The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.

August 1, 1972

The Hockey News August 1, 1972

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-02734/3221324-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The two men who put it all together in the new multi-million dollar hockey television deal for 197273 smile happily after it was all over. NHL Vice-President DON V. RUCK, left, shakes hands with NBC Vice-President CARL LINDEMANN JR., following the NHl&rsquo;s announcement of the three-year TV pact with the network.</figcaption></div>NEW YORK&mdash;The National Hockey League took its television package to a new network and for two good reasons&mdash;more money and more prime viewing time.The switch by the NHL from the Columbia Broadcasting System to the National Broadcasting Company was a shocker in both hockey and TV circles.It was a case of the NHL getting a better deal all round according to NHL Vice-President Don V. Ruck in making the stunning diclosure.The joint announcement of the $7 million three-year pact to telecast an NHL game-of-the-week and Stanley Cup playoffs beginning with the 1972-73 season, was made by Ruck and Carl Lindemann Jr., vice-president of NBC Sports.The deal amounts to double the money the NHL received from CBS and it will also expand greatly the NHL&rsquo;s TV coverages and exposure during prime weeknight viewing time as well as the select Sunday afternoon slot on the network.The switch over to NBC followed the expiry of their contract with CBS, which took over the telecasting in 1967. One of the agreements of the NHL-CBS pact was the latter&rsquo;s right of first refusal in further dealing. The NHL hiked its asking price to CBS for a new contract and the network didn&rsquo;t meet the price thus freeing the NHL to negotiate with another network. However, CBS reportedly made a counter-offer, which the NHL rejected in favor of its new deal with NBC.The reported $7 million pact with NBC means the money will be divided among the 13 American cities in the NHL with the return considerably higher to each club than the price which CBS was paying for the TV package.Canadian cities in the NHL&mdash;Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver&mdash;do not share in the NBC-TV pot. Montreal and Toronto are reported to receive $1 million a year each from their own Canadian network TV deal.Ruck said he was excited about the new television hook-up for the NHL, which was actually returning to a network that was responsible for launching the league into network television back in 1966 when it telecast the Stanley Cup playoffs. But the NHL and NBC couldn&rsquo;t negotiate a contract in 1967 and that&rsquo;s when CBS stepped in to save the day for the National League.Commenting on NBC&rsquo;s return to hockey, Ruck said, &ldquo;I suppose the situation was similar to that of the negotiations of 1966, except this time the NHL will be on NBC. We are pleased with the terms of this three-year agreement and I am especially happy that NBC has agreed to two prime time broadcasts during the regular season and at least one and possibly two more prime time broadcasts during the Stanley Cup playoff finals. We feel this is the direction in which the NHL should go. In addition, we like the fact that our Sunday game of the week, with a few exceptions, will start at 3 p.m., instead of 2 p.m. This extra hour makes a big difference to our players; especially when the teams and players involved in a Sunday afternoon network game are coming off a Saturday night game.&rdquo;Ruck added, &ldquo;Another change of major significance to the National Hockey League is that it has been agreed to eliminate the one sixty-second commercial during each period of game action. While that sixty-second commercial caused less interruption than most people think, we are, nonetheless, pleased to get rid of it completely. Henceforth, there will be only 30-second commercials used during game action and over seven years we have demonstrated that a 30-second commercial does not in any way interrupt the normal flow of the hockey game.&rdquo;Speaking for NBC, Lindemann said, &ldquo;We are delighted our negotiations with NHL have been successful. We feel hockey is going to the top. Its growth in the United States has been amazing and we hope to add to that growth.&rdquo;Lindemann added. &ldquo;From the standpoint of the total sports picture, we feel this is a major move for NBC. It adds hockey to our large family of sports which includes the National Football League and this season&rsquo;s Super Bowl, major league baseball including the All Star game and the World Series, the NCAA basketball tournament, and outstanding pro golf tournaments.The NBC hockey schedule, in addition to prime time telecasts in December and March, and prime time games during the Stanley Cup finals, will include a game each Sunday afternoon commencing on January 7, plus a Sunday afternoon game during the Stanley Cup playoffs. &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

NHL Jumps Back To NBC For More Lucrative TV Deal

<div class="byline">BY BOB VERDI</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-02671/3221393-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg"></div>CHICAGO&mdash;He came from an uncharted Canadian hamlet called Point Anne; with blond hair flowing and muscles bulging and face smiling. He looked like a star, did Robert Marvin Hull.Fifteen years later, he departs this city for Winnipeg. Still somewhat blond, still awesome, still smiling. But, although he leaves for a bonanza elsewhere, he leaves behind a fortune of memories. For what a star he was, and is.&ldquo;When I think of Hull. I think of Gordie. Howe, the all-time great I had with the Detroit Red Wings.&rdquo; remarked an elated General Manager Tommy Ivan when Bobby autographed his first Black Hawk contract on that October morning in 1957.The signature made Hull, age 18, the youngest hockey player in Chicago&rsquo;s history. But, more significantly, Robert Marvin Hull was to continue making history in 15 brilliant seasons with the Black Hawks.From that first goal against Boston in the Stadium (&ldquo;not a very artistic one, as I recall,&rdquo; says Bobby), to the 666th and final one as a Hawk in last April&rsquo;s playoffs at New York, Hull has been the consummate athlete&mdash;an electric performer who became the National Hockey League&rsquo;s premier attraction. But, perhaps more important, a personality.He is the star of stars, yet can be one of the guys. He is constantly badgered for this and that, yet he always has time to oblige a youngster&rsquo;s autograph pad. While his famous slapshot is a terrifying 115 mph. blur, the man behind it can be almost gentle&mdash;an excellent conversationalist, a jokester, just a nice fellow who carries his fame as aptly as he jettisons a puck.&ldquo;If people think enough of me to want to shake my hand or talk to me or interview me,&rdquo; he always says, &ldquo;then time must be made for it.&rdquo;&ldquo;I sure am a lucky lad. aren&rsquo;t I,&rdquo; Hull grinned at that rookies&rsquo; Hawk training camp. Sure, he had scored 33 goals in his first season of junior competition with the St. Catharines Tee-Pees, but this was the National Hockey League.Young Bobby was not over-matched, though. He authored two modest seasons, managing 13 and 18 goals, but then he blossomed into the robust scoring mechanism he still is today. In 1959-60 he bagged 39 goals and 42 assists to garner his first of four scoring titles. He dipped to 31 goals the next winter, but he more than atoned for that come 1962.Hull surged with 35 goals in his last 31 games that year, and in a meaningless season finale at New York, The Golden Jet found the net at 4:58 of the first period for his 50th. Only two players&mdash;Montreal&rsquo;s Maurice (Rocket) Richard and Boom Boom Geoffrion&mdash;had ever before reached 50 in a season. And here was Hull a mere youth of 23.For pure courage, hockey people will forever remember the 1963 playoffs against Detroit. In the opener, Hull scored twice on wrist shots; his shoulder, after all, was separated. In the second outing his nose was smashed into a bloody mess. Medics figured there was no way he could return until at least the fifth game, and yet there was a way.About three hours before Game 4, Hull walked into a Detroit hotel lobby. His eyes were black as night, his face puffed, and splints prevented his nose from collapsing. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m playing tonight,&rdquo; said Bobby, And he did. And he played miraculously throughout the series. Barely able to breathe, he rammed in three goals in the final game. Despite his heroics, the Hawks lost.Being a man of conviction, Hull has had his tiffs with management. He once left training camp for three days because the brass wouldn&rsquo;t allow his two sons to skate at practice. Three years ago, he missed the first month of the season because he said management reneged on certain promises contained in his four year contract. But being a man of stern stuff, Hull was all business when he laced his skates. And The Golden Jet erased record after record.The place was the Stadium; the date was March 12, 1966. On assists by Red Hay and Lou Angotti, Hull unleashed a 50-foot slap shot through New York goalie Cesare Maniago for his 51st goal of the year&mdash;another NHL milestone. He finished with 54 that season, and 52 the next winter, and 58 in 1968-69.That, too, was a remarkable year. Hull broke his jaw in December, but chose to return by donning a football helmet with a face protector and cushions galore to guard the injury. If that wasn&rsquo;t uncomfortable enough, Hull&rsquo;s diet for 40 days consisted of a gooey mush he called &ldquo;brownish ugh.&rdquo; Why did he insist on playing against the desires of his doctor and management?<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0398/3221386-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="553" height="584"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOBBY HULL</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Because,&rdquo; he grinned from his wired mouth, &ldquo;they&rsquo;re starting to call me Dennis&rsquo; brother.&rdquo;In recent years. Hawk moguls decreed that Hull was to play a more disciplined brand of hockey. Left wing was his alley, not the whole rink. But he adjusted. The league legislated against the curved blade which Hull adores. But he scored anyway&hellip;50 times last year. And he skated with a succession of centers, most of them fameless and unable to serve him justly. But he kept his mouth shut.And so, who is Bobby Hull? The perfect mesomorph, he&rsquo;s been labeled. A farm boy at heart who&rsquo;s as comfortable with a Hereford as he is with his legion of followers. He&rsquo;s the man who makes fans leap from their seats and makes goalies wear masks. He made great friends, like his favorite former center, Phil Esposito, and his frequent right wing, Chico Maki, and almost every teammate and fan he met. And he had a few enemies, like John Ferguson and Bryan (Buggy) Watson and a certain local sports columnist. He was, be consensus, the most exciting athlete the National Hockey League has enjoyed, and probably the finest athlete Chicago has known.But, to retell a frequent tale, you could never convince that nine-year old girl in Toronto that Bobby Hull was just another great athlete. She was one of hundreds awaiting the Golden Jet when the dressing room door swung open after a game a couple of years back. The team was in a hurry for a plane.Hull spotted the bashful girl and asked her name.&ldquo;Catherine,&rdquo; she blushed.The Golden Jet smiled the famous smile, took pen in hand, and questioned her again.&ldquo;How do you spell that,&rdquo; he gushed, &ldquo;with a C or a K?&rdquo;That&rsquo;s Bobby Hull, and Winnipeg will love him. &#9632;

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Hull Defection Ends 15-Year Golden Era

<div class="byline">BY GIL SMITH</div>MONTREAL&mdash;The chance of a rookie center cracking the Canadiens lineup used to provoke gales of laughter from Montreal observers, up till recently.The club used to be so strong down the middle that natural centers were obliged to play on the wing if they were to get any ice time.Pivots like Red Berenson, Jude Drouin and more recently Larry Pleau, failed to gain steady employment in Montreal. And, they were only a few of many talented centermen who once skated for the Habs.Things have changed, however, and one who could benefit greatly from it is graduating amateur Dave Gardner. He looks like a kid who could be in the right place at the right time. At least he&rsquo;ll get every opportunity to prove that he belongs, which is more than some of the others got.Gardner arrives via the Toronto Marlies of the OHA Jr. &lsquo;A&rsquo; league, where he was a center on a prolific line that included Billy Harris and Steve Shutt. That trio accounted for 370 scoring points last season, including 173 goals. Gardner wound up sharing the league scoring title with linemate Harris. Both had 129 points, though Gardner played fewer games.Harris was the first draft pick of the N.Y. Islanders in the amateur draft, this past June. Shutt, the No. 4 pick, was grabbed by Montreal and figures to again be a teammate of Gardner&rsquo;s.Early reports on Gardner say that he&rsquo;s an artistic puck-handler, has size, but may lack aggressiveness. That&rsquo;s the same kind of report we once heard about Jean Beliveau.Interestingly, it is the retirement of Beliveau that has led to the opportunity now facing Gardner. Since Big Jean hung up his gear, Habs have been hunting a center for breakaway artist Yvan Cournoyer. The trick is to find someone who can get the puck to Cournoyer when he&rsquo;s on the move. Gardner may be the man.If so he&rsquo;ll get the job of setting Cournoyer up, though it&rsquo;s to be remembered that Gardner is a right-hand shot who&rsquo;d be passing to Cournoyer on his wrong side. However, he didn&rsquo;t have any trouble passing to Billy Harris last season, so the prospects look good.Gardner, if he works out, will help Habs regain some of their once-vaunted strenght at midice. They still have Henri Richard who, though aging, continues to be one of the hardest-working members of the team. Richard&rsquo;s production last season (12-32&mdash;44) was not impressive, in fact it was the third-lowest total he&rsquo;s recorded in a 17-year NHL career. But Henri still moves the puck well and his experience is invaluable. &#9632;

Canadiens Seen High On Gardner

CLEVELAND&mdash;The Cleveland Barons are remaining in the American Hockey League for the 1972-73 season and will continue to function as a development club for the Minnesota North Stars.Owner Nick Mileti made the joint announcement following the awarding of a WHA franchise to Cleveland. Mileti also said John Muckier has been retained as general manager and coach of the AHL Barons. &#9632;

Muckier Buck With Barons

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Cover-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-01563/3223538-1-eng-US/cover-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bobby Hull and his wife Hold check for $1 million.</figcaption></div>FANS CLAMOR FOR BOBBY HULLHABS&rsquo; COACH SEES DEPTH STRONG POINT&mdash;Page 19TEAM CANADA PICKS SQUAD FOR RUSSIANS&mdash;Page 14NHL-NBC INK LUCRATIVENEW TV DEAL&mdash;Page 2CHANGING FACE OF THE NHL TEAMS&mdash;Page 5 &#9632;

Cover-01

HULLNHL CONTROVERSY RAGES ON—Pages 14-15

CHICAGO&mdash;The Chicago Black Hawks have been strangely silent through all the Bobby Hull-Team Canada controversy that has swept the nation but don&rsquo;t be lulled into a false sense of security by their tranquility.The Hawks have instructed their battery of lawyers to go full steam ahead in their impending case against Hull.&ldquo;Our lawyers are studying the whole matter, inside and out, and until a decision is reached, we have nothing to sav.&rdquo; said a Hawks&rsquo; spokesman.Chicago team president William Wirtz has made no public declaration on the loss of the club&rsquo;s super star to the Winnipeg Jets of the new World Hockey Association. General manager Tommy Ivan and Coach Billy Reay have been unavailable for comment.But in spite of all this, the Hawks are readying an injunction to keep Hull from performing in the WHA with Winnipeg until at least the case is aired thoroughly in court. Conceivably this could run past the start of the next hockey season, which is something the Hawks are very much cognizant of.The Hawks&rsquo; backs are up because Hull rejected them for a better offer when his contract with Chicago terminated at the conclusion of the 1971-72 NHL season. The Hawks are going to take Hull into court on the basis they have a perpetual option on his services&mdash;it&rsquo;s in the fine print of the contract&mdash;unless they give him his release, which they have no intention of doing.The NHL could run the risk of losing in the Hull case, which would have repercussions around the league. But several of the clubs are anxious to test the validity of their contracts and are steaming ahead with their own cases against WHA jumpers.The NHL said the Hull case is a matter for the Black Hawks and they are not directly involved. President Clarence Campbell reportedly told the press in Washington, where he appeared recently at a Congressional investigation on pro sports, that if it were up to him he woul proceed immediately with court action against Hull.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-01790/3221293-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="572" height="582"><figcaption class="caption-body">WILLIAM WIRTZ&hellip;Strangely Silent</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Hawks’ Injunction Could Keen Hull From WHA

<div class="byline">BY BOB VERDI</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-01796/3221355-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">While his three sons look admiringly at the giant-sized $1,000,000 check, the great Bobby HULL addresses press conerence in St. Paul, Minn., after signing contract with WHA Winnipeg Jets. Bobby&rsquo;s wife and WHA President GARY DAVIDSON are interested onlookers. Man who made it all possible was BEN HATSKIN, who sits smilingly in background. Hatskin owns Jets for which Hull will play.</figcaption></div>WINNIPEG&mdash;Considering that the Chicago Black Hawks opened the summer in quest of fortification at left wing, one would have to say that their rebuilding blueprint struck a serious snag on the morning of June 27.That was the day that Robert Marvin Hull, the most famous Black Hawk of them all, severed his 15-year ties with the Windy City Six and joined the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association. The fee for his transfer to the other network: $2.75 million for ten seasons.Hull&rsquo;s switch snatched from the National Hockey League the most electric and personable athlete it ever enjoyed, and deprived the Black Hawks of the best player they ever had and a public relations man par excellence. Plus, it brought the embyronic World Hockey Association a fair share of credibility, just one year and one day after word of its birth leaked out of Hollywood, Fla.There was a tinge of Hollywood on June 27, too, when the Golden Jet signed the most historic of his many autographs and became a Winnipeg Jet. Hull&rsquo;s contract&mdash;the largest known in sports history&mdash;was so prolific that it warranted an international extravaganza featuring motorcades, speeches, and of course, a cocktail party.&ldquo;This has been the greatest day, the great thrill of my hockey career,&rdquo; beamed Hull, who couldn&rsquo;t help looking prosperous over his windfall. First, he accepted a certified check in St. Paul, Minn., for $1 million from World Hockey Association Properties Ltd. This was Hull&rsquo;s bonus for signing, and it was unconditionally his.Then Hull and wife Joanne, plus three of his five children, plus a bevy of WHA officials, plus media folks, enplaned on a chartered flight for Winnipeg, where the 33-year-old Hull autographed the Jets&rsquo; portion of his pact: $250,000 a season for five years as a player or, if he wishes, as player-coach; and $100,000 a season for five more years as a member of the Winnipeg front office.Besides Hull, the two most relieved gentlemen in the entourage were Ben Hatskin, the 54-year-old owner of the Jets, and Harvey Wineberg, Hull&rsquo;s classy financial advisor from Chicago. This was the pair of negotiators who hammered out the detailed contracts&mdash;39 pages in all&mdash;which included provisions should Hull get injured, should either or both the WHA or Jets collapse, or should the Black Hawks sue (a strong possibility) and win.&ldquo;No matter what situation arises, Bobby will be well taken care of,&rdquo; said Wineberg, who handled his pressurized tasks with so much dignity that he even earned frequent plaudits from the Black Hawks brass, notably President Bill Wirtz.For the good-natured, roundish Hatskin, the Hull Happening provided a good last laugh. When he started the whole thing by drafting Hull, nearly everyone in the shinny world emitted loud giggles that this was all a stunt and, if Hatskin was indeed serious, he couldn&rsquo;t steal Hull anyway.&ldquo;But we did it,&rdquo; grinned Hatskin. &ldquo;Didn&rsquo;t we?&rdquo;Indeed he did, and the entire event was first class.The day dawned with Hull wheeling toward a St. Paul private club in a 1934 Rolls Royce. Smiling, shaking hands and characteristically charming, Hull inked the WHA portion of his contract there.It was consummated in the United States as a tax break to Hull. The maximum bite in America on the million can be half; in Canada, this &ldquo;up front&rdquo; bonanza could have dwindled by up to 70 percent.Hull signed his WHA contract with 11 different pens&mdash;symbolic of the eleven other league members which contributed to the treasury to obtain Hull&rsquo;s signature. Not all clubs chipped in equal amounts.&ldquo;Benny wants these pens back,&rdquo; grimmed Hull at Hatskin. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s gonna sell them. He needs the money.&rdquo;Hatskin, delighted at it all despite his hollowed pockets, just smiled.The procession then took off for Winnipeg. The chartered airliner was packed full, and it was not a 727. But Hatskin kept everyone in good spirits by popping for steak and champagne. And Hull made a point of thanking everyone aboard, not for anything in particular, but just because he&rsquo;s that kind of guy.At the Winnipeg airport, another crowd awaited, and then another motorcade brought the troupe to the Fort Garry Hotel. Here Hull signed and then the clan departed for Portage and Main, the city&rsquo;s busiest intersection. where a healthy throng watched The Golden Jet don his No. 9 jersey&mdash;Winnipeg style&mdash;for the first time.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to try my darndest to make the WHA go.&rdquo; said Hull. &ldquo;I think a number of other NHL players will come over before the season starts, and you&rsquo;ll see some fine hockey. I sincerely believe that by the end of the year, we&rsquo;ll have a few WHA teams capable of beating some NHL expansion teams.&rdquo;Hull stressed that, as good as the Winnipeg ofter was, he felt he might have remained in Chicago had the Black Hawk brass been more aggrssive in its desire to sign him. Wineberg, who declined to discuss at length the Hawks&rsquo; negotiation posture, said that a very fine offer was made to Hull (reportedly $1 million for five years). But Wineberg admitted that it was offered only two weeks before Hull signed with Winnipeg.Hull signed with the Hawks at age 18, thus becoming the youngest athlete in the team&rsquo;s history. After a couple of modest seasons&mdash;13 and 18 goals&mdash;he bloomed into a fantastic scoring machine which he still is today. He totaled 666 goals in a Hawk uniform, was the top active NHL scorer, and second only to Detroit&rsquo;s retired Gordie Howe on theall-time list. Hull reached or surpassed the 50-goal mark in a record five campaigns, the last being last season.The Saga between Hull and the WHA began late last November, when Hatskin confronted Hull in Vancouver, where the Hawks were playing he Canucks. Hatskin dangled $1 million for five years. There was some interest expressed by Hull, but under Wineberg&rsquo;s watchful eye, the contract grew to is $2.75 million proportions over the next seven months.Hull expressed delight at the idea of living in the wide open spaces of Winnipeg (he&rsquo;s a farm boy at heart), and said his plans included moving out of Chicago during the summer and into a ranch &ldquo;where the kids can have plenty of fresh air and freedom.&rdquo;&ldquo;I have no regrets about leaving Chicago,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and I look forward to the challenge of the WHA.&rdquo;Meanwhile, the Black Hawks resumed&mdash;make that accelerated&mdash;their search for left wing help. But they&rsquo;ll never find another Robert Marvin Hull. &#9632;

