we never accomplished, winning the Stanley Cup, and I think to this day a bunch of us have a little bit of a sour taste in our mouth because of it.
So in a way, Dougie being inducted into the Hall of Fame is good recognition for that team. But mainly, it's a wonderful thing for him. He deserves it.
