I got started in hockey through my Dad & my Grandfather. My Dad has been an Oshawa Generals fan since before Bobby Orr played in Oshawa. My Dad & I went to as many Generals games as we could from as long as I can remember. I was always a huge Oshawa Generals fan growing up so it was a dream to play for them. My Grandfather used to always take me skating on weekends or March break's when I didn't have a hockey game or practice.
I remember getting a phone call from Sherry Bassin the G.M. of the Generals the night before the OHL draft. He called to tell me I wasn't eligible to be drafted but he wanted me to come to training camp with the Generals. I was very excited to go to training camp & play for the Generals. Playing in the Memorial Cup was very exciting because I remember being very disappointed when they lost in the 1983 & 1987 Memeorial Cup final. The next year I went to play in the E.C.H.L. until Christmas then I came home because I wasn't playing a lot & thought it would be better to finish the year in the O.H.L. The Generals already had their two overagers and I got a call from Marc Crawford the Coach of the Cornwall Royals so I went there. We had a very young team but it was still enjoyable helping the young guys. Marc Crawford was a great coach , I learned a lot from watching him & how he coached. Our assistant coach that year was Paul Fixter who was a great guy, easy to get along with & talk to. I knew he would be a good coach some day too because of the passion he had for the game and he is now the head coach of the Hershey Bears. I think that the Royals could have been a real force for a few years if Marc & Paul had stayed coaching in Cornwall.
I ended up in Brantford through the Toronto Maple Leafs. I went to the Leaf's training camp after playing for the Royals because Marc Crawford was named the coach for the St. John's Maple Leafs. After training camp they had too many players so they wanted to send me to one of their affiliates, either in Raleigh N.C. or Brantford. I chose to go to Brantford because it was easier to get to St. John's if they ever needed players. I ended up getting called up in Feb. for a couple games.
I remember always playing with a great bunch of guys in Brantford. We always were going out for lunch or to Woody's Pub & Grub after games to hang out. The owner at the time was always really good to the team. The year we won the Colonial Cup in 1992-93 we a great team that could have competed with some AHL teams that year. We had a lot of guys go on to play in the American Hockey League & others that had already played in the A.H.L. The old Colonial League was a tough league with a lot of fights and brawls. There was only 5 teams the first year so there were a lot of rivalries. We had a lot of fights the first few years in the Colonial League. Thunder Bay always had tough teams with a few heavyweights ready to fight any time.
Some of the best fights I saw involved a guy who didn't play regularly with us, Steve Morden. He had a full time job so he filled in whenever he could when we were short. He fought all the tough guys in the League & did well, he knocked Jason Simon out cold one night in Brantford. We always had guys that could play & fight including Dean Morton who was a real tough guy who could hit, fight and was a great defenseman.
The next year I played for the Cornwall Aces, the farm team for the Quebec Nordiques. We had one of the toughest guys in the league in Serge Roberge. He was a great guy who most didn't want to fight. He was a real honest tough guy, who would only go after the other team's tough guy. He must have had 40 fights that year and I never saw him lose. He had a couple draws but never outright lost. He had a couple great fights with Phil Crowe who was playing for the Hershey Bears that year. He was the ultimate policeman that year because he made sure the other team played honest or he would have something to say to the other team.The next year I only played five games & tore ligaments in my knee.
After that the Nordiques moved to Colorado and the farm team moved to Hershey. We had a lot of fights and brawls that year with Philadelphia and Kentucky. The Phantoms were a good tough team we were battling all year long for first place. Wade Belak was a rookie that fought a lot that year. We had a real hard working team that played great defence & ended up winning the Calder Cup in Hamilton, the same place I won the Memorial Cup. I guess that is my lucky rink.
I went to Muskegon after a couple years in Hershey because I had played a couple games there the year I hurt my knee. I knew a few guys on the team and that they were going to have a good team. We ended up winning the Colonial Cup that year too with a very good team. We had a couple guys that could really fight. We had Rob Melanson who fought anyone any time. He had the best shoulder pads in hockey, just a couple little cups sewn on his suspenders. He was a fighter that never held on , just wanted to throw them non-stop with anyone. I never saw him lose any that year. We also had a big rookie Chris Maillet who was a good fighter & really improved his skills over the year.
The next year Paul Willett and I went to play in Bakersfield from Muskegon. We both flew out there in the summer to check it out and both wanted to play there after visiting. It is a great place to play with great weather, an awesome rink that is among the loudest I ever played in. The city really supports the team & the players are well taken care of there. We had a really tough team the first year with Rhett Trombley and Jason Renard both among the toughest in the league. We had a few other guys that could take care of themselves so not a lot of teams took cheapshots.
Unfortunately halfway through my second year I suffered a career ending concussion. I was cross checked in the neck from behind in a gut-less move by a supposed tough guy, Chad Wagner who was just a clown-act not a real tough guy. I have been suffering post-concussion problems since then so I haven't been able to do alot without getting headaches. I hope to get into coaching some day if my headaches & other post-concussion symptoms subside.
The one thing I remember from my hockey days was the four championship teams all had the same qualities. We always had a great bunch of guys who won through great defense and hard work.