f0003-01

Bobby Hull Becomes Winnipeg Jet—For $2.75 Million

<div class="byline">Ken McKenzie&#x2019;s</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-01854/3221438-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="512" height="541"></div>&bull; SOME OF THE keenest hockey fans throughout the United States and Canada will accompany us on our trip to Russia to see the Canada vs. Russia games. Canada&rsquo;s team is made up of NHL All Stars and should comprise a formidable aggregation&hellip;Carl Voss, former NHL referee-in-chief and now retired in Florida, will be included in our party&hellip;Marv Albert, WNBC Radio&rsquo;s Director of Sports and the voice of the New York Rangers, has been selected Sportscaster of the Year in New York State by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters&rsquo; Association&hellip;A total of 311 members of the news media covered the NHL annual meetings in Montreal this past-June&hellip;This is believed to be the largest news coverage for an annual sports meeting&hellip;Howard Baldwin, president of the New England Whalers, reports he has signed 19 players and seven with NHL experience. He is particularly proud of his defense corps of Brad Selwood. Ricky Ley, Jim Dorey and Bob Brown&hellip;Philadelphia Flyers outscored the opposition on Spectrum ice last season 111 to 97. On the road, the Flyers were outscored 139 to 89&hellip;Of the 81 points Bobby Clarke scored for the Flyers, 68 proved to be important, tops on the club&hellip;Bob Cole of Newfoundland travelled further than anyone to take part in the Hockey Night in Canada golf tournament in Toronto recently. Bob is one of the finest play-by-play men in the business and did an outstanding job covering the Stanley Cup playoffs over CBC Radio&hellip;Dr. Harry Brown, general manager of the Minneapolis-Junior Bruins, advises that Minnesota currently has the world&rsquo;s largest junior summer program. There are 22 teams playing a 31-game schedule. Brown is also working towards developing a new Mid-Continent Junior League made up of United States and Canadian teams&hellip;Ted Garvin of the Port Huron Red Wings rates as one of the top coaches outside the major leagues. Ted has piloted the Port Huron Red Wings to the International Hockey League playoff championship for the last two years&hellip;New York Islanders report season ticket sales have been brisk for the upcomong season. The new NHL entry has passed the 6,000 mark&hellip;Wren Blair of Minnesota is the NHL&rsquo;s happiest general manager. The astute Blair had the foresight to sign all but two of his players to multi-year contracts by March 15. He is not going through the same problems of so-many GM&rsquo;s today signing their players for the 1972-73 season&hellip;The latest Harris Sports Survey shows that hockey interest made the biggest public gain of all sports. The number of sports fans who say they &lsquo;follow&rsquo; the game rose from 17 to 24 percent. This is over a one-year period from 1971 to 1972.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-02805/3221431-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="278" height="434"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ted Garvin</figcaption></div>&bull; THE NHL coaching guessing game continues. Earl Ingarfield, who earlier turned down the New York Islanders&rsquo; job to become chief scout, is reportedly pondering the offer again and is now close to signing. If Ingarfield inks a contract, it will leave only California without a coach and strangely, no names are actually being rumored for the job&hellip;Winnipeg&rsquo;s Ben Hatskin proved himself quite a judge of hockey talent when he signed Chicago&rsquo;s Bobby Hull for his Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; team. But he hasn&rsquo;t always been right when it comes to talent, however. When he was running a night club some years ago he fired a girl singer and lectured his booking agent for sending him such a mediocre plain-looking entertainer. The name? Barbra Streisand&hellip;For the second straight year, Phil Esposito of Boston, who won the scoring title and led all NHL players in total shots on goal. Esposito, who had 66 goals last season, took 426 shots for a percentage of 15.4. He holds the league record of 550 shots on goal, set in 1970-71 when he scored 76 goals. Bobby Orr had the second highest shots on goal. He fired 353 shots on opposition nets and scored 37 times for a 10.4 percentage&hellip;The 1971-72 season was the 12th in a row that the National Hockey League has shown an increase in regular season attendance. During the past two seasons, NHL arenas have averaged close to 90 percent capacity&hellip;Regular scheduled games last season were viewed by 7,609,368 fans while another 582,666 watched the 36 playoff games. The regular season attendance was 351,691 more than the 1970-71 regular season attendance of 7,257,677&hellip;Frank Brimsek, the former Boston goaling great, has a nephew who&rsquo;ll be playing for the Middlebury College team this winter&hellip;During the 1971-72 season the Philadelphia Flyers used a total of 40 players, second to the St. Louis Blues total of 41&hellip;Bobby Clarke and Boh Kelly were the only members of the Flyers to appear in all 78 Fiver games last season&hellip;Lefty McFadden, genial GM of the Dayton Gems, has started a gigantic season ticket drive. The Gems have shown a healthy profit in six of the eight years that they&rsquo;ve operated in Dayton&hellip;Roy Storey will be the new play-by-play announcer of the Los Angeles Kings. Formerly broadcaster for the California Golden Seals, Storey is an experienced pro and very adept at handling all major sports.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-03701/3221424-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="274" height="448"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ben Hatskin</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0004-01

PASSING THE PUCK

Some people have written THE HOCKEY NEWS with the suggestion that we might possibly save space for more readable player features or more action pictures by eliminating all game summaries during the coming season.What do you the readers think? We would like to hear your reply to this very important query by simply filling out this form and returning it to THE HOCKEY NEWS, 1434 St. Catherine St., West, Montreal, 107, Canada. PLEASE MARK YOUR ENVELOPES: &lsquo;What The Readers Want.&rsquo;1. I would prefer more features and action pictures instead of the game summaries. YES &#9633; NO &#9633;2. I wish THE HOCKEY NEWS to continue the game summaries because they are invaluable. YES &#9633; NO &#9633;One answer&mdash;either No. 1 or No. 2. Not both.Thank You &#9632;

WHAT DO THE READERS WANT?

Founded October 1st, 1947Published weekly except monthly June through September by Ken-Will Publishing Co. Ltd. 1434 St. Catherine Street West Montreal 107, Canada.U.S. Office: 16 Maple Street, Rouses Point, N.Y. 12979Charlie Halpin Editorial DirectorKenneth William McKenzie President and PublisherLyndon Little Assistant To EditorYearly SUBSCRIPTION Rates: $7.00 in Canada $8.00 in the U.S.A. and $10.00 in Foreign Countries.Postpage paid at Rouses Point, N.Y. 12979. Send address changes to 1434 St. Catherine Street West, Suite 212, Montr&eacute;al, 107, P.Q.Second class mail&mdash;Registration No. 1327Printed in CanadaVol. 25 MONTREAL, AUGUST, 1972 No. 34 &#9632;

Hockey News OFFICIAL NATIONAL HOCKEY WEEKLY

<h2>Good Luck Bobby NHL Fans&rsquo; Refrain</h2>As a long time Chicago Black Hawk fan, I might be expected to be especially bitter over Bobby Hull&rsquo;s jump to the WHA. However, after many years of watching the Golden Jet and having seen the excitement and color he has added to hockey and the honor he has brought to the game both from his sportmanship on the ice and his charitable activities off the ice, he has paid off with dividends anything he owed to the fans and the NHL.His hockey greatness and honor should not be questioned now or ever because of his decision to switch leagues. The records he holds are ones of which he has every reason to be proud, and no apology is needed for accumulating only 604 goals in fifteen seasons.Although I am sad about his departure from the Black Hawks and the National Hockey League, I hope all fans will join me in wishing Bobby Hull the best of luck and success in his new job. After all it is the least we can do for a man who has given fifteen years of his career to thrilling fans across the U.S. and Canada in NHL cities.NANCYE EGGERT, Countryside, Ill.<h2>Hadfield Proves Worth As Rangers&rsquo; Leader</h2>I think tribute should be paid to New York Ranger star Vic Hadfield.Here is a player well suited for his title as Ranger captain. He has reached his all-time scoring high with a 50-goal season last year and it has not gone to his head.He can always find time to notice people and speak to them at practice sessions or elsewhere. He also displayed fortitude during last season&rsquo;s playoffs when he competed with an injured hand.G. SMITH, Herricks, N.Y.<h2>Cleveland Rated As Proven Hockey City</h2>Allow me to express how disappointed I and thousands of other Greater Cleveland hockey enthusiasts are over the failure of Cleveland to be accepted into the NHL. It is quite evident to everyone that the selection of Washington, D.C. over a proven hockey city such as Cleveland with 37 years experience, was a political move. With impending legal battles over the reserve clause and NHL players jumping to the new World Hockey Association, what better city than Washington could the NHL have chosen?KEVIN P. MARSH, Cleveland, Ohio<h2>Apps Overlooked In West&rsquo;s Top Ten</h2>I was a little disappointed to see the name of Syl Apps of the Pittsburgh Penguins missing from the top 10 scorers in the NHL West Division in the July edition of THE HOCKEY NEWS. Apps, who had 15 goals and 44 assists, should have been placed between Bill Goldsworthy of the Minnesota North Stars and Murray Oliver, also of the North Stars. It was an understandable mistake, but all Pittsburgh fans know what an asset Apps is to the team and I think he should be recognized as-one of the division&rsquo;s leading scorers.DOUG SIPES, McKees Rocks, Pa. &#9632;

Fan Forum

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-01789/3221583-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="546" height="427"><figcaption class="caption-body">RICK LEY&hellip;Jumped to WHA</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-02675/3221576-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="480" height="423"><figcaption class="caption-body">ED WESTFALL&hellip;Into Expansion</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03493/3221569-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="481" height="423"><figcaption class="caption-body">JEAN-GUY GENDRON&hellip;Hung Up Skates</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-04329/3221562-1-eng-US/f0005-042.jpg" title="f0005-04" width="486" height="425"><figcaption class="caption-body">TIM HORTON&hellip;Drafted by Sabres</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-05211/3221555-1-eng-US/f0005-052.jpg" title="f0005-05" width="484" height="427"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOB PULFORD&hellip;Turned to Coaching</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-06132/3221548-1-eng-US/f0005-062.jpg" title="f0005-06" width="471" height="429"><figcaption class="caption-body">PHIL MYRE&hellip;Fresh Start</figcaption></div><h2>TORONTO</h2><h3>Goal</h3>PARENT, BERNIEPlante, Jacques<h3>Defense</h3>Baun, BobGlennie, BrianLEY, RICKMcKenny, JimPelyk, MikeSELWOOO BRAD<h3>Center</h3>HARRISON, JIMKeon, DaveUllman, Norm<h3>R. Wing</h3>Ellis, RonJarry, PierreKehoe. RkkMacMILLAN, BILLYSPENCER, BRIANTrottier, Guy<h3>L. Wing</h3>Dupere, DenisHenderson, PaulMARSHALL, DONMonahan, GarrySittier, DarrylPlayer Changes: 7<h2>CHICAGO</h2><h3>Goal</h3>DESJARDINS, GERRYEsposito, TonySmith, Gary<h3>Defense</h3>Jarrett, DougKorab. JerryMagnuson, KeithStapleton, PatWhite, Bill<h3>Cender</h3>Angotti, LouCAMPBELL, BRYANLACROIX, ANDREMartin, PitMikita, Stan<h3>R. Wing</h3>Koroll, CliffMaggs, DarrylMaki, ChicoNESTERENKO, EricPappin, Jim<h3>L. Wing</h3>Bordeleau, ChrisHULL, BOBBYHull, DennisPlayer Changes: 5TOTAL PLAYER CHANGES:<h2>BUFFALO</h2><h3>Goal</h3>Crozier, RogerDryden, Dove<h3>Defense</h3>HAMILTON, ALHillmon, LarryMcKAY, RAYPraft, TracyRobitaille, MikeWATSON, JIM<h3>Center</h3>Luce, DonLorentz, JimMeehan, GerryPerreault, GilRobert, Rene<h3>R. Wing</h3>Atkinson, SteveBYERS, MIKELAWSON, DANNY<h3>L. Wing</h3>Martin, RichardMORRISON, GEORGERamsay, CraigWyrozub, RandyPlayer Changes: 6<h2>ST. LOUIS</h2><h3>Goal</h3>Caron, JacquesMcDUFFE, PETERWAKELY, ERNIE<h3>Defense</h3>ARBOUR, JOHNBREWER, CARLDupont, AndreEvans, ChrisHORNUNG, LARRYPicard, NoelPloger, BarclayPLAGER, BILLPlager, Bob<h3>Center</h3>CRISP, TERRYO&rsquo;Shea, DonnySt. Marseille, FrankUnger, Garry<h3>R. Wing</h3>Murphy, MikeO&rsquo;Shea, KevinRoberto, PhilSabourin, Gary<h3>L. Wing</h3>BENNETT, CURTEgers, JackLavender, BrianODROWSKI, GERRYPlayer Changes: 8Goal: 11 Defense: 21<h2>VANCOUVER</h2><h3>Goal</h3>Dyck, EdGARDNER, GEORGEWilson, Dune<h3>Defense</h3>Boddy, GregGuevremont, JoshKearns, DennisQUINN, PATSCHELLA, JOHNTallon, DaleWilkins, Barry<h3>Center</h3>Boudrias, AndreKurtenbach, OrlandLemieux, RichardWARD, RON<h3>R. Wing</h3>CONNELLY, WAYNEPAIEMENT, ROSAIRESchmautz, Bob<h3>L. Wing</h3>Baton, DaveLaltfnde, BobbyMoki, WayneTAYLOR, TEDPlayer changes; 7<h2>PHILADELPHIA</h2><h3>Goal</h3>Fovell, DougGAMBLE, BRUCEMcLeod, DonTaylor, Bob<h3>Defense</h3>Ashbee, BarryBrossart, BillFoley, RickHALE, LARRYHillman, WayneHUGHES, BRENTVan Impe, EdWatson, Joe<h3>Center</h3>Clarke, BobClement, BillJOYAL, EDDIEMocLeish, Rick<h3>R. Wing</h3>Dornhoefer, GaryFlett, BillMORRISON, LEWNolet, Simon<h3>L. Wing</h3>GENDRON, JEAN-GUYKelly, BobLonsberry, RossPARIZEAU, MIKEPlayer Changes: 7Center: 11 R. Wing: 16<h2>DETROIT</h2><h3>Goal</h3>Brown, AndyDALEY, JOESmith, Al<h3>Defense</h3>Bergman, GoryBrown, ArnieHARRIS, RONHART, GERRYJohnston, LarryStackhouse, RonWALL, BOB<h3>Center</h3>Berenson, RedDelvecchio, AlexDionne, Marcel<h3>R. Wing</h3>Collins, BillEcclestone, TimRedmond, MickeyRochefort, LeonVOLMAR, DOUG<h3>L. Wing</h3>Boucho, HenryCharron, GuyJOHNSON, DANNYKarlander, AlLibett, NickPlayer Changes: 6<h2>PITTSBURGH</h2><h3>Goal</h3>Binkley, LesRutherford, Jim<h3>Defense</h3>Burrows, DoveHORTON, TIMEdestrand, DarrylKannegiesser, SheldonRupp, DuaneWatson, Bryan<h3>Center</h3>Apps, SylLEITER, BOBBYHextali, BryonSchock, Ron<h3>R. Wing</h3>Harbaruk, NickMcDonough, AlPronovost, JeanSchinkel, KenShack, Eddie<h3>L. Wing</h3>Cordwell, SteveFonteyne, VaiMcCREARY, KEITHPolis, GregSTEWART, JOHNPlayer Changes: 4L. Wing: 14 GRAND TOTAL PLAYER CHANGES. 73<h2>BOSTON</h2><h3>Goal</h3>Cheevers, GerryJohnston, Ed<h3>Defense</h3>Awrey, DonGreen, TedOrr, BobbySmith, DallasVadnais, Carl<h3>Center</h3>Bailey, AceEsposito, PhilSanderson, DerekStanfield, Fred<h3>R. Wing</h3>Hodge, KenMcKENZIE, JOHNWESTFALL, ED<h3>L. Wing</h3>Bucyk, JohnCashman, WayneMorcotte, DonWalton, MikePlayer Changes: 2<h2>CALIFORNIA</h2><h3>Goal</h3>KURT, GARYMeloche, Gilles<h3>Defense</h3>Redmond, DickJohnston, MarshallMarshall, BertShmyr, PaulSmith, RickStewart, Bob<h3>Center</h3>Boldirev, IvonMcKechnie, WaltSheehan, Bob<h3>R. Wing</h3>Carleton, WayneFERGUSON, NORMLeach, RegPatrick, CraigPinder, GerryWEBSTER, TOM<h3>L. Wing</h3>Croteau, GaryGilbertson, StanHICKE, ERNIEJarrett, GoryJohnston, JoeyPlayer Changes: 4<h2>NEW YORK</h2><h3>Goal</h3>Giacomin, EdVillemure, Gilles<h3>Defense</h3>DeMarco, AbDOAK, GARYDOREY, JIMNeilson, JimPork, BradRolfe, DoleSeiling, Rod<h3>Center</h3>GOYETTE, PHILRatelle, JeanRousseau, BobbyStemkowski, PeteTkaczuk, Walt<h3>R. Wing</h3>Fairbairn, BillGilbert, RodMacGregor, BruceStewart, Ron<h3>L. Wing</h3>Carr, GeneHadfield, VicIrvine, TedSather, GlenPlayer Changes: 3<h2>MINNESOTA</h2><h3>Goal</h3>Moniago, CesareWorsley, Lorne<h3>Defense</h3>Gibbs, BarryHarris, TedMohns, DougO&rsquo;Brien, DennisReid, Tom<h3>Center</h3>Burns, CharlieDrouin, JudeHAMPSON, TEDHextali, DennisLABOSSIERE, GORDOliver, Murray<h3>R. Wing</h3>CAMERON, CRAIGGoldsworthy, BillNevin, BobNanne, Lou<h3>L. Wing</h3>Grant, DonnyParise, Jean-PaulPrentice, DeanPlayer Changes: 3<h2>MONTREAL</h2>Dryden, KenDEJORDY, DENISMYRE, PHIL<h3>Defense</h3>Bouchard, PierreHarper, Terry,Hoganson, DaleLaperriere, JacquesLapointe, GuyMurdoch, BobSavard, SergeTremblay, J.C.<h3>Center</h3>Lefley, ChuckLemaire, Jacques,Mohovlich, PetePLEAU, LARRYRichard, Henri<h3>R. Wing</h3>Cournoyer, YvanHoule, RejeanLafleur, GuyLarose, Claude<h3>L. Wing</h3>Mohovlich, FrankRoberts, JimTardif, MarcPlayer Changes: 3<h2>LOS ANGELES</h2><h3>Goal</h3>Edwards, GarySMITH, BILLYVachon, RogatienDefense:BARRIE, DOUGBrown, LarryCurtis, PaulHowell, HorryMarotte, GilWOYTOWICH, BOB<h3>Center</h3>Backstrom, RalphGoring, ButchWiding, Juha<h3>R. Wing</h3>Bernier, SergeCARLIN, BRIANCorrigan, MikeGRENIER, LUC<h3>L. Wing</h3>Berry, BobLesuk, BillLemieux, RealPULFORD BOBJOHNSON, JIMMYPlayer Changes: 7PLAYER NAMES in CAPS indicates has left NHL club since last season either by draft, trade, retirement or defection toWHA<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-0777/3221541-1-eng-US/f0005-072.jpg" title="f0005-07" width="2965" height="2154"></div> &#9632;

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Changing Fate Of The National Hockey League Teams

<div class="byline">BY CHARLIE HALPIN</div>MONTREAL&mdash;It may be a low period in employment across the country but in the confines of the National Hockey League job opportunities are headed for a new all-time high.The dramatic arrival of the embryonic World Hockey Association has suddenly given the pro hockey player a lever to barter for his services and a survey of National Hockey League teams clearly indicates many of them&mdash;40 to be exact&mdash;have decided to throw in with the WHA, which is on a money-spending spree to lure players away from the NHL with multiyear contracts. Another six players have retired.Since the last puck was dropped in the 1971-72 NHL season, a total of 73 players have moved on either by trade, draft, retirement or by way of defection to the WHA.It all represents a sizeable turnover in the league, no doubt the largest in its history. As the result, you can expect to see an influx of top amateur draft selections and highranked minor pros making their way into the lineup of the 16 big league teams this fall.Some teams have been depleted more than others. For example, the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins are low with only a few of their &lsquo;71-&rsquo;72 members gone from their lineups. The Habs lost a pair of goalers in Denis DeJordy and Phil Myre and Boston will be without John McKenzie and Ed Westfall, making them vulnerable at the important right wing spot. New York lost three players&mdash;two defenseman, Gary Doak by way of a trade and Jim Dorey jumped to the WHA while Phil Goyette has retired.But the NHL&rsquo;s three power-clubs were more fortunate than many, some of whom were riddled by drafts and WHA jumpers. St. Louis Blues appeared to be the hardest hit among their regulars with nine changes but lost only two players to the WHA.In a general league breakdown, the NHL will have approximately 11 new netminders for the 1972-73 season, 21 defensemen, 11 centers, 16 right wings and 14 left wingers to bring teams up to their last season depth excluding of course the expansionist New York Islanders and Atlanta franchises, who are starting out new this season.There are some glaring weaknesses in the individual team makeup for the &lsquo;72-&rsquo;73 campaign. However, trades and a bevy of fine young amateur draft choices headed by Billy Harris, Steve Shutt, Don Lever, and Jacques Richard, will help compensate for what got away to the WHA.Here are some of the so-called &lsquo;weak&rsquo; spots NHL teams will have to contend with when they head for training camp next month:TORONTO: A seasoned goaler to replace Bernie Parent. With Rick Ley and Brad Selwood also gone to the WHA, the Leafs will have to find two more dependable defensemen. They&rsquo;ll also need a third center with Jim Harrison having defected to the Alberta Oilers.BUFFALO: The Sabres have become thread bare on both defense and right wing as the result of the WHA raids. They eased their defense problem some what when big Mike Robitaille reconsidered and jumped back from the WHA. But the Sabres lost Al Hamilton and Jim Watson, both veteran rearguards, and two top right wings, Mike Byers and Danny Lawson, to WHA teams.VANCOUVER: In spite of their lament of losing players to the WHA, the Canucks have only one real problem and that&rsquo;s at right wing where both Rosaire Paiement and Wayne Connelly have been lured away by astronomical contract offers.DETROIT: The Wings haven&rsquo;t been noticeably hurt by the WHA and have no player retirements to create any problems.BOSTON: The Bruins only trouble spot is right wing and the club will give left wing Don Marcotte and center Ace Bailey a shot at the two vacant jobs by experimenting with the pair on the right side.NEW YORK In spite of Dorey&rsquo;s defection and the trade of Doak, the Rangers are sitting pretty with a solid lineup.MONTREAL: They were virtually untouched outside of goal where Ken Dryden is the lone netminder left. A hot rookie by the name of Michel Plasse is being groomed to become Dryden&rsquo;s understudy.CHICAGO: The Hawks conceivably have grown thin at left wing with Bobby Hull&rsquo;s jumping to the WHA. It&rsquo;s the only spot the club must worry about but it could ultimately lead to grief because of Hull&rsquo;s enormous contributions to the Hawks.ST. LOUIS: The Blues will be hurting in goal. Jacques Caron is standing alone with Ernie Wakely and Peter McDuffe gone but the club has some fine minor league talent coming up. Otherwise the Blues are okay.PHILADELPHIA: Bill Flett&rsquo;s return from the WHA will ease the Flyers&rsquo; right wing woes but they could be compounded on the left side if Bob Kelly goes to the Chicago Cougars. Kelly says he hasn&rsquo;t jumped, the WHA says he has. Without Kelly, the Flyers would have only one bona fide portside skater.PITTSBURGH: The Penguins strangely haven&rsquo;t many problems despite their low finish last year. However, they will miss veteran Tim Horton on defense and the Pens are somewhat thin on left wing.CALIFORNIA: The Seals will need a backup goaler for Gilles Meloche with Gary Kurt defected to the WHA. but otherwise the club will look the same as last season with a slight weakness showing up at right wing.MINNESOTA: Outside of Montreal, the North Stars are probably the best off of any NHL club. With Dean Prentice deciding against retirement, the Stars are solid from goal right up to center ice.LOS ANGELES: The same can&rsquo;t be said of the Kings. They have more barren spots than most NHL clubs. They lost two defensemen. a left wing and a right wing to the raiding WHA and veteran left winger Bob Pulford retired to become team coach. They also yielded a promising young goaler in Billy Smith to expansion.In a nutshell that&rsquo;s the changing face of the National Hockey League. &#9632;

