The Goal of My Life (31 page)
Read The Goal of My Life Online
Authors: Paul Henderson
Born: July 4, 1940, Sarnia, Ontario
• Played in seven games in the Summit Series (no points).
• Was a solid, stay-at-home defenceman paired with Bill White in the series to form a superb defensive duo.
• Played in 635
NHL
games between 1961–62 and 1972–73 (43 goals, 294 assists, 337 points) with the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks.
• Played in 372
WHA
games between 1973–74 and 1977–78 (27 goals, 212 assists, 238 points).
• Also played for, and was captain of, Team Canada in the 1974 Summit Series.
• Won Dennis Murphy Trophy (top defenceman in the
WHA)
, 1973–74.
• Played in four All-Star games (1967, 1969, 1971, 1972).
• Was Second Team All-Star at defence (1965–66, 1970–71, 1971–72).
• Was
WHA
First Team All-Star at defence, 1973–74.
• Was
WHA
Second Team All-Star at defence, 1975–76.
• Was head coach of the
WHA
Chicago Cougars (1973–75) and Indianapolis Racers (1978–79).
• Is a member of the advisory board of the Junior B Strathroy Rockets of the Western Ontario Junior Hockey League.
Born: October 19, 1950, Noranda, Quebec
• Did not appear in the 1972 Summit Series.
• Was selected second overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1970 Amateur Draft.
• Played in two All-Star games (1971, 1972).
• Played in 642
NHL
games between 1970–71 and 1979–80 (98 goals, 238 assists, 336 points) with the Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks, and Pittsburgh Penguins.
• Set career high in goals (17) in 1971–72 and points (62) in 1975–76.
• Won the Canadian Junior Golf Championship in 1969. Has played on the Canadian
PGA
Tour.
• After his retirement in 1979–80, became a broadcaster for the Chicago Blackhawks.
• Was Blackhawks director of player personnel from 1998–2002.
• Was assistant general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks from 2003–05.
• Was general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks from 2005–09.
• Became senior advisor of the Blackhawks in July 2009.
• Became general manager of the Florida Panthers in May 2010.
• Although the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in June 2010 after Tallon’s departure to Florida, his name was still engraved on the Cup for being such a large contributor to the development of the championship team.
Born: August 26, 1939, Toronto, Ontario
• Played seven games in the Summit Series, scoring a goal and adding an assist.
• Was paired with Pat Stapleton in the series to form a solid duo on defence.
• Was 28 when he made his
NHL
debut with Los Angeles in 1967.
• Played in 604
NHL
games between 1967–68 and 1975–76 for the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks.
• Played in six All-Star games (1969–74).
• Was Second Team All-Star on defence, 1971–72 through 1973–74.
• Suffered a neck injury during 1976 playoffs that forced him to retire.
• Was interim coach of Chicago Blackhawks in 1976–77.
• Later returned to coach the Toronto Marlboros.
Memorable Quotes
S
O MUCH HAS BEEN SAID ABOUT THE
1972 C
ANADA–
Russia series, but some comments just stand out. In closing, here are a select few that really encapsulate what happened at that great event.
“This was the greatest series played in
any
sport. This was war!”
—
Don Cherry
“What Team Canada ’72 accomplished was incredible. There has never been a greater victory in any sport.”
— Bobby Orr
“This was a cold war. Our way of living against their way of living.”
—
Rod Seiling
“It wasn’t a game anymore. It was society against society.”
— Phil Esposito
“This is really life and death here. Down on that ice it is just sheer war.”
— Foster Hewitt
“If we didn’t win, it would be a mark for the rest of our lives.”
—
Frank Mahovlich
“It scared the hell out of me that I would have killed them to win. That scared me.”
— Phil Esposito
“The greatest emotional moment a player can have is when he is standing on the ice surface in a foreign country and they are playing your national anthem.”
— Bobby Clarke
“Nothing in hockey ever brought me so low or took me so high. And nothing meant so much.”
—
Ken Dryden
“I believe the biggest highlight of my hockey career was in 1972 when we were able to win that series that became so important to hockey.”
— Peter Mahovlich
“There’ll never be another one like it and I was proud to be a part of it.”
—
Tony Esposito
“I’ve never been prouder of a bunch of guys in my life. That team had a lot of heart.”
—
Gary Bergman
“Regardless of all the tension, these games contributed to establishing more human, more normal relations between people. The ‘72 series was absolutely one of the most brilliant events in world hockey in the twentieth century.”
—Vladimir Putin
, president of Russia
Looking pretty sharp, I must say – at the ripe old age of two.
The Lucknow Flax Flyers peewee team, circa 1954–55. I was a year or two younger than the rest of my teammates. Top row, left to right: Alan Chin, Bruce Baker, Gerry Mowbary, me (in the hat), Doug Schmidt. Bottom row, left to right: Fraser Ashton, Jim Peterson, Bill Robinson, Harold Howald, Barry McDonagh.
My yearbook photo from Lucknow District High School, 1957–58 school year.
At the prom in Lucknow in 1961. Eleanor was the only girl in the room wearing an orchid, and look at me, decked out in my Hamilton Red Wings jacket.
From my rookie season as a member of the Detroit Red Wings, ready to go, in 1963–64.
From my second season with the Red Wings, circa 1964-65.
My 100th
NHL
goal, scored against the New York Rangers and Gilles Villemure, at Maple Leaf Gardens. It was a nice one, as I put a shot into the top corner.