Top Amateurs, Minor Pros Answer As NHL Loses 46 ‘Regulars’

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-01883/3221645-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">A must for all die-hard hockey enthusiasts who visit the Hall of Fame in Toronto is the elaborate trophy room, which contains all the permanent major NHL awards like the Stanley Cup, Hart, Norris, Byng, Ross and Calder trophies.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-02716/3221638-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="1470" height="1167"><figcaption class="caption-body">No visitor leaves the hockey shrine without catching a view of the Terry Sawchuk display in honor of the late goaling great or fails to pass up a chance to see the Jacques Plante masks the wily netminding innovator has brought to the game.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Hall Of Fame Visitors Can See Past And Present

<div class="byline">BY LYNDON LITTLE</div>TORONTO&mdash;Can an organization that calls itself the Hockey Hall of Fame properly discharge its primary mandate as a place where the greats of days past find their rightful place of honor, yet at the same time spark the curiosity of the young whose interests are more atuned to the current stars of the game?Maurice &ldquo;Lefty&rdquo; Reid, the personable curator who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of hockey&rsquo;s hallowed shrine in Toropto, thinks it can. And judging by the millions who each year flock to enjoy what the Hall has to offer, he must be right.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03523/3221676-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="260" height="434"><figcaption class="caption-body">Lefty Reid</figcaption></div>Situated in the heart of the Canadian National Exhibition grounds by the Lake Ontario shoreline, the ever-increasingly popular Hockey Hall treats its visitors to the best of both worlds: a comprehensive chronicle of the careers of the men who have been honored for their outstanding contributions to the game, and also stimulating displays of the current luminaries who are responsible for making hockey the hotest item in the sports world.&ldquo;Today&rsquo;s hockey fan wants to see the present as well as the past,&rdquo; explains Lefty, who was for many years a popular sportswriter and figure on the provincial softball scene. He took over the job (his official title is Curator and Secretary) in 1967 when the original curator, Bobby Hewitson, took ill and died.In an attempt to fill this need for interesting features on the contemporary heroes, Lefty is continually in search of materials that can be converted into suitable displays.Last summer, the Hall sponsored a hockey photography competition which served the dual propose of providing the hockey fans with the opportunity of seeing the cream of the past season&rsquo;s still action shots, while at the same time enabling North America&rsquo;s top shinny lensemen to gain some well-deserved recognition.In the works for this summer is another photo feature (color as well as black and white); a collection of hockey stamps from countries all around the world; flip board highlights of the 25th All Star game played in Minneapolis this past January; and a slide presentation featuring the main brother combinations in the National Hockey League.Nevertheless, no matter how popular these exhibits on the current stars, the foundation of the Hockey Hall of Fame still rests with the citations to the 186 men whose unique abilities&mdash;both playing and organizational&mdash;have earned themselves a place of honor.How does a former great of the world&rsquo;s fastest game become enshired in the Hall?Selection to the Hockey Hall, the construction of which was primarily the result of the foresight and cooperation of the NHL, the city of Toronto and the CNE, is in the hands of a special 11man committee, headed by the distinguished Frank Selke Sr., composed of members from both Canada and the United States who are knowledgeable in the history, tradition and skills of the game, and whose judgement and integrity assure a fair and impartial assessment of both amateur and professional candidates.Under normal circumstances, players must undergo a period of three years following the termination of their active playing careers before becoming eligible for selection to the Hall. However, exceptions are occasionally made&mdash;as in the case of two of this season&rsquo;s inductees, Jean Beliveau and Gordie Howe&mdash;when the magnitude of the player&rsquo;s record demands immediate inclusion.Howe and Beliveau were among six new members admitted five of whom were hockey performers. The others were Bernard Geoffrion and two deceased stars, Hooley Smith and Harry (Hap) Holmes. Weston Adams Sr., of the Bruins was the lone builder accepted.Five criteria&mdash;playing ability, integrity, character and contribution to their team and the game&mdash;are employed by the selection committee in assessing the merits of a candidate. The emphasis, however, is quite correctly placed on the on-ice accomplishments of the players under consideration.So, what type of a role can the Hockey Hall of Fame look forward to playing in the years ahead? The ever increasing utilization has already had a physical effect on the Hall. Visitors this summer will be greeted by a vastly expanded souvenir area which has resulted in the removal of the administrative officies to the second floor.What&rsquo;s more, the steadily climbing attendance demands are expected to result in a substantial boost in the number of hours the Hall will be open to the public. The projected plans call for a year-around setup which will feature a basic 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. program with expanded coverage in the peak summer months. Possibility also exists for a special evening opening during the winter to accommodate group tours.Change and development appear to be the operative words for the Hockey Hall of Fame. And this is fortunate, indeed, because with the game experiencing an unprecedented burst of acceptance in North America, the Hall will have its hands full meeting the public curiosity for hockey, both past and present. &#9632;

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Constant Changes Demanded By Millions Of Hall Viewers

TORONTO&mdash;The Hockey Hall of Fame was enhanced by six more members this summer raising the overall total to 186 who have been admitted to the ice shrine.Five of the six new members were former hockey stars, one, Weston Adams Sr., chairman of the board of the Boston Bruins, was admitted to the builders&rsquo; section.Ice stars selected were Gordie Howe, Jean Beliveau, Bernard &lsquo;Boom Boom&rsquo; Geoffrion and two deceased players of another era&mdash;Hooley Smith and goalkeeper Harry (Hap) Holmes.Here is a complete breakdown of the 186 Hall of Fame members by classifications:<h2>PLAYERS</h2>ABEL, Sid* ADAMS, JackAPPS. Syl* BAIN. Dan* BAKER, Hobey* BARRY, MartyBELIVEAU, Jean* BENEDICT, ClintBENTLEY, DougBENTLEY, MaxBLAKE, Toe* BOON. DickieBOUCHARD, ButchBOUCHER, Frank* BOUCHER, George* BOWIE. Russell* BRIMSEK, FrankieBROADBENT, PunchBRODA, Turk* CAMERON, HarryCLANCY, KingCLAPPER, Dit* CLEGHRON, SpragueCOLVILLE, Neil* CONACHER, Charlie* CONNELL, AlexCOOK, BillCOWLEY, BillCRAWFORD, Rusty* DARRAGH, Jack* DAVIDSON, ScottyDAY, Hap* DENNENY, Cy* DRINKWATER, CharlesDURNAN, BillDUTTON, Red* DYE, Babe* FARRELL, Art* FOYSTON, FrankFREDRICKSON, FrankGADSBY Bill* GARDINER, ChuckGARDINER, Herb* GARDNER, JimmyGEOFFRION, Bernie* GERARD, Eddie* GILMOUR, BillyGOHEEN, MooseGOODFELLOW, Ebbie* GRANT, Mike* GREEN, Shorty* GRIFFIS, Si* HAINSWORTH, George* HALL, JoeHAY, George* HERN, RileyHEXTALL, Bryan* HOLMES, Harry* HOOPER, TomHORNER, RedHOWE, GordieHOWE, Syd* HUTTON, Bouse* HYLAND, Harry* IRVIN, Dick* JACKSON, Busher* JOHNSON, MooseJOHNSON, ChingJOHNSON, TomJOLIAT, AurelKEATS, DukeKELLY, RedKENNEDY, TeederLACH, Elmer* LALONDE. Newsy* LA VIOLETTE, Jack* LEHMAN, Hugh* LESUEUR, PercyLINDSAY, Ted* MacKAY, Mickey* MALONE, JoeMANTHA, SylvioMARSHALL, JackMAXWELL, Steamer* McGEE, Frank* McGIMSIE, Billy* McNAMARA, GeorgeMORAN. Paddy* MORENZ, HowieMOSIENKO, Billy* NIGHBOR, Frank* NOBLE, RegOLIVER, Horry* PATRICK, Lester* PHILLIPS, Tommy* PITRE, DidierPRATT, BabePRIMEAU, Joe* PULFORD, Harvey* RANKIN, FrankREARDON, KenRICHARD. Rocket* RICHARSON, George* ROBERTS, Gordon* ROSS, Art* RUSSELL, Blair* RUSSELL, ErnieRUTTAN, Jack* SAWCHUK, Terry* SCANLAN, FredSCHMIDT, MiltSCHRINER, SweeneySEIBERT, Earl* SEIBERT, Oliver* SEIBERT, BabeSHORE, EddieSIMPSON, Harold* SMITH, Alfred* SMITH, Hooley* STANLEY, BarneySTUART, Jock* STEWART, Nels* STUART, Bruce* STUART, HodTAYLOR, CycloneTHOMPSON, Tiny* TRIHEY, Harry* VEZINA, Georges* WALKER, JackWALSH, Marty* WATSON, HarryWEILAND. Cooney* WESTWICK, Harry* WHITCROFT. Fred* WILSON, Phat* WORTERS. RayBUILDERSADAMS, CharlesADAMS, Weston* AHEARN, FrankALLAN, Sir Montague* BROWN, George* BROWN, Walter* CALDER, FrankCAMPBELL, AngusCAMPBELL, Clarence* DANDURAND, LeoDILIO Frank* DUDLEY, GeorgeDUNN, James* GORMAN, Tommy* HENDY, JamesHEWITT, Foster* HEWITT, Bill* HULME, Fred* KILPATRICK, Gen. JohnLEADER. AlLEBEL, BobLOCKHART, Tom* LOICQ, Paul* McLAUGHLIN, Major Fred* NELSON, FrancisNORRIS, Bruce* NORRIS, Jim Sr.* NORRIS, James* NORTHEY, William* O&rsquo;BRIEN, Ambrose* PATRICK, FrankPICKARD, Allan* ROBERTSON, John Ross* RAYMOND, Sen. DonatROBINSON, ClaudeSELKE, Frank* SMITH, FrankSMYTHE, Conn* STANLEY, Lord* SUTHERLAND, Capt JimTURNER, Lloyd* WAGHORNE, FredWIRTZ, ArthurREFEREESCHADWICK, Bill* ELLIOT, Chaucer* HEWITSON, Bobby* ION, MickeyRODDEN, MikeSMEATON, CooperSTOREY, Red* Indicate* Deceased Member &#9632;

Howe, Beliveau, Boomer Raise Hall Total To 186

<div class="byline">BY RON SIEGEL</div>PITTSBURGH&mdash;The Penguins have found themselves in the enviable position of being one of the few NHL teams not to lose any regulars to the raiders of the World Hockey Association. Only Dunc McCallum, who was loaned out to San Diego for the entire season, has since announced a switch to the rival league. With the recent signings of Duane Rupp, Bryan Watson, and Jean Pronovost, only Eddie Shack was a threat to jump leagues and he ultimately reconsidered to ink a two-year contract.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-01825/3221731-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="274" height="438"><figcaption class="caption-body">Eddie Shack</figcaption></div>The recent draft meetings in Montreal had the Penguin management buzzing. In the intra-league draft, only Tim Horton, who had announced his retirement, was taken. He was snared by the Buffalo Sabres, where if he does play, he will be re-united with his former coach, Punch Imlach. Imlach is confident he can talk Horton out of his thriving doughnut business for one more year, and with most of Imlach&rsquo;s present defenseman having jumped to the WHA. Horton will come in handy.In the expansion draft, the Atlanta Flames claimed three Penguins, Keith McCreary, John Stewart, and Bob Leiter.McCreary has been injury riddled in recent years and saw little action last season. Stewart will not be sorely missed either, as he spent the past season shuffling up and down with the Penguins&rsquo; farm club at Hershey.Leiter will be the one whose absence will be felt. He started out last fall from training camp red-hot. and though he cooled off. he finished the season with 14 goals and 17 assists. The thirty-one year old center admitted to Penguin brass that he was talking seriously to the WHA and this was a factor in his being left unprotected.Other players left open but not claimed, included Roy Edwards, Les Binkley, Ken Schinkel, and Shack. The Pens are most fortunate in having four top goalies, Edwards, Binkley, Jim Rutherford, and Cam Newton. With the increasing number of NHL net-minders switching leagues. Pittsburgh should be able to make deals for one or two of the four, and thus improve their strength at forward and defense.In the amateur draft, the Penguins had no first round pick, but did get two second round selections. Their first choice was six-two Jack Lynch, a defenseman from Oshawa of the OHA. Lynch scored 18 goals and 38 assists in his final junior league season.The second selection was rightwinger Bernie Lukowich, who scored 76 points including 37 goals for New Westminster of the Western Canada League. &#9632;

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NHL Penguins Untouched By Pro Player Raiding

<div class="byline">&#x2014;By Bill Libby</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-01871/3221769-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="290" height="365"></div><h2>Loss Of Hull Hurts&hellip;</h2>THE DEFECTION OF BOBBY HULL to the World Hockey Association has to hurt the National Hockey League. He is the first super star to make the jump and it may inspire others to take the chance. And coming on the heels of the retirements of Gordie Howe and Jean Beliveau and the earlier retirement of Doug Harvey and death of Terry Sawchuk it deprives the NHL and fans in his cities of all-time All Stars they have been fortunate to have on view in recent years.If the money is real in the WHA, which is what one worries about since contracts have been far from what they were cracked up to be in the ABA, one cannot blame Bobby too much. He is 33 and a veteran of 15 long, hard years in the majors, so a guarantee of more than $2,000,000 for the future had to be tempting. It is sad he was not swayed by a sense of history, perhaps, for with 604 regular-season goals in his career he had a shot at Gordie Howe&rsquo;s record 786, the rarest of standards.It is unfortunate for the NHL, too, that some other team, a needy member with cash, could not have made a deal with the Black Hawks and a deal with Hull which would have put one of the have-nots on the road to prosperity. Hull alone would have meant an extra 5,000 season-ticket sales in one of those cities where business has been slow, which translates to nearly a quarter-of-a-million dollars a year. This would have made tickets scarce and stirred further sales and set up a solid base for the future. And he might have provided the club with eight or ten extra victories a season and put it in the playoffs, which would have built up more business.An exceptional personality on and off the ice, Hull has to be missed in the majors. The WHA would seem yet a way away from such status, somewhere in a never-never land with an uncertain future on which many players are pegging their hopes. Meanwhile, the NHL remains rich in strong teams and outstanding players, but it must treasure those few of super star status who remain, such as Boston&rsquo;s Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-02771/3221762-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="794" height="871"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bobby Orr&rsquo;s phenomenal success has stamped him as the No. 1 player in the NHL. With Bobby Hull gone he also becomes its top personality adding to his responsibilities. (Hockey News Photo by Robert Shaver)</figcaption></div>At 24, Orr is already ranked as the dominant performer in his sport and now he assumes greater responsibilities as its most prominent personality. This may. be hard for him to handle. Introverted, a private person who does not give a great deal of himself to the public, Orr has shied from the spotlight. He has not been unpleasant, far from it, but he has given such limited answers many reporters have stopped asking him questions.He sits quietly in the dressing room after games, watching more extroverted teammates talk it up. Away from the arenas, he slips through shadows to avoid attention. Unlike Howe and Hull, Orr is a tough interview. Yet, he says he&rsquo;s not shy and will speak with anyone. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m simply not looking to stir up a storm,&rdquo; he says. So he saves the thunder and lightning for the ice, and there he cannot be faulted.<h2>Orr Stands Apart&hellip;</h2>WHEN BOBBY ORR was brought up at 18, the most heralded prospect in history, he resisted pressure and more than lived up to his advance billing. He was tested physically by his foes, fought back and earned respect. He has so far overcome serious knee injuries which threatened and still threaten his career. He has overshadowed such a sensational performer as Esposito, yet Phil heads up his fan club. Orr is popular with his teammates, who admire him enormously.He has set and reset records for defensemen for goals, assists and total points. He has, unfortunately, influenced a whole generation of defensemen away from playing defense and so has altered the shape of his sport, but none of his imitators on defense dominate offense as he does. Criticized at first for neglecting defense, he has become a good defensive player, quick enough to cover up after his rushes, clever enough to steal the puck a lot, fearless enough to block a lot of shots.Esposito was voted most valuable player in the league in 1969, but Orr has been voted the honor the last three years. Esposito averaged almost a goal a game and set an all-time scoring record year-before-last and still was denied the trophy. Last season, he led the league in scoring again and again was denied the honor. The only defenseman ever to win the scoring title, Orr is the first player to be named MVP three straight seasons, the first to be named best defenseman five straight seasons. In six seasons, he has won 12 trophies.Much has been written about Orr, yet the extent of his accomplishments in a short time merit even more. It is difficult to conceive of him improving, but he has never been better than he was this spring as he limped into arenas on a lame knee and then gave a stunning series of performances to lead his team to the Stanley Cup. The knee got sore and it gave out sometimes,&rdquo; he admitted, saying it caused him to pick his spots.He&rsquo;ll be coming back from another operation this fall, but he is tough and he 11, probably be able to come all the way back. His nose has been broken a few times and his skin has been stitched up from slashes, but he remains almost boyish looking. He is not awesome in size as Howe and Hull. At 5-11 and 185 pounds, he does not have wide shoulders or a massive chest or large legs and he has small hands.But he has the gift&mdash;swiftness on skates, instant reactions incredible coordination, a sure sense of timing, and he has the toughness, mentally and physically. He is off by himself somewhere, which is his way. &#9632;

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Hockey Ad Lib

<div class="byline">BY GEOFFREY FISHER</div>OAKLAND&mdash;Insurance mogul Charlie 0. Finley, the irrepressible chief of the California Golden Seals and a variety of other sports enterprises, changes managers as often as some men change their shirts.From the instant he took control of the financially and artistically impoverished Seals in 1970, he began making changes. Charlie changed the team name, changed their colors, shod his players with exotic skate boots, put names on the back of their jerseys, and sent them off to the ice wars.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-03639/3221800-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="278" height="450"><figcaption class="caption-body">Garry Young</figcaption></div>But Charlie, who probably has more millions than he has qualified major league hockey players, has discovered that it takes more than glamorous uniforms and an endless parade of coaches to man the ramparts successfully in the National Hockey League.Last year, in their fifth tour as an original member of the six-team NHL expansion, the Seals finished one notch above the last place Los Angeles Kings, winning 21, losing 39 and tying 18. As depressing as that record was it might be considered a full-blown rally over the previous campaign when the Seals languished deep in the league&rsquo;s dungeon with 53 defeats in 78 games.After that painful excursion there was hardly any way to go but up. And up they went, due no doubt in large part to the fact that General Manager Garry Young was determined to make wholesale alterations in a roster that appeared to be overladen with disenchanted personnel.Finley, who is noted for not even standing pat with winning coaches, allowed his Seals to skate through only three games last season before picking up the phone and ordering the axe to be dropped on Coach Fred Glover, who in his first campaign with the Seals in 1968-69 had led them to a second place finish and honors as THE HOCKEY NEWS Coach of the Year. Vic Stasiuk, veteran NHL player and coach, was Glover&rsquo;s replacement. Before the uniforms were dry at the close of last season, Finley bounced Stasiuk.Out of this travesty and travail of the Seals has emerged a very young and spirited crop of skaters who can be expected to make up in enthusiasm and aggressiveness what they lack in skill and experience.Young, a youthful veteran of the pro hockey world with a keen eye for talent on blades, has pulled together a squad that will average out as the youngest club in the league. Young, who served 20 years as a scout and director of player personnel for the Boston Bruins, is in his second season with the Seals. His mission: to build a strong hockey organization from the ground up.When the Seals launched their season a year ago Young had slashed the roster to only eight holdovers from the previous season&rsquo;s squad of 22. Those eight, together with a galaxy of freshmen, were mobilized into an ice brigade that surprisingly clung to third place most of the campaign before toppling from that perch like a bevy of wounded mallards.Young says he is sure his Seals will make the playoffs this time around. This would appear to be undue optimism if based upon the known quantities available. The club is going to have to come up with solid goaltending and Gilles Meloche, 22-year-old sophomore, who had a 3.32 average in 56 games for the Seals, appears to be the answer. At center a good deal will depend on the performances of Ivan Boldirev, the Yugoslavian, who fell victim to mononucleosis late last season, and Joey Johnston, a hard rock playmaker.The case for the defense in the early returns seems to rest with Rick Smith, acquired from Boston, the veteran Bert Marshall, and a couple of musclemen, Paul Shmyr and Bob Stewart.The nucleus of wings include Gary Croteau, Reggie Leach. Gerry Pinder, Stan Gilbertson and Gary Jarrett.The Seals still had not announced a coach to replace Stasiuk. Whoever it is will be the fifth the Seals have had in six seasons. Only Glover stayed around long enough to know the players without a scorecard. &#9632;

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No Coach Named, But Young Expects To Moke Playoffs

LONG ISLAND&mdash;The New York Islanders announced the purchase of left wing Germain Gagnon from the Montreal Canadiens, completing a previous deal with Montreal which brought goaltender Denis DeJordy and four other players for &ldquo;cash and other considerations.The other players included forwards Tony Featherstone, Murray Anderson and amateurs Glen Resch and Alec Campbell.Gagnon, 29 years old, split last season between the Canadiens and the Nova Scotia Voyageurs, the 1972 American Hockey League champions. In 70 games for the Voyageurs, the 6-0, 175 pound native of Chicoutimi, Quebec, scored 25 goals and had 56 assists. A fine playmaker, he also led all scorers in assists with 15 during the Voyageurs run to the cup championship. In four games with Montreal last season, Gagnon saw limited action.Commenting on Gagnon, Islander general manager Bill Torrey said, &ldquo;If we were short on any position after the draft, I guess it would be at left wing. Outside of the NHL, I thought Gagnon was the best left wing in hockey. He kills penalties, plays on the power play and still takes his regular shift. His playoff record also proves he can play under pressure.&rdquo; &#9632;

NY Islanders Land Gagnon To End Deal

<div class="byline">BY HARRY KLAFF</div>LONG ISLAND&mdash;When the Islanders meet the Rangers at the Nassau Coliseum on Wednesday, Sept. 27 in a preseason exhibition it will mark the first time in almost a generation that two &ldquo;New York&rdquo; squads will have squared off on local ice.Two teams representing one area is not new in the National Hockey League, nor in New York for that matter. Back in the days of the league&rsquo;s first big expansion&mdash;the mid-1920&rsquo;s&mdash;Montreal was represented by the Maroons and Les Canadiens, while Gotham boasted the neophyte Americans and Rangers.Although the Amerks were born one year before the rival Blueshirts, the club operated at a distinct disadvantage throughout its existence. Unlike the Rangers&mdash;who were owned and operated by Madison Square Garden&mdash;the Americans had to pay a sizable rent to lease the Eighth Avenue pond. In addition, the &ldquo;star-spangled&rdquo; clad Amerks could never compete artistically with the more talented Ranger teams.Despite these drawbacks, the Americans had their following of vociferous rooters who were always at their peak when the Rangers provided the opposition. When the club died during the lean years of World War II, the NHL losts its greatest rivalry.Some thirty years later, the New York Islanders have emerged to pick up the slack. But unlike the earlier confrontations between the Rangers and the Americans, geography will play an underlying role in creating excitement.Although a big &ldquo;NY&rdquo; is an integral part of the Islander logo, the new team in reality represents the fast-growing counties of Nassau and Suffolk, located just to the east of the city limits. The last census revealed the area has over three million residents, making it larger than all NHL markets with the exception of neighboring New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.The Long Island area has been represented for many years by the Ducks of the Eastern Hockey League, who play their games before good crowds in a quonset hut at Commack. But ever since the NHL expanded in 1967, the district has been after a big league franchise. It may take a while before the Islanders are ready to compete for the Stanley Cup, but the new fans don&rsquo;t seem to care. More than 6,000 season tickets were sold before the Fourth of July.Because of the problems incurred by the formation of the WHA, the Islanders (and Flames for that matter), may have a more difficult time than other expansion clubs. Recently the club lost three draftees to the Association&mdash;Ted Taylor, Gordon Labossiere, and John Schella. All three signed with Houston.In addition, Garry Peters, who was looked on as the Islanders&rsquo; top gun for the coming season, might sign with the Philadelphia Blazers. Bart Crashley, Larry Hornung, and Norm Ferguson all had jumped earlier to the WHA.The big signed name though, is rookie Billy Harris. Without the big Toronto Marlie star in the fold, the Islander outlook would have been bleak indeed. The 20-year-old wing had been swaying between the NHL and the WHA, but he finally inked a multi-season contract to end the speculation he would swing over to the WHA.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-01847/3221831-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="548" height="622"><figcaption class="caption-body">EARL INGARFIELD&hellip;He&rsquo;s Reconsidering</figcaption></div>Meanwhile, there is growing speculation Earl Ingarfield&rsquo;s resistance to the head coaching job is rapidly being broken down and it appears the one-time NHL veteran center ice star will foresake his new appointment as chief scout with the club and take the vacant coaching job.ISLAND BRIEFS: In addition to the Sept. 27 game against Rangers, the Islanders will entertain the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 3 in pre-season play at the coliseum&hellip;Peterborough, Ontario will serve as the site of the Islanders first training camp. Rookies report Sept. 8 veterans on Sept. 15&hellip;Former NHL&rsquo;ers Hank Bassen and Aut Erickson have been added to the growing scouting staff&hellip;Nick Garen, who previously trained the Chicago Black Hawks for 23 consecutive years, has been named to the same post with the Islanders. Garen, a native New Yorker, was out of hockey in 1970 and 1971. &#9632;

f0009-01

Islanders-Rangers’ Rivalry Stirs Old Memories

<div class="byline">BY HAL SIGURDSON</div>VANCOUVER&mdash;When it picked off Rosie Paiement, the World Hockey Association hit an exposed nerve and the Vancouver hockey club has come up swinging.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s time we found out if our contract is any good or not,&rdquo; general manager Bud Poile insisted, &ldquo;and as a hockey club I feel the Paiement case is a good one for us to hang our hat on.&rdquo;As a result, Poile has given the Canucks&rsquo; legal department the green light to fight Paiement&rsquo;s defection to the WHA Chicago Cougars in court.However, Poile carefully pointed out that neither Paiement nor any other members of the Vancouver organization who have reportedly signed with WHA clubs have violated their Canuck contract at this point in time.&ldquo;I believe there is a specific date involved,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but for all practical purposes as far as we&rsquo;re concerned they haven&rsquo;t done anything wrong until they fail to show up at our training camp.&rdquo;But if Paiement isn&rsquo;t there, Poile made it clear the Canucks will fight.&ldquo;Losing a Paiement would be a very harmful thing to our hockey club,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Sure, if we lose in court our whole contract system goes out the window. But what good is the contract now? No one seems to be paying much attention to it.&rdquo;The Canucks have also said they&rsquo;ll fight Wayne Connelly&rsquo;s defection to the WHA Minnesota Fighting Saints. &ldquo;But Scallen (president Tom) is looking after that one personally. He&rsquo;s a lawyer and he lives in Minneapolis. We&rsquo;re taking on the Paiement case as a club.&rdquo;Paiement, a frequently robust right winger, has had an odd, star-crossed relationship with the Canucks.He emerged as a major hero of the Canucks&rsquo; debut into the National Hockey League two seasons back. He scored 34 goals, won nearly all of his frequent scraps and became a fan favorite at the Pacific Coliseum.Then things went haywire. There was a bitter contract dispute settled by binding arbitration; a 37-game scoring slump; a freak accident that put him out of the lineup for nine games and almost cost him the sight of his left eye. When the season was over Paiement&rsquo;s goal production had dropped from 34 to 10.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-01861/3221893-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="538" height="532"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROSAIRE PAIEMENT&hellip;Money The Thing</figcaption></div>It&rsquo;s the contract dispute that has commanded the most attention and generated the most heat. After his 34-goal season, Paiement figured he was entitled to a whopping raise. Poile says he got one. Paiement says it wasn&rsquo;t big enough and that he resented getting it through binding arbitration rather than direct negotiation.&ldquo;Rosie got a 50 per cent raise last season and we offered him another 25 per cent hike this season despite the 10-goal year. &lsquo;says Poile.Paiement disputes Poile&rsquo;s mathematics. He claims he was offered only 14 per cent and wound up getting just 40 through the arbitration process. He says he was offered only 17 per cent this season.That caused Poile to get more specific. Paiement, he said, was paid $19,000 two years ago, $30,000 last season and was offered $40,000 for the coming season.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s too high,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but even at that we are still $30,000 apart.&rdquo;When he agreed to terms with the Cougars, Paiement reportedly accepted a three-year package worth better than $200,000.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m signed,&rdquo; Paiement says, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s just a matter of the money being in escrow the way I want it.&rdquo;Unless there&rsquo;s an unexpected problem in that area, it appears only a successful court action can get Paiement back in a Vancouver uniform.&ldquo;The ideal thing,&rdquo; said Paiement a little wistfully, &ldquo;would be to get my Chicago salary playing in Vancouver.&rdquo;However, the Canucks have also been winning their share of contract battles with the WHA. Poile now has 25 players under contract, including Seven of the club&rsquo;s nine amateur draft choices.Don Lever, Brian McSheffrey, Paul Raymer and Ron Homenuke, the first four, have all signed. So have goalie Dave McLellan and forwards Steve Stone and Danny Gloor. That leaves only defenseman Larry Bolonchuk (Winnipeg) and Dennis McCord (London) to go.Apart from those who have already jumped leagues&mdash;George Gardner, Ron Ward. Connelly and Paiement&mdash;the only unsigned members from last season&rsquo;s club are captain Orland Kurtenbach, right winger Bobby Schmautz and goaltender Dunc Wilson.Poile concedes there&rsquo;s still a &ldquo;lot of negotiation&rdquo; ahead, but says he&rsquo;s confident all three will eventually agree to terms.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-02738/3221886-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="1170" height="1024"><figcaption class="caption-body">If you&rsquo;re wondering what TOM SCALLEN, left, president of the Vancouver Canucks and LYMAN WALTERS, the club&rsquo;s vice-president, are saying to one another it might concern the team&rsquo;s player defections to the new WHA. The club executives will both be involved in Canucks&rsquo; plans to test their player contracts in court to keep Rosaire Paiement and Wayne Connelly from jumping the NHL for the WHA. (Hockey News Photo by Lyndon Li)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0010-01

Canucks Planning Test Case After Paiement Jumps To WHA

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div>LOS ANGELES&mdash;The Kings have not been especially busy in the off-season. Most of their players have been signed, including goalie Rog Vachon, who will return from knee surgery to a contract calling for around $60,000 a season and reported by the Kings&rsquo; management to be &ldquo;the highest ever paid one of their players.&rdquo; As Allan Malamud of the Herald-Examiner commented, the Kings did not make note of the lowest ever paid.Jim Johnson was the latest regular to jump to the World Hockey Association going to the Minnesota team. Doug Barrie, who figured to be a regular, jumped to Alberta, as did Brian Carlin, who did not figure to be a regular. Bob Woytowich a fringe regular, went to Winnipeg. Almost all NHL teams have lost a regular or two and some, such as Philadelphia and Toronto have lost more. The Kings apparently have made mot of their players content and have not been hit too hard.They did lose Lucien Grenier and Billy Smith in the expansion draft, as well as Bill Mikkelsen, who had retired. And new coach Bob Pulford retired as a player. They picked up right wing Doug Volmar and defenseman Barry Long in the intra-league draft and signed their first amateur draft pick of this year. Don Kozak, a right-winger, and the first choice from last year, Vic Venasky.Venasky did not turn pro last season to continue in college at Denver University, where as a sophomore he was on his way to his second straight Western Collegeiate Hockey Assn. Scoring title when he suffered torn knee ligaments that sidelined him half a season.Kozak played for Edmonton Oil Kings last season, scored 55 goals, had 50 assists and spent 183 minutes in the penalty box and was a second All Star in the Western Canada Junior League.Other amateurs picked were defensemen Dave Hutchison from London and John Dobie from Regina, wingers Mike Usitalo from Michigan Tech and Glen Toner from Regina, and goaler Bernie Germaine, second All-Star from Regina.New coach Pulford will greet the Kings at camp at Victoria, British Columbia, Sept. 13 with around 35 players, half as many as in the past since those set for Springfield now will train in Fitchburg, Mass. Highlight of the exhibition schedule will be an Oct. 4 game in San Diego, first-ever NHL test for the WHL Gulls.Harry Howell and Bob Berry left to participate in Juha Widing&rsquo;s Hockey School in Sweden. On his return, Berry will marry a nurse he met in a doctor&rsquo;s office. This will leave only Gary Edwards as a veteran bachelor among the Kings and he reportedly is wavering. Muscleman Gilles Marotte has been making a movie, a promotion for the President&rsquo;s Council on Physical Fitness.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-01850/3221924-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="506" height="662"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROGATIEN VACHON&hellip;It&rsquo;ll Ease The Pain</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Vachon Signs For 60 Big Ones—Highest Paid King

<div class="byline">BY BOB VERDI</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-02771/3221955-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">ERIC NESTERENKO&hellip;Leaves NHL With 250 Goals</figcaption></div>CHICAGO&mdash;Eric Nesterenko, The Flin Flon Flash, will be taking his vast hockey background and acumen to Lausanne, Switzerland, where he&rsquo;ll start coaching next season.The 38-year-old Nesterenko, a veteran of 20 National Hockey League campaigns, announced in late June that he&rsquo;ll retire from the Chicago Black Hawks and embark on a career which has tantalized him for some time&mdash;instruction in the game he loves&mdash;and in an country he relishes.&ldquo;This will be a nice change,&rdquo; said Nesterenko. &ldquo;My family is excited and so am I. I&rsquo;d still maybe like to try coaching in the college or professional ranks sometime, but the opportunity in Switzerland is perfect.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t really know how good a caliber of hockey they have there, but they love the game. Andy Bathgate (former NHL star) played some games over there last year, and they flocked to see him. They appreciate good hockey.&rdquo;Nesterenko, born in Flin Flon, Manitoba, played his first NHL contest for Toronto in 1951-52 campaign, and, except for a brief stint at Winnipeg in 1956, has been a fixture in the big time. He was sold from the Maple Leafs to Chicago in 1956 and performed, in all, 1219 regular season games&mdash;only 14 N.H.L. athletes have played in more.With four goals last year, Eric reached the 250 mark, another very elite category. He finished with 324 assists, for a total of 574 points.A fluid skater, Eric turned into a penalty killer par excellence in recent seasons. But, when summoned for regular work, he handled right wing with savy and frequently was appointed to shadow big scorers.The WHA Chicago Cougars, impressed by Nesterenko&rsquo;s knowledge, offered him their coaching post, but Eric selected the position in Europe instead.Eric is a bit of an intellectual. His interests range from his family of wife Barbara and three little ones, to quality books and magazines, to traveling hither and yon. He&rsquo;s a hard worker, though, and would entertain ideas of even playing a few exhibition games in Switzerland.He has another avocation, however, which he&rsquo;ll undoubtedly pursue.&ldquo;They must have 20 ski resorts within an hour of where I&rsquo;ll be working,&rdquo; grinned Eric, &ldquo;and I&rsquo;ve made sure they&rsquo;ll let me do plenty of that.&rdquo;HAWKEY TALK: Two of the Hawks&rsquo; centers from last year&mdash;Andre Lacroix and Bryan Campbell&mdash;jumped to the Philadelphia Blazers of the World Hockey Association during the early summer. Lacroix signed for five years and Campbell for three, both for a reported $60,000 per&hellip;The WHA plus NHL expansion, put a fair dent in the Hawks&rsquo; Dallas farm team which won the Central League championship last year&hellip;Cliff Koroll has left the bachelor corps; the young Hawk right winger had a June wedding, of course. &#9632;

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Hawks’ 20-Year Veteran To Coach In Switzerland

Following are the latest offseason Hockey movements:<h2>PLAYER TRADING</h2>MONTREAL&mdash;Germain Gagnon, forward, sent to New York Islanders to complete multiple player deal.LOS ANGELES&mdash;Bob Pulford, center, placed on voluntary retired list to become coach of the NHL Kings.ST. LOUIS&mdash;Peter MeDuffe, goalkeeper, and Curt Bennett, forward, traded to New York to complete previous deal.NEW JERSEY&mdash;Jim Blain, defenseman. secured from Long Island of EHL.<h2>COACHING CHANGES</h2>FORT WORTH&mdash;John Choyce of Kansas City named coach to replace Bob Lemieux, who remains as general manager.CAPE COD&mdash;Bronco Horvath named coach of new EHL team.REGINA&mdash;Bob Turner named coach to succeed Earl Ingarfield, who left WCHL Junior club to become chief scout with New York Islanders of NHL.LONDON&mdash;Bill Long named general manager-coach of OHA Junior club replacing Bronco Horvath as coach.TORONTO&mdash;Frank Bonello moved from coach to general manager with OHA Junior club. George Armstrong named new coach replacing Bonello. &#9632;

Off-Season Movements

<div class="byline">BY DWAYNE NETLAND</div>TWIN CITIES&mdash;Originally there were promises of neutrality from both sides of the Mississippi River, but events of the past few weeks have confirmed the presence of open warfare between the Minnesota North Stars of the National Hockey League and the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the World Hockey Association.It was probably inevitable, because they were heading on a collission course for control of an area conspicuous by its fierce devotion to hockey and also by its comparatively small population.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-01833/3222010-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="253" height="410"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jerry Byers</figcaption></div>The Twin Cites of Minneapolis and St. Paul have supported the North Stars handsomely for the past five years, but can they support both the North Stars and the Saints?The WHA team, scheduled to launch operations this fall, will have to open in the dingy old St. Paul Auditoritorium, with a maximum seating of 9,000. Later they are to move into the new St. Paul Civic Center, built with public monies in the heart of downtown St. Paul.There have been three incidents, one last spring and the other two occuring recently, which triggered off the dispute between the two clubs.The first one was the vigorous but unsuccessful attempt of the Saints to lure Bill Goldsworthy, a top-level right winger, away from the North Stars. Goldy gave it some thought, but Wren Blair kept him in the fold by producing a lucrative multi-year contract.Things were quiet for a spell after that, but they erupted again during the summer on two fronts: the battle for the Minnesota State High School hockey tournament and the coup of the Saints in signing Terry Ryan, the North Stars&rsquo; second choice in the junior amateur draft of last June. Both left a bitter residue.The hockey tournament originated in St. Paul in 1945. In 1969 it was moved to Metropolitan Sports Center, home of the North Stars. The Met provided far better facilities and 6,000 more seats than the St. Paul Auditorium, but the St. Paul people were determined, at any cost, to get that tournament back where it started.They built the Civic Center and then, to the astonishment of North Star president Walter Bush, offered the Minnesota State High School League the 1973 hockey tournament for rental of $1. The tournament, a three-day affair, is a lucrative event with full houses at every session.&ldquo;This is like fighting a gas war,&rdquo; said Bush. &ldquo;Both sides could go under.&rdquo;Bush was so incensed by the St. Paul tactics that he threatened to meet the price just to prevent them, from getting the tournament. Walter&rsquo;s old competitive instincts, whetted by years of gold matches, were clearly showing.After Blair had signed Jerry Byers, his first-round pick in the junior draft, he learned that Ryan had signed with the Saints. Ryan, a forward from Hamilton of the OHA, had been the second Minnesota pick, taken in the third round. His former coach at Hamilton, Harry Neale, had recently become the assistant to Glen Sonmor, coach and general manager of the Minnesota Fighting Saints.Blair left for his summer retreat at the Haliburton Hockey Haven without ever making any public declaration on the loss of Ryan, but he was obviously less than overjoyed by it. Like Bush. Blair is a fighter. The final waves on the Ryan incident have not subsided.It was definitely the end of any token friendship and cooperation between the two hockey camps. The North Stars had never criticized the St. Paul WHA operation before, and for a long period of time the Saints, through the leadership of the then president, Jim Adams, avoided knocking the North Stars. The only pot shot at the NHL club came from one of the St. Paul directors named Lou Kaplan, who delivered a right cross at the former coaching tactics of Blair, but Kaplan was muffled immediately by the Adams people. Now Adams is out as president.As training camp approaches, it will be interesting to observe the further sparring. Most of the players signed by the Saints, with the exception of Wayne Connelly, are marginal personnel, many of them with St. Paul backgrounds of one type or another.St. Paul did have the opportunity of serving as the site of Bobby Hull&rsquo;s original signing with the WHA. and the city made the most of his. Blair, while disappointed at seeing Hull go. stuck to his guns. &ldquo;One player doesn&rsquo;t make a team,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and one player certainly won&rsquo;t make a league.&rdquo;In the meantime, the Cold War continues in the front offices of the North Stars and the Saints.NORTH STAR NOTES: In addition to Byers, the North Stars also signed their third draft pick. Toronto Marlies defenseman Tom Thomson, and their ninth selection. Brandon Wheat Kings center Glen Mikkelson&hellip;Coach Jack Gordon and radio announcer Al Shaver spent three weeks touring Europe together with their families&hellip; &#9632;

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Stars-WHA Saints ‘Cold War’ Livening Up Hockey Picture

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0013-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-01815/3222048-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Like playing winter hockey, a youngster on skeelers can duplicate any ice skating manoeuvre in the new summer sport.</figcaption></div>TORONTO&mdash;Hockey is no longer restricted to being a winter sport in Canada. A new piece of equipment, which looks like a cross between an ice skate and roller skate has been made available in Canada this year by a leading soft drink company, which has seen youngsters across the country continuing to play their favorite sport all summer.Suprisingly, we are indebted for this summer boost to our sport to our arch rival, Russia; to a country not normally renowned for its ice-hockey prowess, Great Britain, and to Pepsi Cola Canada Ltd.Skeelers, the name given to the new piece of equipment, were originally developed by the Russians as a summer aid for conditioning speed skaters and hockey players. They are now being manufactured and marketed by a British company, Mettoy, which has a worldwide reputation for its precision scaled Corgi line of model cars.Seeing what a boon they would be to the thousands of hockey playing fans, particularly among the schoolboys, the marketing staff of Pepsi-Cola decided to import them into Canada as a promotion for one of their drinks. The Skeelers will be generally available in stores across Canada when the promotion is ended.A spokesman of Pepsi Cola Canada Ltd., told THE HOCKEY NEWS, &ldquo;When we heard of the Skeelers from our company in England, it seemed incredible that Skeelers were not available in such a leading hockey country as Canada. We decided to do something about it and drew up an exclusive contract with Mettoy for a five month period, to launch the product in Canada.&ldquo;For the initial launch, we are making them available for $9.95, together with proof of purchase of 9 bottles or cans of Mountain Dew, our unique citrous based drink (or $15.00 without the proofs-of-purchase). Provincial sales tax should be added to this figure wherever applicable.&rdquo;Skeelers closely resemble ice skates, but use a vertical line of three wheels instead of a blade. Because the centre wheel of the Skeeler is set marginally lower than the front and back wheels, Skeelers can simulate the action of ice-skating on any hard, flat, non-polished surface, such as a playground area or school yard. Almost any ice skating manoeuvre can be duplicated on Skeelers.Seeing the enthusiasm which was generated by boys who tried out the early models during marketing tests, the company approached the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association with the Skeelers.&ldquo;We wanted to see if the officials of the sport felt as enthusiastic about the product as we and the young skaters did,&rdquo; said the Pepsi-Cola spokesman. &ldquo;Naturally, we are very happy that so far, there has been nothing but praise for this product. We can only continue to be amazed that such a basically simple device as the Skeeler had not been developed before by one of our thousands of hockey fans.&rdquo;Although at the time of going to press the Skeelers were still being discussed by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, there is no doubt of the popularity with boys across the country. Summer ball hockey games can be seen being played in school yards from Newfoundland to British Columbia, while many other youngsters, who simply enjoy the fun and exhilaration of ice skating are keeping in trim with solo spins around the neighborhood.Skeelers have a frame of highgrade, precision moulded nylon, stress-tested up to 350 lbs., with boot section and toe piece of top quality, tough plexiglass. The wheels are made of hard-wearing, non-skid polyurethane plastic, each with steel-housed, doublecaged, ball-bearing units. Each wheel bolt is made of high-tensile, zinc-plated steel. The shake-proof washers and self-locking nuts hold the wheels securely in place for safety assured pleasure.The harness on Skeelers will accomodate a wide range of shoe sizes through variations in lacing tightness with Alpine ski boot hooks preventing the heavy-duty waxed laces from slipping. Consequently, the two models&mdash;Junior and Senior Skeelers will fit a range covering children&rsquo;s size 13 to a man&rsquo;s size 11.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-02735/3222041-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="1150" height="1148"><figcaption class="caption-body">Here&rsquo;s a close-up view of the exciting new skeelers with their single line of three sturdy wheels taking the place of a hockey skate blade.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Skeeling Revolutionary New Summer Sport

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-01817/3222156-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="254" height="426"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ken Dryden</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02704/3222149-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="266" height="428"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gerry Cheevers</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03551/3222142-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="256" height="424"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pat Stapleton</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04401/3222135-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="258" height="424"><figcaption class="caption-body">J.C. Tremblay</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-05289/3222128-1-eng-US/f0014-052.jpg" title="f0014-05" width="250" height="429"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bobby Clarke</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-06243/3222121-1-eng-US/f0014-062.jpg" title="f0014-06" width="250" height="428"><figcaption class="caption-body">Don Awrey</figcaption></div><h2>GOALKEEPERS</h2>KEN DRYDEN, MontrealGERRY CHEEVERS, BostonTONY ESPOSITO, Chicago<h2>DEFENSEMEN</h2>DON AWREY, BostonJOCELYN GUEVREMONT, VancouverBOBBY ORR, BostonSERGE SAVARD, MontrealPAT STAPLETON, ChicagoBILL WHITE, ChicagoGARY BERGMAN, DetroitJACQUES LAPERRIERE, MontrealBRAD PARK, New YorkROD SEILING, New YorkJ.C. TREMBLAY, Montreal<h2>CENTERS</h2>RED BERENSON, DetroitMARCEL DIONNE, DetroitPETE MAHOVLICH, MontrealDEREK SANDERSON, BostonBOBBY CLARKE, PhiladelphiaPHIL ESPOSITO, BostonGILBERT PERREAULT, BuffaloJEAN RATELLE, New York<h2>LEFT WINGS</h2>WAYNE CASHMAN, BostonPAUL HENDERSON, TorontoDENNIS HULL, ChicagoRICHARD MARTIN, BuffaloVIC HADFIELD, New YorkBOBBY HULL, ChicagoFRANK MAHOVLICH, MontrealJ.P. PARISE, Minnesota<h2>RIGHT WINGS</h2>YVAN COURNOYER, MontrealROD GILBERT, New YorkMICKEY REDMOND, DetroitRON ELLIS, TorontoBILL GOLDSWORTHY, Minnesota<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-07197/3222114-1-eng-US/f0014-072.jpg" title="f0014-07" width="251" height="430"><figcaption class="caption-body">Richard Martin</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-08168/3222107-1-eng-US/f0014-082.jpg" title="f0014-08" width="245" height="427"><figcaption class="caption-body">Frank Mahovlich</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-09154/3222100-1-eng-US/f0014-092.jpg" title="f0014-09" width="261" height="422"><figcaption class="caption-body">Vic Hadfield</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-10138/3222093-1-eng-US/f0014-102.jpg" title="f0014-10" width="254" height="431"><figcaption class="caption-body">Yvan Cournoyer</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-11124/3222086-1-eng-US/f0014-112.jpg" title="f0014-11" width="245" height="422"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rod Gilbert</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-12113/3222079-1-eng-US/f0014-122.jpg" title="f0014-12" width="251" height="427"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mickey Redmond</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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HOW TEAM CANADA LOOKS

<div class="byline">BY JACK MCCARTHY</div>BOSTON&mdash;Harry Sinden, the man who resigned after coaching the Bruins to the Stanley Cup, is getting that yearning to return to hockey on a regular basis.If this event materializes, it would naturally have to come after Harry gets through his present job of coaching Team Canada in the series with the Russians.Sinden, vacationing recently near here on Cape Cod, has been employed in the modular housing business since leaving the NHL. He has had some nibbles, but nothing resembling a solid offer in hockey, outside of the Hockey Canada post.Says Harry, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t really think I&rsquo;ll be back in hockey for the 1972-73 season, but I&rsquo;d be most interested in something the year after that.&rdquo;Harry is interested in being a coach-general manager and would also like a piece of the action. Says Sinden: &ldquo;I might even be persuaded to invest a few dollars of my own&hellip;&rdquo; &#9632;

Sinden Reported Ready For Return To NHL Job

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0015-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-01792/3222187-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">PHIL ESPOSITO&hellip;Big Blaster To Face Russians (Hockey News Photo by Steve Goldstein)</figcaption></div>TORONTO&mdash;From the man on the street stretching all the way up to the Prime Minister of Canada, the National Hockey League found itself embroiled in a mounting controversy of whether Bobby Hull should or should not play for Team Canada against the Russians.The selection of Team Canada&rsquo;s glittering 35-man squad to oppose the Russians in an eightgame international exhibition series Sept. 2-8 in Canada and Sept. 22-28 in Moscow, has been overshadowed from the very outset by the Hull hassle which arouse when the NHL declared flatly that the Chicago Black Hawks&rsquo; super jet, who has since defected to the World Hockey Association, was not eligible to play as a member of the NHL-dominated Team Canada squad against the Russians.The stunning declaration by the NHL almost instantly aroused an indignant Canadian public to such a pitch that radio stations were organizing giantsized telegrams of protest to the Government, companies were, erecting huge billboards supporting Hull&rsquo;s selection, directors were resigning from Hockey Canada committees, television stations were venturing into the streets for public opinion&mdash;all of which favored Hull playing for Canada, Parliamentary procedure was interrupted to deal with the explosive matter when politicans were suddenly submerged with requests to intervene, and the final straw came when the Prime Minister of Canada himself&mdash;Pierre Elliott Trudeau&mdash;made a personal plea to the NHL, Hockey Canada and the NHL Players&rsquo; Association to do everything in their power to include Hull on the Canadian team.It was probably Trudeau&rsquo;s dramatic pitch to have Hull included on the team more than anything else that brought the Canadian people to their feet to question the validity of the move to bar Hull from playing.The NHL was cast as the main culprit in the whole furious upheaval among Canadians&mdash;not all of whom were hockey fans.In separate telegrams to the three hockey groups, Trudeau stated: &ldquo;You are aware of the intense concern, which I share with millions of Canadians in all parts of our country, that Canada should be represented by its best hockey players, including Bobby Hull and all those named by Team Canada, in the forthcoming series with the Soviet Union.&ldquo;On behalf of these Canadians, I urge Hockey Canada, the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players&rsquo; Association to take whatever steps may be necessary to make this possible.&ldquo;In making whatever arrangements may be called for, I would ask you to keep the best interests of Canada in mind and to make sure that they are fully respected and served.&rdquo;Trudeau&rsquo;s intervention after he first declared the Canadian Government could not and would not interfere in the Team Canada operation, came as a complete surprise to everyone, even to Trudeau&rsquo;s cabinet colleagues, who had spent the day in lengthy discussions of the Hull affair. They were led to believe it was strictly a sports matter and would be settled by the people under whose jurisdiction Team Canada was entrusted. All of a sudden it became a political matter.But the man in the street, the staunch Bobby Hull fans to say the least, wanted and were demanding swift restoration of the ice star to the Canadian team through various outlets&mdash;radio, TV, telegrams, letters and unlimited telephone calls to all the various sources involved.While Canadians at large were having their say, the Russians expressed little or no interest in whether Hull played or not. They said through a spokesman that it didn&rsquo;t concern them and that was that.But the NHL was concerned and President Clarence Campbell found himself refuting charges and claims that the move to keep Hull off the Team Canada was a sinister one. According to Campbell it was laid down in the rules of operation of the team 20 months before hand that all players who were named to the Canadian squad would have to have signed NHL player contracts by August 13 to participate against the Russians. The NHL reason for this, according to the NHL, was not to bar any particular player but rather to protect the competing players in case of injury. Campbell said the signed contracts were the players&rsquo; insurance against any loss of earning power through being injured against the Russians. No allowance, however, was made for players like Hull, who recently jumped to the WHA&rsquo;s Winnipeg Jets for a cool $2.75 million, which has been the crux of the whole controversy involving Government, NHL, Hockey Canada, players, fans and just everybody else who wanted to get into the country&rsquo;s biggest sports rhubarb since 1969 when Canada withdrew from the World Hockey tournament because they barred pros from playing.Campbell, who doubles as a Hockey Canada director, said the NHL and Hockey Canada had entered into an agreement to put Team Canada on the ice for the series with the Russians. The NHL was to provide the players, all members of NHL teams and signed to NHL contracts by August 13, and Hockey Canada was to take care of the overall operation with Charles Hay, who has since fallen ill, as its president and Harry Sinden as the players&rsquo; head coach with John Ferguson as his assistant.Campbell said rules were rules and the NHL had no intention of waiving the contract stipulation to permit Hull to play. It was this statement that touched off Canadian public resentment and started the ball rolling towards Government intervention on the part of Trudeau.Doug Fisher, chairman of Hockey Canada&rsquo;s executive committee, raised the point that Hull would not be eligible because the WHA has not as yet established relations with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, Canada&rsquo;s recognized agency for arranging international games. Fisher said the International Ice Hockey Federation, which sanctioned the Canada-Russia series, could approve the participation of NHL players, since the NHL has an agreement with the CAHA. But Fisher said the status of the WHA players was doubtful. This would effect Hull, who is now under contract to the WHA.Public reaction was overwhelming in Hull&rsquo;s favor but he received some unexpected help when Toronto Leafs&rsquo; President Harold Ballard jumped on Hull&rsquo;s bandwagon by suggesting his fellow NHL governors should not stand in Hull&rsquo;s participation in the series.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t give a damn if Hull signed with a team in China,&rdquo; was Ballard&rsquo;s retort. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a Canadian and he should be on the Canadian team.&rdquo;Meanwhile, while the NHL stood firm in its commitment to allow only signed NHL players to compete against the Russians, the players selected&mdash;three goalers, 11 defensemen and 21 forwards plus the four top amateur draft picks, Steve Shutt, Bill Harris, Don Lever, and Jacques Richard, were looking anxiously ahead to the start of training camp at Maple Leaf Gardens Aug. 13.Sinden said he was pleased with the outlook of the team and wasted little time in declaring that Ken Dryden would be his goalkeeper in the series opener Sept. 2 in Montreal&rsquo;s Forum. Gerry Cheevers of Boston and Tony Esposito of Chicago were also named to the team. Cheevers, who has branded as &lsquo;ridiculous&rsquo;, reports he was about to jump to the WHA with Cleveland.Sinden planned to alternate all three goalers but said he would start with Dryden. He added the team players were selected specifically to fill out lines. &ldquo;We went for balance. I want the men around who can take care of any situation that may arise.&rdquo; &#9632;

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Controversy Swirls Around Hull, NHL Ruling

<div class="byline">BY DAN PROUDFOOT</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGER HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD. Arnold Street. Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaTORONTO&mdash;Toronto Maples Leafs finally have admitted the World Hockey Association exists, after losing several players to the new league because of reluctance to consider it a threat.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01623/3222249-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="264" height="452"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Keon</figcaption></div>General manager Jim Gregory and president Harold Ballard acknowledged the WHA presence by holding a press conference early in the summer announcing the signings of all but one of the players they hadn&rsquo;t already lost.Bernie Parent, Brad Selwood, Larry Pleau and Jim Harrison, all players with their names printed on Leafs&rsquo;s list and signed on WHA contracts, had been attracted by lucrative offers before Gregory and Ballard got around to agreeing publicly that the players did have a new alternative.However, Gregory was able to announce the signings of all other regulars except Dave Keon, the team captain, whose advisers were considering the Ottawa Nationals of the WHA.Norm Ullman signed a three-year contract with Leafs. Two year signees were Brian Glennie, Jim McKenny, Denis Dupere, Ron Ellis, and Paul Henderson. Gregory also was able to announce commitments from Guy Trottier and Pierre Jarry for one year, and one-year contracts signed by Jacques Plante, Garry Monahan, Mike Pelyk, Darryl Sittler and Errol Thompson, the highly-rated player from Leafs&rsquo; Tulsa Oiler affiliate.Rick Kehoe and Bob Baun are completing multi-year agreements. Gregory also revealed he is offering contracts to the four players who have skipped to the WHA. But he said it with little hope, and added that the reason was that the standard NHL contract calls, for a new contract to be offered when the previous one expires.The most significant statement from the meeting, perhaps, came when Ballard was asked if Leafs would sue Parent for breach of contract. Previously, Ballard had insisted that legal action wouldn&rsquo;t be necessary and that Parent would show up for training camp. This time, however, Ballard said legal action may be initiated.Gregory said whether Leafs sue Parent or riot depends on the advice of the team&rsquo;s counsel, Bob Sedgewick. No action would be taken, he said, until Parent doesn&rsquo;t train with Leafs and appears in a Philadelphia Blazers&rsquo; uniform.Soon after the press conference, Gregory took a brief holiday&mdash;one which his hoss, Ballard, said he richly deserved.&ldquo;Jim Gregory has taken quite a shallacking from the media regarding the signing of our players&rdquo;, said Ballard. &ldquo;He hasn&rsquo;t been hiding his head in the sand hoping the WHA would go away. Instead, he has been working 48 hours a day trying to keep all our players.&ldquo;I delayed the signings, so maybe I&rsquo;m the ostrich.&rdquo;While Gregory was vacationing, Leafs lost their Tulsa Oiler coach, Marcel Pronovost, to Chicago Cougars of the WHA.&ldquo;We hate to lose Marcel, but there was no way we could equal the Chicago offer,&rdquo; said Ballard.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02542/3222242-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="1180" height="972"><figcaption class="caption-body">Leafs&rsquo; coach JOHN McLELLAN, left, can smile because his problems haven&rsquo;t started but team general manager JIM GREGORY finds it hard to laugh it up these days with so many player problems. Gregory is presently embroiled in contract negotiations with top Leaf Dave Keon. (Hockey News Photo by Lyndon Li)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0016-01

GM Gregory Working To ‘Hold’ Keon

<div class="byline">BY ED CONRAD</div>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;The news, quite naturally, was difficult for Bruce Gamble to swallow.Here it was, summertime in Philadelphia, and Bruce was being presented with the hard, cold facts. He would never play another game of hockey.Dr. Stanley Spoont, the Flyers&rsquo; physician, had the difficult job of informing the veteran NHL goaltender thathe was through as an active player.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01533/3222280-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="279" height="447"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bruce Gamble</figcaption></div>After 15 years of competition as professional&mdash;including more than 300 games in the NHL with Boston, Toronto and the Fivers Bruce was being told he would have to quit.&ldquo;Exhaustive tests by our team of specialists (at Lankenau Hospital) confirmed Bruce still has some difficulty with his coronaries,&rdquo; said Dr. Spoont. &ldquo;So we feel he had better not play anymore.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve advised him to discontinue any type of athletic competition, including the strenuous game of hockey. If he does, we feel sure he can lead a very normal life&mdash;as far as being an average human being.&rdquo;Gamble, 34, apparently suffered a heart attack while tending goal for the Fivers during a game in Vancouver last season.Despite the pain and the discomfort, Bruce amazingly finished the contest and even wound up with a victory. The next day, after being admitted to an Oakland, Calif., hospital, the heart attack was confirmed.Once Bruce was back on his feet, doctors felt there was still a chance that the condition might rectify itself and, consequently, they held out a slim possibility he might be able to return to the ice.Tests revealed improvement but not complete enough to permit his return to athletic participation.&ldquo;Bruce was here with us four days undergoing all kinds of tests,&rdquo; said Dr. Spoont. &ldquo;Finally, after all the results were in and we had made our diagnosis, I had to break the bad news.&ldquo;I told Bruce we were satisfied by the overall picture but there are some details that still concern us if he were to go out and participate actively in game, such as hockey.&ldquo;Naturally, he was upset. He was disturbed. But I&rsquo;ve always known him to be a pro, and he showed it. Later he called his wife and told her, I also spoke to her when she called back from Toronto.&ldquo;I told her&mdash;as I told him&mdash;that Bruce can be a normal person, a normal husband, a normal breadwinner&hellip;without hockey.&rdquo;Apparently, the Flyers will find a place for Gamble in their organization.Club owner Ed Snider said months ago that he has promised Bruce a position in the front office, probably scouting.Those who have known and respected Bruce know he will be an asset in whatever capacity they see fit to place him.As far as the game on the ice, though, he&rsquo;ll certainly be missed. &#9632;

f0017-01

Gamble Gets The Bad News—Playing Days Ended

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0017-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02473/3222318-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Big defenseman RICK FOLEY of the Flyers is doing double duty with the Philadelphia club. He recently moved into the ticket office on a full-time basis and here he registers MARYANN De-FIDELTO to growing list of team&rsquo;s season ticket holders.</figcaption></div>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;When Rick Foley is good, he is very, very good. But when he is bad&mdash;he can drive even his own team bananas.And nobody knows that better than Big Rick.Which is why he swears he is settling down.Rick, better known as Father of King Kong, has moved permanently to Philadelphia, taking an apartment in Southhampton, Bucks County, and a full-time job in the Flyers&rsquo; ticket office.What&rsquo;s more Rick, who is the biggest man in hockey at 6-4 and 230-plus, now spends his nights making appearances at father and son banquets, supermarket openings and sports dinners.&ldquo;I want to play here,&rdquo; says Rick. &ldquo;Everyone has been just great to me in the organization. And the fans are probably the best in hockey.&rdquo;Last season was a turbulent one for the 26-year-old brusing defenseman. Traded here from Chicago for Andre Lacroix, Foley set club records for defensemen scoring with 11 goals and 36 points.He also set records for giving coach Fred Shero gray hairs with misconducts, missed practices and mismanagement of his eating habits.Ah, but that&rsquo;s all past says Rick.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got a great, three-year contract,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;a new attitude, and a lot of desire.&rdquo;Rick says he enjoys working in the ticket office &ldquo;because I get to talk to the fans all the time.&rdquo;Coach Shero, who saw Rick suspended for nearly a month last season, is enthused and hopes Rick is straightening out.&ldquo;He told me he wants to play and with that attitude he could become one of the best defensemen in the NHL,&rdquo; commented Shero.Foley has been working out in a rubber suit daily to get his weight down to 215 before training camp in Ottawa, Canada, in September.&ldquo;I really love it in Philly,&rdquo; says Rick. &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t played in a better town. That&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;m making my home here.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03394/3222311-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="1200" height="1200"><figcaption class="caption-body">Former Flyer star LEW MORRISON, who went to Atlanta in the expansion draft, gives a few hockey tips to KRIS SHUMSKAS, a 14-year girl who was the first to attend the Radnor Summer hockey school in Villanova, Pa. Miss Shumskas was among 500 boys and three girls who registered at school.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0017-02

‘New’ Foley Joins Flyers’ Front Office

<div class="byline">&#x2014;JOHNSTON</div>BUFFALO&mdash;Although they undoubtedly were concerned about the players they lost to the WHA, General Manager Punch Imlach and Coach Joe Crozier were happy to have their &ldquo;big three&rdquo; ready to play for the Sabres next season.The three are Gil Perreault and Rick Martin, who led the club in scoring during 1971-72 with 74 points apiece, and goalie Roger Crozier, who held the club together when the going was tough during its first two NHL seasons.Perreault, whose passes helped Martin set a league rookie record of 44 goals, was reported under pressure to sign with the Quebec Nordiques of the WHA but he agreed to a multi-year pact with the Sabres.The 21-year-old French Canadian, rated by many as the most exciting forward in the game, was in Buffalo to appear at a press conference with Imlach, Sabres&rsquo; President and Board Chairman Seymour H. Knox III, and ViceChairman Northrup R. Knox. The Knox brothers also ventured to Gil&rsquo;s Victoriaville, Qu&eacute;bec, home to confirm his signing at another press conference.&ldquo;We are naturally very happy that Gil has chosen to remain in Buffalo,&rdquo; said Seymour Knox. &ldquo;We feel that the best is yet to come for Gil, and he will be a prime element in future Stanley Cup teams here in Buffalo.&rdquo;Perreault&rsquo;s second season with the Sabres was better than his first. As an NHL sophomore, he scored 26 goals and added 48 assists for 74 points&mdash;club records in assists and total points. He was winner of the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 1970-71, when he scored a record 38 goals and 34 assists. He was also named rookie of the year in all of pro sport by Sport Magazine for his performance that season.His second year performance was the first time a Calder Trophy winner had a better point total in his second season since Dave Keon of Toronto a decade ago.Perreault&rsquo;s ability has been praised by all in hockey; and the greatest single season goal-scorer in NHL history, Phil Esposito of Boston, predicts it will be Gil&mdash;if anyone&mdash;who will break his 76-goal single season record. &#9632;

Sabres Lock Up Perreault With Multi-Year Contract As Big Three Accepts Terms

<div class="byline">BY DICK JOHNSTON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01538/3222380-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="556" height="852"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKE ROBITAILLE&hellip;He Came Back</figcaption></div>BUFFALO&mdash;The Buffalo Sabres are disregarding World Hockey Association contracts signed by their players and are going after any players who jumped to the new league to try and get them back.That was made clear by Seymour H. Knox III when he announced at a press conference that Mike Robitaille, who had signed with the WHA&rsquo;s New York Raiders, had returned to the Buffalo roster after agreeing to a multi-year contract.&ldquo;We have definite plans about getting the others (who jumped to the WHA) back,&rdquo; said Knox. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not sitting idly by.&rdquo;Ironically, the night after Robitaille&rsquo;s return, another Sabre defenseman, Jim Watson, defected to the WHA&rsquo;s Los Angeles Sharks.Including Robitaille, Watson was the fifth Sabre regular to sign with the new league. The others were Al Hamilton, Danny Lawson and Mike Byers. Larry Mavety, Terry Ball, George Morrison, Reg Fleming and Francois Lacombe from Buffalo farm clubs also jumped.&ldquo;We certainly have not written off the other players who signed with the WHA,&rdquo; said Robert 0. Swados, club vice president and attorney. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going after every one of them.&rdquo;Swados then added, &ldquo;We feel the WHA contracts in these cases have no legal value. Every NHL contract has adoption clause under which the club is required to tender the player a contract for the following season. He is required to sign it to play in the NHL. If the player doesn&rsquo;t like the salary terms, he has the right to take it to arbitration.&ldquo;The WHA knows that if a player signs with one of their clubs and then signs a contract with an NHL club, the NHL contract has priority.&rdquo;Robitaille said he was a confused man under a great deal of pressure when he signed with th Raiders. &ldquo;I never had been confronted with this sort of pressure before,&rdquo; said the 24-year-old defenseman.&ldquo;The WHA came on strong when NHL clubs were thinking about the drafts and not paying any special attention to their players. I was wined and dined as I never was before. I&rsquo;ve given a lot of thought to this situation and I&rsquo;m convinced I&rsquo;ve done the right thing.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02439/3222373-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="544" height="842"><figcaption class="caption-body">JIM WATSON&hellip;But He Jumped</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0018-01

Sabres Launch Counter Action To Get Players Back

<div class="byline">BY GIL SMITH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01518/3222411-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="574" height="1078"><figcaption class="caption-body">SCOTTY BOWMAN&hellip;We&rsquo;ll Be Better</figcaption></div>MONTREAL&mdash;Though his team allowed 11 fewer goals last season than they had the year before, Montreal coach Scotty Bowman is far from satisfied with the overall defensive effort.What&rsquo;s more, he intends to improve it in the upcoming season and figures he has the personnel to do the job. In fact, there&rsquo;ll be a nearrecord number of candidates for defense positions when Habs open training camp in September and Bowman is delighted at the prospect of heavy competition.&ldquo;We depended too much on Ken Dryden last season.&rdquo; says Scotty. &ldquo;Some of the guys seemed to have the idea that because we had an outstanding goalie, they could forget about defense. I can think of several games that were lost because of that type of thinking.&ldquo;It&rsquo;ll be different next season,&rdquo; warns Bowman. &ldquo;The defense has to tighten up, and I&rsquo;m glad to say there&rsquo;ll be plenty of candidates competing for defense jobs when we go to training camp.&rdquo;Among them will be talented Bob Murdoch whom Habs &ldquo;risked&rdquo; in the June draft, but will whom they were able to fill when he was passed over by N.Y. Islanders in favor of Bart Crashley.Larry Robinson, a potential young super star who played for the Voyageurs last season, will be given a close look.Those names, added to regulars on the blueline such as J.C. Tremblay, Jacques Laperriere, Terry Harper, Guy Lapointe, Serge Savard, together with Pierre Bouchard, Dale Hoganson and Jim Roberts, not too mention the aging but still starry Noel Price, give Canadiens a mighty chunk of blueline talent to choose from.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve said it before, I&rsquo;m not trying to change Canadiens into an overly defensive club, it&rsquo;s not their style.&rdquo; Bowman noted. &ldquo;But, when I took over as coach, five other teams had better goals-against averages than we did. Last season, four other teams were better in that department. Obviously, I&rsquo;m looking for more improvement.&rdquo;Though the Canadiens of last season could hardly be considered a team with defensive &ldquo;woes,&rdquo; they did blow a lot of early leads to wind up on the losing side of the ledger.In a recent statistic issued by the NHL&rsquo;s Ron Andrews; it was shown that Canadiens scored the first goal of a game more often than any other team in the league last season, yet wound up blowing a fair share of those leads. Habs scored first in 55 of the 78 games played. However, they lost that lead and subsequently the game in six different instances and tied another six games, giving them 92 of a possible 110 points.Had they salvaged the 18 points lost by blowing leads, Canadiens would&rsquo;ve finished first in their division.&ldquo;There are many reasons for a team giving up early leads,&rdquo; says Bowman. &ldquo;The fowards aren&rsquo;t blameless in sitations like that, by any means. But, usually, it indicates some slackening of defense, and that&rsquo;s what we want to improve on next season.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0019-01

Bowman Likes Habs’Defense Depth

<div class="byline">BY DONALD BERNS</div>ST. LOUIS&mdash;Some night this coming hockey season at the St. Louis Arena there will be a deafening roar from the throats of 19,000 fans&mdash;all for one man, Noel Picard.Picard played only 15 games last season before his right foot was badly mangled in a horseback-riding mishap. The road to recovery has been very slow, but Picard is traveling that road with the kind of hearty confidence that he has always displayed.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02447/3222466-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="264" height="468"><figcaption class="caption-body">Noel Picard</figcaption></div>Immediately after the accident in November there was doubt that Picard&rsquo;s foot would even be saved. But surgery reset all of the broken bones in place, and Picard began months of hobbling on crutches with his foot in a cast.Finally, the cast came off, and the crutches were abandoned. In mid-June Picard put on his skates for the first time in seven months and ventured on to the ice of a practice rink.&ldquo;My foot was a little stiff and sore,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but there&rsquo;s no use to baby it. Of course, I can&rsquo;t afford to fall.&rdquo;Picard has been skating every day and plans to continue exercising right up to training camp.&ldquo;If training camp goes well,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be in as good a shape as anytime.&rdquo;The St. Louis Blues aren&rsquo;t making rash predictions as to when Picard will be able to play hockey, and the big defenseman himself admits that there is a &ldquo;big difference between skating and playing hockey.&rdquo; Dr. J. G. Probstein, the team physician, admits he is pleased with Picard&rsquo;s progress but hesitates to predict an early return to action.Picard apparently will not be ready to play at the beginning of the season, nor even by the first anniversary of his accident in November. But he apparently will be back in the lineup sometime during the season, although the date or even the month is strictly a guess.&ldquo;A lot of people have said they hope I&rsquo;ll be back,&rdquo; Picard said. &ldquo;And that makes me feel good. I was a little worried about the expansion draft, but the Salomons told me they would protect me.&rdquo;Picard, of course, is someone special in St. Louis hockey. He is the only team member picked by the Blues in the original expansion draft. He has been with the team throughout every minute of its existence, and his good-natured personality has left an indelible mark on the entire franchise. His bruising play on the ice gave him immediate stature in the days when expansion teams had to fight to stay in the rink and came to characterize the Blues&rsquo; style as they scrapped their wav to three straight Stanley Cup finals.The depth of the fans&rsquo; feelings for Picard was shown on the night he was released from the hospital last fall, when he made a dramatic appearance at the Arena moments before the start of a game with the Boston Bruins. The fans had given the Blues their usual standing ovation when the players came on to the ice and were settling into their seats when Picard&rsquo;s wheel-chair was pushed into view near the players&rsquo; entrance. The applause began at that spot and rippled through the huge Arena as fans became aware of Picard&rsquo;s presence and grew into a thunderous ovation as fans both laughed and cried.Perhaps that same scene will be repeated at the Arena during this coming season. However. Picard will not be in a wheelchair. He will be wearing skates and his familiar No. 4. &#9632;

f0019-02

Blues’ Picard Hopes He Cun Make It Back

<div class="byline">BY NORM MacLEAN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01363/3222504-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="542" height="1052"><figcaption class="caption-body">JEAN RATELLE&hellip;Key To Title</figcaption></div>NEW YORK&mdash;It is no coincidence that in a span of eight years since Emile Francis took over the reins of the New York Rangers, Gotham has in effect become the capital city of hockey.Montreal enthusiasts won&rsquo;t like this and there are those who say that Boston, with the AHL Braves and New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association deserves a look, but only New York presents two NHL teams, the Rangers and the newly minted New York Islanders, plus a WHA sextet, the Raiders. And all of them are playing in major league buildings, with the Rangers and Raiders in the Garden and the Islanders in the brand new Nassau Coliseum.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02274/3222497-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="257" height="440"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ab DeMarco</figcaption></div>Francis did it with hard work and extra 18 hours a day effort. He showed why when he made a coast to coast trip in June visiting almost all of his players, and discussing contract for next season with them. Emile &ldquo;The Cat&rdquo; realizes that the WHA is competing for his talent, and he got the jump, as usual.Francis does not look down his nose at the WHA nor does he patronize nor minimize it. He is realistic and simply tries to beat an opponent, on or off the ice, to the punch.Francis, in going to his players, showed his men he cared enough about them and the Rangers, to see them personally, and not try to use the telephone. He employed the same tactic in March when he inveigeled Phil Goyette, the classy, but aging center, out of retirment to help out in the emergency-created by the injury to Jean Ratelle.So far, the Rangers have lost only Jim Dorey to the WHA. Dorey signed with the New England Whalers. His loss reduces the number of experienced defensemen on New York, to five. They are Brad Park, Dale Rolfe, Jim Neilson, Rod Seiling and Ab DeMarco. Dorey, who joined New York in February, in a trade with Toronto, in which Pierre Jarry went to the Leafs, was hurt in his first game. He separated his shoulder, was operated upon and returned to a bit of action in the finals. If all Ranger rearguards stay healthy, his loss is minimal and may give DeMarco a long awaited opportunity to see steady action. Dorey had been counted upon to supply sock on the blue line as he is a rock them, sock them type.For the new season, the Rangers are going to operate with Providence of the AHL as their one and only professional farm. Larry Popein will be the coach with Francis also the general manager of the Reds. You can bet, that Francis&rsquo; assistant in New York, Dennis Ball, the director of the farm system will be beating a path to the Reds door all season long.Popein, the former center for the Bathgate, Prentice line of the fities has coached at Omaha. Seattle and Omaha in the past three seasons. He is a Francis man all the way.The Rangers will open training at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium on September 13. They will play an eight game exhibition schedule all against NHL opponents with three being in New York. Two are at the Garden September 25 (Boston) and October 2 (Montreal) and one is at the Nassau Coliseum versus the Islanders on September 27. This will be the first ever meeting between the Rangers and their new Gotham rivals.&ldquo;Playing strictly against NHL opponenets always helps in preparing for the regular schedule,&rdquo; said Francis. &ldquo;And getting set in New York a couple of weeks before the season opens is a big boon to our players and their families.&rdquo;Little things like this spell out why the Rangers are a close family type organization. They got off to a fast start last year due to superior conditioning and desire. More of same is the requirement for the 1972-73 campaign. With two new hockey teams in New York, a Ranger Stanley Cup would be the frosting on the cake for Gotham.Realistically, New York is better than Chicago, with the Hawks having lost Bobby Hull. Montreal is always tough and New York fans should not write them off despite the Rangers&rsquo; playoff triumph. And Bruin fans shouldn&rsquo;t feel that next time the Rangers couldn&rsquo;t take the champs. Bobby Orr&rsquo;s knee surgery may have an awful lot to do with the outcome of the race; just as the recovery Jean Ratelle makes from his ankle injury.&ldquo;I feel fine now,&rdquo; said Jean in a New York visit in late June. &ldquo;But I haven&rsquo;t skated on it since the end of the playoffs. It will take work to get it just the way it was before the injury.&rdquo;BLUE CHIPS: Some NHL sources feel that a legal challenge to those WHA jumpers who had NHL contracts will be forthcoming. This involves the reserve clause. The NHL might try to enjoin the jumpers from playing in the WHA next season. Then if they sat out, they might be free for the year after. We are not a lawyer, but this is a guess&hellip;Rangers are completely sold out, with all 17,250 seats gone on a season basis for next season. New York hockey tickets are now the toughest ticket in all New York and that includes the Knicks, Nets, Mets, Yankees, the theatre and even Ch, Calcutta. &#9632;

f0020-01

New York Makes New Claim—Capital Of Hockey

<div class="byline">BY JACK MCCARTHY</div>BOSTON&mdash;Phil Esposito, the Bruins&rsquo; high-scoring centerman, says that he will play for the Canadian team against the Russians in the upcoming international series in September.Big Phil was upset by stories that he might not be able to get away from his hockey school to play for Coach Harry Sinden&rsquo;s squad.He is involved in a hockey school in Weymouth, outside of Boston, and, more to the point, a school in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., which runs from July 31 through the month of August.Team Canada starts training in Maple Leaf Gardens Aug. 13.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03229/3222535-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="267" height="438"><figcaption class="caption-body">Don Marcotte</figcaption></div>Espo has led NHL scorers for three of the last four seasons, and helped the Bruins win the Stanley Cup in two of the last three years. He won the scoring championship last season, and scored 76 goals and 152 points two seasons ago.Espo can put the puck in the net and Team Canada needs his scoring touch. There is no problem with contract, as he is signed to a four-year pact with the Bruins. There are five other Bruins on the squad, Wayne Cashman, Derek Sanderson, Don Awrey, Bobby Orr and Gerry Cheevers.Said Espo, &ldquo;I am definitely going to be there. I never said I wouldn&rsquo;t be there. They have asked me to play and I will play. I really didn&rsquo;t know that much about it. All this hinged, of course, on whether the Bruins let me.&rdquo;Charles W. Mulcahy, Jr., Bruins&rsquo; attorney, said. &ldquo;The Bruins take the position that they are not going to tell anybody to go, nor are they going to refuse permission to anybody that asks to go.&rdquo;Sinden has said that he would work out an arrangement with Espo whereby he could take a few days off here and there from training camp to appear at his school. Esposito, of course, had represented to the parents of voungsters that he would be instructing them at his school. For him not to show up would cause another flap with the kids and their parents.There was also the problem, and this was not Esposito&rsquo;s alone by any means, as to what happens if a player were to get hurt badly enough to damage or end his career. This matter became settled when the NHL decided signed contracts would protect players in the event of an injury.Esposito felt that he was being put in a bad light. &ldquo;When the stories broke, I had not talked to to Harry. I read in the papers that I was supposed to be there, but I really didn&rsquo;t know&hellip;I never said I wouldn&rsquo;t be there.&rdquo;Don Awrey has confirmed that his agent is discussing WHA offers, although the steady Bruins&rsquo; defenseman says, &ldquo;I intend to honor the second year of my contract.&rdquo; Mike Carroll of Pro Athletes&rsquo; Consultants handles Awrey&rsquo;s negotiations, as well of those of Dallas Smith, who is also reported to be unhappy. Dallas is also on the second year of his Bruin contract, which was reached last year after going to arbitration.With Johnny McKenzie gone to Philadelphia Blazers as player-coach, and Eddie Westfall drafted by Long Island (and being wooed by the New England Whalers, WHA), Don Marcotte figures large in Bruins plans this season.The bard-hitting Marcotte, 24, a right wing, hopes to play at lot more than he has been. He also should take over the penalty-killing job with Derek Sanderson, a post capably filled by Westfall the past few years.Marcotte, a former resident of Asbestos, Quebec, will most probably be tried at McKenzie&rsquo;s old spot on the line with center Fred Stanfield and left wing Johnny Bucyk&hellip;Marcotte likes contact and is a master of the smashing, but legal, body check.HERE &lsquo;N THERE: Bobby Orr was back in Boston from his camp in Orillia to be fitted with a special brace for his left knee, which was operated on at Mass. General Hospital early in June&hellip;He expects to exercise at the camp and eventually do some light skating, and doctors are hopeful that he will be at training camp in London, Ont&hellip;The new England Whalers of the WHA have announced the signings of Paul Hurley off the Boston Braves roster, and young defenseman Ron Plumb, who played at Oklahoma City on the Bruins roster&hellip;Plumb was protected in the draft by Boston. &#9632;

f0020-03

Angry Esposito Raps Charges He Wouldn’t Play For Canada

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0021-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0496/3222611-1-eng-US/f0021-042.jpg"></div>CLEVELAND&mdash;The WHA will begin play in early October with 12 teams operating in two divisions playing a 78-game schedule.With four Canadian and eight American entries, here&rsquo;s how the teams will be aligned by divisions:East: New York Raiders, New England Whalers, Philadelphia Blazers, Cleveland Crusaders, Quebec Nordiques and Ottawa Nationals.West: Chicago Cougars, Minnesota Fighting Saints, Winnipeg Jets, Alberta Oilers, Los Angeles Sharks and Houston Aeros.<h2>How World Hockey Association Teams Are Shaping Up &#9632;</h2>

f0021-04

WHA’s Divisional Lineup

CHICAGO&mdash;Marcel Pronovost, who has long aspired to be the Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; coach, gave up the ambition and promptly signed a one-year contract to direct the operations of the Chicago Cougars of the new World Hockey Association.Pronovost, who is 42, played 15 years in the NHL with Detroit and Toronto. The last three seasons, the one-time big league defenseman had been entrusted with developing Toronto&rsquo;s youth movement at Tulsa of the Central Hockey League. His Oilers were a contender every year.Last season when Leafs&rsquo; coach John McLellah fell ill there was speculation he would not return this season. The Leafs were reportedly coach hunting and Pronovost&rsquo;s name was at the top of the list of candidates. But McLellan returned.The Leafs said they were sorry to see Pronovost leave their organization but they were unable to match the offer the Chicago club made to land him. &#9632;

Pronovost To Coach At Chicago

<div class="byline">BY RICK PEARSON</div>CLEVELAND&mdash;If it is possible in a new league, things have stabilized in the World Hockey Association.Recent developments now point to 12 solid franchises and enough capable players to ice a league.The WHA appears to have passed through its initial period of flux. For a while there, each time a WHA franchise was supposedly healed, another blister showed up.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02159/3222580-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="260" height="448"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jim Dorey</figcaption></div>But now, with the addition of people like Nick Mileti in Cleveland, Jim Cooper in Philadelphia and the Kaiser brothers, Jordon and Walter, in Chicago, the league ap pears to have settled down.Mileti&rsquo;s Cleveland team&mdash;which will be known as the &lsquo;Crusaders&rsquo; and will have former Los Angeles and California coach Fred Glover as its director of player personnel&mdash;has become the WHA&rsquo;s 12th franchise rounding out the starting lineup for the first season.The big push in the player signing struggle also has dissipated. Now, the WHA seems content to go merrily along, filling out its rosters, secure in the knowledge that it will perform, as promised, beginning in October.A few of the clubs are lagging behind in procuring hockey playing bodies, but they are expected to be ready when training camps open next month.The WHA also lost a couple of players it really wanted, but wasn&rsquo;t all-fired sure of getting them anyway.Gil Perreault, the young wunderkind of the Buffalo Sabres, listened to the offer made by Quebec Nordiques. Then he said thank you, no. and signed again with Buffalo.Bill Harris, the devastating Toronto junior star, turned down a 8750,000, five-year offer made by the Philadelphia Blazers to sign a two-year, $250,000 pact with the New York Islanders.It is easy to wonder if Harris made a mistake. He is accustomed to winning. The Islanders are an NHL expansion team. In Philly, he would have been teammates with John McKenzie and Bernie Parent, among others.Reports come floating in that several WHA clubs are finished signing players. Signing, mind you, not announcing.Winnipeg, for instance, has announced 10 players. Reportedly, they have ceased signing players. The rest of their roster will be announced when it becomes appropriate.Usually, the announcement is withheld because of some contractural commitment on behalf of the player or because his former club still owes him money.That, and the good public relations sense to spread things out a little.Philadelphia reportedly has close to 30 players under contract. which leaves them plenty to announce over the summer.There is also a young man called Derek Sanderson, whose name has scarcely been mentioned in connection with the WHA since the Miami Screaming Eagles went under. Derek, who just finished the final year of his contract, is on the Philadelphia negotiation list, by rite of adoption.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-03116/3222573-1-eng-US/f0021-032.jpg" title="f0021-03" width="1796" height="1040"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Philadelphia Blazers&rsquo; top brass, president JAMES L. COOPER, back left, and BERNARD A. BROWN, chairman of the board, are a happy twosome as they exhibit team sign behind star goaling acquisition BERNIE PARENT and his wife, CAROL. Parents were on hand for signing of Bernie&rsquo;s lucrative five-year contract which calls for more than $100,000 per season.</figcaption></div>In the past, he has shared an apartment with John McKenzie, the Blazers&rsquo; player-coach and his former teammate in Boston.Cooper said recently that negotiations with Sanderson are very much alive and that the Blazers&rsquo; budget could handle the likely fat figure it would take to land Derek.Sanderson&rsquo;s attorney. Bob Woolf, agreed with the first part of Cooper&rsquo;s statement and probablv hopes the second is an indication of the Blazers&rsquo; intent.Meanwhile, the New England Whalers continue to set the pace for the rest of the WHA in player signings. They have been relentless in their pursuit of top players and it shows in their roster.The Whalers added former Boston Bruin forward Tommy Williams of the Boston Braves and defenseman Jim Dorey of the New York Rangers to their lineup.The signings bring to 19 the number of players now under multi-year contracts with the WHA entry, the largest number in the 12-team league which is scheduled to begin play in October.The acquisition of Dorey brought to three the number of NHL regulars the Whalers will have on their asupicious looking defense. Dorey joins ex-Leafs Ricky Ley and Brad Selwood and makes him the seventh National Leaguer to sign with the New England club.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01217/3222566-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="556" height="583"><figcaption class="caption-body">NICK MILETI&hellip;Accepted By WHA</figcaption></div>Williams is the second former Seal and former Bruin to sign with the Whalers, joining Tom Webster who also inked a Whalers&rsquo; pact.It isn&rsquo;t always good business to contribute to the success of your competitors. But in the case of the Whalers putting up $100,000 as their share of Bobby Hull&rsquo;s bonus to sign with the Winnipeg Jets there&rsquo;s little doubt that the local entry made a wise investment.Prior to Hull&rsquo;s signing, the Whalers were averaging about 100 season ticket sales per day. Since Hull jumped to the WHA. however, the Whalers&rsquo; ticket staff has had to burn the midnight oil to keep up with the orders that are now running in excess of 200 per day.Howard L. Baldwin, president of the New England Club, announced the team will play 20 of its 39 home games this season at the 6,000-seat Boston Arena. The team had announced earlier that the other 19 home games would be played at Boston Garden.The majority of the Arena games will be played on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings.The decision to play at the Arena, according to Baldwin, was based in great part on the announced intention of the Boston Arena Authority to make extensive improvements in the St. Botolph Street facility in advance of the upcoming season.The announcement cleared the way for the team to start immediately to accept season ticket orders for Arena games.&ldquo;We fully expect,&rdquo; Baldwin said, &ldquo;that there will be a very limited number of Arena tickets available for general sale. The interest already demonstrated by the fans makes us confident that most of the 6.000 seats in the Arena will be taken by season ticket holders.&rdquo;In conclusion, Baldwin said he was extremely pleased with the fact that all of the home games would be played in the Boston area in easy reach of the thousands of hockey fans who have already established the city as the hockey capital of the world. He then promised that &ldquo;a new ultra-modern arena was in the Whaters future and that he fully expected to be playing in the new facility no later than the 1974-75 season, and possibly sooner. &#9632;

f0021-02

Cleveland In As 12th Team; New Backers Stabilize Loop

TIDEWATER&mdash;Most everything about the Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; farm club affiliate in the American Hockey League will be new for the 197273 season.The Wings have announced that Doug Barkley will be back as full time coach. Jack Prince is the new executive vice-president and it is generally agreed by the Detroit front office that the club will apparently be known as the Virginia Wings from now on.Jim Bishop, executive director of the Detroit Hockey Club, announced the appointment of Prince. Bishop said Prince would be in charge of the Virginia operation. &ldquo;Our problem is unique. It needs exposure. The job needs to be done on a different level&mdash;not on the ice. We got somebody who knows what he&rsquo;s doing. Jack Prince really believes in the area he represents.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02168/3222697-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="565" height="529"><figcaption class="caption-body">JACK PRINCE&hellip;Named By Detroit</figcaption></div>Prince, recently resigned vice president and general manager of WTAR Radio-TV Corporation, succeeds Jack Timmins who has rejoined the Detroit scouting staff.Prince is well known in the Tidewater area business and sports fields. He has a proven record of accomplishments in business, social and civic affairs and has distinguished himself in encouraging local firm support for programs and projects which have contributed to the well being and advancement of the business community.One of Prince&rsquo;s first acts as executive vice-president of the Virginia hockey operation, was to get Barkley back as coach of the Wings, who missed the playoffs last season while finishing last in the Western Division.&ldquo;Doug (Barkley) is a natural for the job. After taking over the coaching reins last January he pulled the club together and revived fan support. I&rsquo;m confident he can and will do an outstanding job for us and for hockey in Tidewater.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0022-02

Prince, Barkley To Head Up Virginia Wings’ Operation

CINCINNATI&mdash;The Cincinnati Swords are ready to embark on season two in their American Hockey League existence and the man who will be at the controls again is Floyd Smith.The parent Buffalo Sabres made it clear Smith, who served as interim coach of the Swords during the last half of the 1971-72 campaign would return. Smith&rsquo;s handling of Buffalo&rsquo;s up and coming young stars with Cincinnati last season brought high praise from the NHL club&rsquo;s front office during the off season. In their opinion there was no doubt about Smith coming back here.The 37-year-old veteran of 12 seasons in the National Hockey League moved in as Swords&rsquo; coach January 12, 1972, when Joe Crozier was called to Buffalo to fill in as Sabres coach for Punch Imlach. who had suffered a heart attack. Since then Imlach has retired from coaching to give full time to his duties as general manager, and Crozier has been named his successor as coach of the Sabres.Smith, who remarked late last season. &ldquo;Mv rookies are making a rookie coach look pretty good,&rdquo; took the young Swords to third place in the American Hockey League&rsquo;s Western Division, just one point out of first, and then guided them into the semi-final round of the AHL&rsquo;s Calder Cup playoffs. They were finally eliminated in that round by the Baltimore Clippers in six games.Smith&rsquo;s record as coach of the Swords was 169-10 during the regular season and 22-13-10 overall. The highlight of the campaign came in the opening round of the playoffs when the Swords blasted the Hershey Bears in four successive games.As a player Smith served with five different National Hockey League clubs&mdash;Boston. New York, Detroit, Toronto, and Buffalo, where he was the Sabres&rsquo; first captain. He was recognized as one of the game&rsquo;s premier penalty killers.The Perth. Ontario, native scored 135 goals and was credited with 177 assists during his NHL career. &#9632;

Smith Wins Return Shot at Cincinnati Job

<div class="byline">BY GREG FARLEY</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGER HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD. Arnold Street. Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaBOSTON&mdash;The defection of Braves&rsquo; defenseman Paul Hurley to the New England Whalers&mdash;the sixth member of last year&rsquo;s eastern division titlists to be lost via the expansion draft or WHA enticement came as a surprise to few.Hurley, who acquired both a baby daughter and a new house midway through last season, had inferred on several occasions that he would be more than interested in an offer from the new league, and especially the Whalers.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01238/3222666-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="260" height="434"><figcaption class="caption-body">Paul Hurley</figcaption></div>Hurley was the first member of the Braves blueline corps to shift to foreign soil and while his heady defensive play and booming slap shot will be missed, the Braves are confident of locating a suitable replacement.The loss of Hurley coupled with the departure of goalie Dan Bouchard (Atlanta) and forwards Garry Peters (N.Y. Islanders), Don Tannahill (Vancouver). Mike Hyndman (WHA) and Don O&rsquo;Donoghue (Rochester) has resulted in a king-sized headache for last year&rsquo;s coach-of-the-year. Bep Guidolin.Additionally, the Braves may be facing the loss of two of their three right wingers (Dough Rolberts. Fred O&rsquo;Donnell and Terry O&rsquo;Reilly) to the parent Bruins who now have two vacancies at that post after losing both Eddie Westfall and John McKenzie, although Bruin bench jocks Don Marcotte and Ace Bailey would appear to have the inside track for those openings despite the fact that neither is a right winger by trade.On a brighter level, the Braves were both surprised and relieved that All-Star defenseman Nick Beverley was untouched in the draft.Beverley, a stalwart and team leader last year, seemed destined to wind up in Atlanta or New York, but for some mysterious reason was bypassed and remains the property of the Braves.In an attempt to offset the offensive voids created, by the losses of Tannahill and Peters, Boston plucked center Claude Piche, a 26-goal scorer from the EHL&rsquo;s Roanoke Valley Rebels, and left winger Kerry Bond, who notched 20 markers for the Phoenix Roadrunners of the WHL.Favorably influenced by the success of Boston University&rsquo;s Steve Stirling in his first campaign with the Braves, GM Milt Schmidt signed a pair of last season&rsquo;s NCAA champs to multiyear pacts. Bob Gryp and Ron Anderson.Gryp, who can play either center or wing, was a three year regular on the BU varsity, while Anderson, a center and co-captain elect for the coming year, is a rangy center and tenacious checker.Both will report to the Bruins&rsquo; training camp in London, Ont. and, if impressive, will most likely be assigned to the Braves.Another prospective Brave could be Craig Sarner, the leading scorer for the 1972 U.S. Olympic squad, who functions best on the right side but can also handle the pivot area.Tuesday night will be the busiest of the season at home for the Braves, with 18 dates slated for that day, followed by Saturday with 12, including a number of matinee affairs.Ticket prices will remain unchanged ($4.00, $3.50, $2.50 and $2.00), as does the starting time for all Garden night games&mdash;7:30 p.m.The Cleveland Barons, as they did last year, will provide the opposition on opening night, Tuesday. Oct. 6.PROVIDENCE: The Reds will be sporting a new look from top to bottom this season, with a new general manager&mdash;coach (Larry Popein), arena (new Downtown Civic Center) and several new faces&hellip;Gone are defensemen Neil Nicholson and Bill Speer, centers Brian Perry and Bob Leduc, and wingers Alton White and Don Blackburn, the circuit&rsquo;s leading scorer last year&hellip;The Reds picked up right winger Rene Leclerc from san Diego of the WHL.SPRINGFIELD: Goalie Bruce Landon is gone for sure, but the question is to where? Landon, who played in 32 games with a 3.69 goals against average and posted two shutouts, was tabbed by both Nova Scotia, obviously counting on the loss of Michel Plasse to the parent Canadiens as Ken Dryden&rsquo;s back-up, and the New England Whalers&hellip;Also lost to the WHA was left winger Brian Carlin, a sharpshooter who fired 35 goals a year ago&hellip;The Kings added right winger Ross Webley from the Boston organization, who toiled for their now-defunct Oklahoman City CHL entry last year, and left winger Ron Dussiaume, a rugged customer who spent most of last season with Dallas of the same league.NEW HAVEN: Hockey fever is already running high in this city, despite the fact that the newest AHL entry has yet to be stocked&hellip;Season ticket applicants have swamped the new Veterans Memorial Coliseum, where the Nighthawks open their season against Springfield on Wednesday, Oct. 4&hellip;Wednesday (18 dates) and Sunday (15) will be the most active evenings for the Hawks, who have set a 7:30 p.m. starting time for weeknight contests with Sabbath encounters facing off at. 7:00 p.m.&hellip;The Nighthawks, an affiliate of the Minnesota North Stars, will be stocked this year by the New York Islanders, while the Stars complete the final leg of their three year deal with Clveland. &#9632;

f0022-01

Defection, Drafts Deplete Ranks Of Boston Braves

<div class="byline">BY HANS TANNER</div>ROCHESTER&mdash;After four seasons of last-place finishes in the American Hockey League, the Rochester Americans have escaped from the ownership of the Vancouver Canucks.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01215/3222759-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="556" height="582"><figcaption class="caption-body">DON CHERRY&hellip;He&rsquo;s In Again</figcaption></div>By the time this reaches print, final contracts should have been signed for the purchase of the Amerks, for an undisclosed amount, by four Rochester businessmen. And Don Cherry, dismissed as Amerk coach by general manager Doug Adam June 13, should have been restored as coach and given the additional duties of general manager.An agreement in principle to purchase the club from Northwest Sports Enterprises Ltd. of Vancouver was reached here July 6.The four local businessmen are Joseph A. Hudson, administrative vice president of Lincoln First Banks; Robert W. Clarke, partner in the law firm of Woods, Oviatt, Gilman, Sturman and Clarke; Joseph P. Fox, president of Champion Products Inc., and Donald L. Clark, president of Bernz-O-Matic Corporation.The agreement was fully contingent on the new group&rsquo;s arrival at a lease agreement with the City of Rochester for the War Memorial facilities.There have been rumblings about the sale of the Amerks since last spring when Vancouver purchased control of Seattle&rsquo;s Western League team. It obviously made more sense for the Canucks to operate a team that much closer to home base. And the Canucks obviously do not have enough players to stock two farm teams.Adam is not returning as Rochester general manager. He has another year to go under contract to the Canucks and was not available to discuss his future plans.Part of the agreement to purchase the club was an option to buy some players. The Canucks started with a list of 10 four of whom have retired and three who have jumped to the World Hockey Association. The only three who were available as players at that time were goalie Serge Aubry and defensemen Bob Blackburn and John Hanna. More players were expected to be added to the list by the Canucks.The Amerks plans to operate as an independent this season.Since most NHL clubs have cut back to one minor league team and they are limited as to the number of older players by development club rules, the Amerks hope to obtain older players on loan from various National League teams.Both Hudson and Clarke were part owners the last time the Amerks were owned locally. And, oddly, they bought the team on July 6 then, too. It was July 6, 1966, when a Rochester group headed by Clarke bought the franchise and 19 players from Toronto for about $500,000.The Clarke group sold 31 players and the franchise to Vancouver Aug. 13, 1968, for about $750,000.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02170/3222752-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="550" height="566"><figcaption class="caption-body">DOUG ADAM&hellip;Out Of Picture</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0023-01

New Rochester Group Taking Over Americans

<div class="byline">BY JOHN TRAVERS</div>HERSHEY&mdash;Coach Frank Mathers, who also doubles as general manager of the Hershey Bears, can&rsquo;t wait until training camp opens here Sept. 18.&ldquo;From all indications.&rdquo; said Mathers, Dean of the American League coach es, &ldquo;we&rsquo;ll have a young, fast team.&rdquo;&ldquo;We have a nucleus of eight players we own returning and then we&rsquo;ll get a chance to look at some 20 players from the Pittsburgh Penguins.&rdquo; Pittsburgh is Hershey&rsquo;s parent National League club.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03133/3222790-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="256" height="422"><figcaption class="caption-body">Hank Nowak</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Right now I haven&rsquo;t the least idea of who will be sent down after Pittsburgh&rsquo;s camp.&rdquo; said Mathers. &ldquo;But I did get a chance to see some of them in action this spring in the junior playoffs in Ottawa. I was impressed.&rdquo;The Penguins are slated to report to training camp Sept. 11 at Brantford, Ont. Mathers, along with club president Lloyd Blinco will be at the Pittsburgh camp for the first week.Hershey&rsquo;s main rebuilding program centers on goaltending and defense. &ldquo;Pittsburgh has a half-dozen goalies and we have Andre Gill with us,&rdquo; said Mathers. &ldquo;No matter how it turns out we should end up with two fine ones.&ldquo;I expect to look at about eight defensemen who will be at Pittsburgh&rsquo;s camp,&rsquo; he said. We plan to carry six at the season&rsquo;s outset and then maybe cut to five after a month or so.&rdquo;Hershey has two of its own blueliners, veterans Ralph Keller and Bob Barber.Returning on the forward lines are Gil Gilbert, the club&rsquo;s top scorer last season with 71 points; Ted Snell; Jean Gratton, and Hank Nowak, drafted from the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; farm team at Richmond.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very optimistic at this time,&rdquo; said Mathers. &ldquo;Last year I enjoyed working with the young players and I know I&rsquo;ll even enjoy it more this season. We should have players with physical size and speed.&ldquo;If we can strengthen at goal and on defense, and there&rsquo;s no reason why we can&rsquo;t. I feel we&rsquo;ll challenge for the Western Division championship again.&rdquo;Hershey finished in a tie with Baltimore for the West title last season, but the Clippers were awarded top spot because they had won one more game than the Bears. &#9632;

f0023-03

Goal, Defense Major Problems In Hershey’s Rebuilding Plans

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01219/3222845-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">New Richmond coach LARRY WILSON, left, talks strategy with Philadelphia coach FRED SHERO during recent summer hockey meetings in Montreal. Wilson was hired by NHL Flyers to handle their AHL farm club.</figcaption></div>RICHMOND&mdash;The second year could be better than the first for the Richmond Robins in the American Hockey League. At least that&rsquo;s the hope of Hillman Lyons, general manager of the AHL club.The Robins will start from scratch this year what with player defections to the WHA and the summer hockey drafts, cutting into their roster.They&rsquo;ll even have a new head coach in Larry Wilson.Lyons is particularly high on his new coach. The Robins were inched out of the Calder Cup playoffs last season with Eddie Bush at the helm. Bush has been removed and Wilson is coming in as his replacement and Lyons is emphatic about his respect for Wilson&rsquo;s coaching.Wilson, who coached Providence Reds last season in the AHL after leading the Reds to the Eastern Division title in 1970-71, says he has only one goal with the Robins&mdash;to win.In making the announcement both Keith Allen, general manager of the parent Philadelphie Flyers and Robins, and Lyons, said they were extremely fortunate to get a man of Wilson&rsquo;s caliber and experience.&ldquo;No. 1, he&rsquo;s a winner. He&rsquo;s proven that,&rdquo; Allen said.After 19 seasons as a professionnal player, Wilson began his coaching career with Dayton of the International League and directed the Gems to two Turner Cup championships in as many years.He then moved to Providence and guided the Reds to their first divisional crown in eight years. They reached the Calder Cup finals, too. Last season Providence wound up fourth, key injuries destroying any chance of finishing higher.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s an excellent teacher,&rdquo; Allen continued. &ldquo;His teams are well-coached and well-disciplined, and he has the happy faculty of being able to handle veterans and rookies alike.&rdquo;The 41-year-old Wilson, a native of Kincardine, Ontario, Canada and former National Hockey League forward (Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings), replaces Eddie Bush who brought the Robins home fifth and out of the Western Division playoffs in their first season.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve talked to people in other organizations, and everybody says he&rsquo;s a winner. They had nothing but good words to say about him,&rdquo; Lyons said.&ldquo;It is extremely important to keep harmony, for the players to play up to their potential, and I know Larry Wilson is the man who can do it.&ldquo;What&rsquo;s more, I feel it&rsquo;s a definite advantage that we&rsquo;re getting somebody who&rsquo;s been in the league. He knows the players.&rdquo;Top priority, Wilson said, will be to give Richmond an exciting team but a winner as well. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a challenge,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but that&rsquo;s what I like.&rdquo;&ldquo;Every year I shoot for first place. I hate to lose.&rdquo;The Reds made three trips to Richmond last year. They were on hand for the Robins&rsquo; inaugural here when 7,214 saw the home team win, 3-2. The next time in Providence won, 2-1, before 6,271. For the Reds&rsquo; last visit, a crowd of 6,997 saw the Robins romp, 7-2.&ldquo;I think Richmond has a lot to offer. It has a great building, and I really was impressed by the reaction of the fans.&rdquo; Wilson said.&ldquo;I know the players are happy here, and that&rsquo;s basic in hockey. It&rsquo;s important that the players like where they are.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0024-01

New Richmond Coach Wilson Aims To Make Robins Winner

<div class="byline">BY JOHN ARNOLD</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02163/3222876-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="872" height="1166"></div>SOLUTION IN SEPTEMBER ISSUE<h2>Across</h2>1&mdash;Pictured player.7&mdash;One of the St. Louis Blues.8&mdash;Former Vancouver forward.10&mdash;Ex-NHL defenseman Mortson answers to this11&mdash;Played minor league defense.13&mdash;Period of time.15&mdash;Initials of an NHL general manager.16&mdash;Lost to Boston in first round of last year&rsquo;s Stanley Cup playoffs.17&mdash;One of the North Stars.18&mdash;21st and 25th letters of the alphabet.19&mdash;An NHL captain.20&mdash;Initials of former minor leaguer Stankiewicz.21&mdash;Native country of Bobby Sheehan.23&mdash;City in Norway.26&mdash;Former St. Louis forward.27&mdash;Pictured player answers to this.28&mdash;Rosaire Paiement injured one earlier this season.29&mdash;NHL forward Armstrong.30&mdash;One of the North Stars.31&mdash;Bobby Orr is considered one.<h2>Down</h2>1&mdash;Nickname of pictured player&rsquo;s brother.2&mdash;Birth place of Ron Stewart.3&mdash;Name of former Quebec team in AHL.4&mdash;Nickname of NHL team, (abbr.)5&mdash;Roberts of Boston in AHL.6&mdash;Former Ranger Hebenton answers to this.9&mdash;12th and 21st letters of the alphabet.11&mdash;A former Montreal and Chicago defenseman.12&mdash;Member of Detroit&rsquo;s Production Line.14&mdash;Wears No. 22 for New York.20&mdash;One of the North Stars.22&mdash;Affirmative.24&mdash;Same as 17 across.25&mdash;One of the San Diego Gulls.30&mdash;A Pittsburgh forward.<h2>LAST MONTH&rsquo;S ANSWERS</h2><h3>Across</h3>1&mdash;MCKENNEY.8&mdash;EDDOLLS.10&mdash;V.L11&mdash;SELBY.13&mdash;ICE15&mdash;HAY.16&mdash;SAM.17&mdash;R.K.19&mdash;100.20&mdash;LEE22&mdash;N.W.23&mdash;KEN.24&mdash;S.P.27&mdash;SHACK.29&mdash;ANGOTTI.31&mdash;ARNETT.<h3>Down</h3>1&mdash;MARSHALL2&mdash;KELLY.3&mdash;ED.4&mdash;N.D.5&mdash;NOV.6&mdash;EUIS.7&mdash;Y.L9&mdash;STEMKOWSKI.12&mdash;EA.14&mdash;CARON.18&mdash;KEENAN.21&mdash;EK.24&mdash;SHOT.25&mdash;PAT.26&mdash;ERA.27&mdash;SGT.28&mdash;CT30&mdash;N.E. &#9632;

f0024-02

HOCKEY CROSSWORD

<div class="byline">BY DOUG MCCONNELL</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGER HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD. Arnold Street. Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaSALT LAKE CITY&mdash;Al Rollins is used to being a winner.He expects to give the Salt Lake City fans one this year.The former National League goaltender gave Spokane three championships in three years in the Western International Hockey League before turning to the pro ranks with the Golden Eagles last year.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01177/3222914-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="264" height="428"><figcaption class="caption-body">Lyle Bradley</figcaption></div>Rollins doesn&rsquo;t even consider last year a losing one. &ldquo;We accomplished a lot,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When you look back over three years of Salt Lake history, it&rsquo;s quite a comparison.&rdquo; The Golden Eagles finished last season in fifth place with their best record ever, 29-33-10, including 12 victories on the road. For the first time in their three-years in the Western Hockey League, the Eagles had a winning mark at home, 17-12-7. They set new team records for goals scored and fewest foals allowed.Rollins is the first coach to last more than a year with Salt Lake City and he does it with new ownership.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re very pleased to have Al Rollins returning to manage and coach the Golden Eagles,&rdquo; said Garry Young, general manager of the California Golden Seals. &ldquo;After watching the progress of the Golden Eagles and their fantastic finish before just barely missing the playoffs by an eyelash. we know that Al is capable and can do the job.&rdquo;Apparently, Young and the Seals plan to give Rollins the material to do that job.When Charles 0. Finley bought the Eagles for the Seals&rsquo; No. 1 farm club, he got only seven players&mdash;defensemen Dave Amadio, Larry Palanio and Dave Haley, left wingers Roger Bellerive and Fred Hilts and center Lyle Bradley off last year&rsquo;s club and Morris Mott.&ldquo;Mott played for Queen&rsquo;s University in Canada last year,&rdquo; said Rollins, &ldquo;and I think he might make Oakland this season.&rdquo;Rollins, however, will be knee deep in talent when the Eagles go to training camp in the fall.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll have players that we&rsquo;ll have to loan out,&rdquo; said Rollins. &ldquo;Right now, I count 37 players on my roster. Most of them played at Baltimore last year.&ldquo;We get every player who doesn&rsquo;t make Oakland. That&rsquo;s why I can&rsquo;t name them all. One that we&rsquo;re supposed to get might beat out a regular with the Seals and then we get the regular.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got seven center icemen right now (including Bradley) Four are pros and three are amateurs, two of them top draft choices.&ldquo;At right wing, we&rsquo;ve got five players, three pros and two amateurs. We&rsquo;ve got six left wingers, three pros (including Hilts and Bellerive) and three amateurs.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sitting with 15 defense men, 10 of whom are pros and none of whom were with Oakland.&rdquo;That, of course, includes Polanio, coming off a fine rookie season, Amadio and Haley.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d say we&rsquo;re not too bad off in goal,&rdquo; said Rollins, somewhat tongue in cheek. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got either Marv Edwards or Lyle Carter as No. 1, whichever doesn&rsquo;t make Oakland.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02121/3222907-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="580" height="640"><figcaption class="caption-body">LYLE CARTER&hellip;Top Goaling Hope</figcaption></div>Edwards played for Phoenix the past two years and Carter finished last season with Salt Lake after his NHL baptismal with the Seals.The Eagles, according to Rollins, also have Ted Tucker, Ray Martyniuk and Jacques Lefebvre.Tucker, bought from Montreal, played for Clinton in the EHL last season. Martyniuk, after a stay in Seattle, went to Columbus in the International League. Lefebvre played junior with Shawinigan last year in the Quebec League. &#9632;

f0025-01

Rollins Sees Eagles Threat With New California Tie-Up

<div class="byline">&#x2014;MCCONNELL</div>PHOENIX&mdash;&ldquo;Disappointed but definitely not discouraged,&rdquo; is the way Phoenix Roadrunners&rsquo; president Jim Wells described rejection by the National Hockey League.The Roadrunners were one of 10 applicants for NHL franchises for the 1974-75 season. The franchises went to Washington, D.C., and to Kansas City, Kan.&ldquo;Unofficially, it is our understanding we ranked in the top four among 10 applicants,&rdquo; said Wells. &ldquo;On this basis, provided we do not stumble along the way, we have reason to believe we&rsquo;ll make it the next time around.&rdquo;No definite date has been set for further expansion, although the NHL has announced its intention of expanding to 24 teams by 1980. That means adding six more.&ldquo;We have been led to believe the next franchise award will be for the season of 1976-77,&rdquo; said Wells. &ldquo;The NHL governors are to meet in Toronto Aug. 23 and we are hopeful the timetable will be more cearly set forth at that time.&rdquo;The present Western Hockey League membership of six has been assured, by agreement with the NHL, of three of the NHL franchises as the major league increases to 24 teams by 1980.Quoting from the agreement, as released by the WHL office&ldquo;&hellip;Until such time as the NHL has at least four active franchises in presentWHL territories, the NHL will offer to present WHL member clubs at least one-half of the franchises included in each NHL expansion in North America after the 1974-75 season.&rdquo;As the Roadrunners view it, no other club is as ready right now. The market is hockey hungry, the Veterans Memorial Coliseum board has promised an addition of 5,000 seats, pushing capacity to over 17,000 and the Roadrunners have far more than the required financial backing. &#9632;

Phoenix Disappointed, Expects To Make NHL In Expansion For ‘76

SAN DIEGO&mdash;A big night in the history of San Diego Gull hockey will be Wednesday, October 4 when the Los Angeles Kings and the Gulls square off in a pre-season game to be played in San Diego at the Sports Arena. This will mark the first appearance of a team in San Diego from the NHL and the first time the Gulls have played an NHL club.The announcement was made by General Managers Max McNab of the Gulls and Larry Regan of the Kings at the meeting of the San Diego Sport writers and Sportscasters Association.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-0388/3222969-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg" title="f0025-03" width="262" height="380"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ron Anderson</figcaption></div>Gulls&rsquo; President Bob Breitbard commenting on the upcoming game said, &ldquo;We are excited about the prospects of playing the National Hockey League Los Angeles Kings and to see just what the Gulls hockey club can do against this great competition.&rdquo;Meanwhile, McNab knew what he was getting when he drafted Howie Hughes and Ron Anderson in the annual summer draft in Montreal. Both will come in handy when the Gulls skate out against the NHL Kings in their exhibition test.Hughes played for the Gulls&rsquo; manager-coach when McNab held the same post in Vancouver and Anderson is a veteran of the National Hockey League.Hughes, 33, can play center or right wing and played last season with the Seattle Totems, scoring 17 goals and 29 assists, second on the team in scoring. He also has seen action with the Los Angeles Kings in the NHL.&ldquo;Hughes is a proven, sound hockey player,&rdquo; said McNab. &ldquo;When Howie played for me in Vancouver, he played on the same line as Bill McNeill when he had his greatest scoring years.&rdquo;Anderson split last season between Salt Lake City and Buffalo. Also a wing, Anderson has played for the Detroit Red Wings, the Los Angeles Kings and the St. Louis Blues, as well as the Buffalo Sabres.McNab is high on the 27-year-old Anderson. &ldquo;Ron is a good defensive and sound hockey player and should be a great asset for us this season.&rdquo;Hughes and Anderson were teammates in 1968-69 when both performed for the Kings. &#9632;

f0025-03

Gulls To Oppose NHL Kings In Pre-Season Exhibition

SAN DIEGO&mdash;According to figures released by the San Diego office, Len Ronson leads the all-time Gull scoring race for the third consecutive year with 386 points. His total includes 194 goals and 192 assists.&ldquo;The Slingshot&rdquo; is 31 points ahead of his nearest rival, Al Nicholson. Al. the original Gull, has 355 points, including 157 goals and 198 assists.Five Gulls have scored over 100 goals in the team&rsquo;s six-year history. Ronson has 194, Nicholson 157, Fred Hilts (now with Salt Lake City) 150, Willie O&rsquo;Ree (117) and Warren Hynes (retired) 103.O&rsquo;Ree continues as the club&rsquo;s playoff scoring leader with 15 goals in 30 games. Ronson is next with 11, also in 30 games. Ronson leads in playoff assists with 17 and points with 28.Hynes, although retired over a year, still leads the Gulls in assists with 207. Nicholson is second with 198.Nicholson, completing his sixth season with the club, has missed only one regular season contest, that during the 1969-70 season. He has played in 433 regular season games and 30 playoff games for the Gulls.Jim Cardiff, the scrappy forward-defenseman. took over the penalty lead from former Gull Jim Eagle, with 396 minutes to Eagle&rsquo;s 328. &#9632;

Ronson Still Top Gull Sniper

<div class="byline">BY TOM LOBAUGH</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada byHILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD.Arnold Street. Wallaceburg, OntarioSold in U.S. and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada byHILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD.Arnold Street. Wallaceburg, OntarioSold in U.S. and CanadaTULSA&mdash;The Fort Worth Wings were back in the Central Hockey League, the Kansas City Blues were out, the Tulsa Oilers were looking for a new manager, and Oklahoma City still had hopes lor another pro franchise, after a month of surprises.The Fort Worth franchise had been declared inactive by the parent Detroit Red Wings June 10, at the close of the National League meetings in Montreal. But on June 22 the Detroiters announced their &ldquo;irreversible decision&rdquo; had been reversed, and Fort Worth would have a team in the CHL for 1972-73.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01184/3223038-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="264" height="438"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ross Perkins</figcaption></div>Executive director Jim Bishop of the parent club told the Fort Worth news media there were three reasons for resurrecting the Texas farm club: (1) the overwhelming reaction of Fort Worth fans at losing their team; (2) the hard work and persuasive efforts of Don Magness, the city&rsquo;s director of cultural affairs, and Rip Johnson, longtime promoter of ice events there, and (3) the sudden availability of a new source of players.The &ldquo;new source of players&rdquo; didn&rsquo;t long remain a mystery. Detroit and the St. Louis Blues the next day made a joint announcement that both would supply players to Fort Worth, and the Blues would give up their CHL farm club in Kansas City.It had been previously announced Kansas City would continue in the CHL until the 197475 season, when the city will make its National League debut. But increased rental fees for the antiquated American Royal Arena in KC, contrasted with much cheaper rent at Fort Worth&rsquo;s Will Rogers Coliseum apparently led to the move.It was announced Detroit would control the administration of the hybrid Fort Worth club, but the number of players to come from each system was not announced.A few days later two men who had been rival CHL coaches for a season and a half joined forces in the new lineup. Bob Lemieux, erstwhile Fort Worth coach, was named general manager of the new club. Johnny Choyce. coach of the KC Blues, became the new Fort Worth coach. Jerry Strong, Fort Worth trainer, was retained in that post.Lemieux came to Fort Worth as business manager for the 197071 season, but added the coaching duties when Doug Barkley was promoted to the Detroit reins. The club finished third that season, missing second by only a point. After a miserable start in 1971-72 Fort Worth climbed out of the cellar and again finished third. Both years, the Lemieux-coached Wings bowed in the first round of playoffs.Choyce took over at KC when the parent Blues axed Camille Henry in mid-season of 1970-71. A late-season surge failed by one point of getting the club into fourth place and the playoffs. The past season the KC Blues fell into the cellar in December, and stayed there.Tulsa lost its coach of the last three seasons when Marcel Pronovost announced July 6 he had signed a two-year contract to coach the Chicago Cougars of the new World Hockey Association.Oiler general manager Ray Miron commented, &ldquo;When Marcel called me and told he me was &lsquo;defecting&rsquo;, as he called it, I wished him luck. What else could I do?&ldquo;Marcel was one of the highest-paid coaches in minor league hockey, maybe the highest paid. But he told me what the new club had offered him. and there is no way Toronto could offer him that kind of money.&rdquo;Bobby Kromm, who coached the Dallas Black Hawks to a first-place finish and the playoff championship the past season, is assuming he still has that job, although the parent Chicago Black Hawks have made no announcement.Kromm was asked to represent Dallas at the CHL schedule meetings in Seattle in late June and in St. Louis in early July. Bobby was rumored to be in line for the coaching job with the parent Black Hawks, but those hints of a front-office shakeup at Chicago have not been confirmed.The Omaha Knights, fourth member of the dwindling CHL, will be coached by Fred Creighton, longtime mentor at Charlotte in the Eastern League. The Knights will be backed by the expansion Atlanta Flames of the NHL, but have been promised some player help from the New York Rangers, who operated the franchise at Omaha the past six years.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02136/3223031-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="547" height="644"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOHN CHOYCE&hellip;To Coach Wings</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03108/3223024-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="551" height="592"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOB LEMIEUX&hellip;Stays As GM</figcaption></div>Meanwhile the league had lost its two scoring co-champions to the fledgling WHA. Jean Payette, Tulsa center, signed a three-year contract with the Quebec Nordiques. RossPerkins, Fort Worth center, had signed in June with the Alberta Oilers. They tallied 97 points apiece last season.Fraser Gleeson, veteran trainer for the defunct OC Blazers, signed a contract with the WHA New York Raiders. Tulsa hired trainer Donnie Andrews for a second season. &#9632;

f0026-01

Public Reaction Helps Wings To Restore Fort Worth Club

OKLAHOMA CITY&mdash;Bill Levins doesn&rsquo;t give up without a fight. He is still striving to retain professional hockey in Oklahoma City.Levins, veteran former general manager of the Oklahoma City Blazers, has been retained by that city to work toward getting another pro hockey team. The Blazers were abandoned by the parent Boston Bruins at the close of the June meetings in Montreal and are presently out of the CHL.As June turned into July, Levins was hard at work, trying to persuade the Minnesota North Stars to put a team into Oklahoma City, if the Stars could get out of their American League commitment at Cleveland.The Stars were heading toward the last year of a three-year-contract with Cleveland owner Nick Mileti. With that in mind, Minnesota signed a contract to supply players to an American League team at New Haven, but agreed to let the expansion New York Islanders have that city for one season only.Mileti, who also owns the Cleveland Indians of the American baseball League and the Cleveland Cavaliersof the American Basketball Association, made a strong bid for a 1974 NHL expansion franchise at the June meetings in Montreal.Turned down at the NHL sessions, the Cleveland owner then purchased a World Hockey Association franchise, and announced he would operate both the WHA team and the AHL Barons from the same arena.The North Stars wanted no part of such an arrangement. Minnesota president Walter Bush Jr. conferred with NHL President Clarence Campbell in Toronto in early July, searching for a way out of the dilemma.Still, the Cleveland contract apparently could be cancelled only by mutual agreement, and there were those who doubted Mileti would let the North Stars out of their pact.If Minnesota is able to pull out of the Cleveland arrangement, Camp bell has stated he would like to see the Stars put a team into the CHL, probably at Oklahoma City.Stars&rsquo; general manager Wren Blair hinted there were two possibilities if the players were pulled out of Cleveland. They could be placed at Phoenix, an independently-owned Western League club, or in a CHL farm team. In the latter case, he indicated help from another NHL team, possibly Boston, would be needed to stock the club.Even if Minnesota puts a team into Oke City, it would be for one season only, as the Stars are committed to New Haven in the AHL for 197374.However, the Islanders will have to leave New Haven alter one season, and are interested in the CHL.&ldquo;We might even be in the position of getting to choose between two teams for 1973-74;&rdquo; Levins said in Oklahoma City. &ldquo;The Islanders will be, looking for a farm site, Atlanta might be interested in moving out of Omaha to make our league more compact. And then, of course, the new Kansas City and Washington NHL teams will need development clubs in a year or so.&rdquo;But that was in the future. Levins still hadn&rsquo;t given up hopes of putting Oklahoma City back in the CHL for 1972-73. However, time was growing short for completing the schedule, and it appeared a decision had to be made soon, if he was to get his wish. &#9632;

Levins Not Giving Up, Seeks North Stars’ Aid

<div class="byline">BY HARVEY POLLACK</div>SOUTH YARMOUTH&mdash;If the playing personnel on the new Cape Cod Cubs team proves as effective as the club&rsquo;s front office has in handling the myriad of details involved in organizing a new Eastern Hockey League team, then look for Cubs to be a contender in the 1972-73 race.Cubs general manager John Crawford landed a ten strike when he announced that agreements had been reached both with the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers of the NHL with regard to obtaining players for next season. The agreements call for the two teams to supply the Cubs with an unspecified number of players. Crawford is hopeful that some of them might be those who were chosen in the amateur draft at Montreal.In any event Crawford feels that working with two Stanley Cup teams of last year will be a boon to his team. He feels that though &ldquo;we are an expansion team, we hope the help we get from the Rangers and Bruins and the players we get in the league draft will make our team a contender in the Central Division in its first campaign.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01167/3223093-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="272" height="446"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jim Blain</figcaption></div>Crawford who played 11 seasons for the Bruins and later coached in the New York farm system, added &ldquo;we are very pleased to be associated with the two organizations which we consider the best in pro hockey.&rdquo;Milt Schmidt, Boston GM, said &ldquo;we are very happy to be working with the Cubs and hope we play a role in the team being a winner in its first season.&rdquo; Rangers GM, Emile Francis, said, &ldquo;for many years the Rangers have enjoyed excellent relations with the EHL. Now that our affiliation with New Haven has come to an end, we are pleased to become affiliated with Cape Cod. Many factors, including Cape Cod&rsquo;s proximity to our American League team in Providence, make this an extremely desirable move.Cub&rsquo;s president Dick Terrio called the agreements &ldquo;the best thing that&rsquo;s happened to the Cubs yet.&rdquo; He is delighted with the faith in his club by the NHL teams.Meantime the Cubs are working on a radio package on a local station that is designed to carry all 74 games next year, both home and away. Terrio also said that construction of the new Cape Cod Coliseum is right on schedule. The 5,000 seat site has all its exterior and interior structural steel in place, and plumbers, masons, electricians and roofers are working on the finishing touches. If the present pace is maintained, the first sheet of ice will be laid by mid-September.Crawford said the team&rsquo;s training camp will open Oct. 3 and that two-pre-season games will be played at the Coliseum in the training period prior to the EHL opener on Oct. 13 against the New England Blades, the former New Haven club. Tuesdays and Saturdays will be the prime home game nights for the Cubs. Only one Sunday afternoon game in on the log. The exhibition log includes two games with Long Island, one home and one away, and a home fray with Clinton.Terrio has been pleased with the early season ticket sales with fans soliciting information from various sections of the area.Another reason why the Cubs feel they will get big help from the Rangers and Bruins is the new EHL rule permitting each team to carry five players owned by major league organizations. Since Boston has ended its affiliation with Oklahoma City and the Rangers with Omaha, Terrio believes the high quality talent previously assigned there could conceivably come here.Crawford meanwhile denied reports that his team is working with the New England Whalers of the WHA. He said his club had not talked with the Whalers or any other WHA team and didn&rsquo;t plan to do so.In other news around the league, the Jersey Devils have acquired defenseman Jim Blain from the Long Island Ducks in a straight purchase deal. The Devils have been assigned to work with the new Philadelphia Blazers of the WHA although no formal agreement has been made.General manager Ross Turnbull still may wind up working with the Flyers, but he said, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not sure as to where we stand with the Fivers. We&rsquo;ve had arrangements with them the past couple of years but I feel we could have had better considerations from them in the way of consignment of players. I want to see it spelled out better before we decide what we&rsquo;ll do in the way of working agreements with anyone.&rdquo;Nate Podoloff hasn&rsquo;t moved his New Haven club offices to Springfield yet and the new Rhode Island team currently is operating out of Providence until its offices can be located.GREENSBORO: Don Carter made managing coach of Gens which gives him complete control over scouting and signing of players. Norman Curtis is GM, will administer finances and is the team&rsquo;s EHL director. Carter will work fulltime with trainer Bob Smith assisting. Owner Ted Munchak has separated the Carolina Cougars, and Generals instead of having dovetailing executives.JOHNSTOWN: Jets rejected proposal that they be shifted to Southern Division when they learned they wouldn&rsquo;t be guaranteed their Friday night home dates.ROANOKE VALLEY: J.C. Garneau may remain in Newfoundland next season where he is a busy painting contractor, Rebels have talked to Philly Flyers regarding possible personnel for next season. Rebels could also work with Philly Blazers, Colin Kilburn in complete charge of operation except for coaching.CHARLOTTE: Loss of Fred Creighton to Omaha has club still seeking replacement. Al Manch talked to some potential coaches at NHL draft meetings in Montreal. He also sought help from Buffalo with whom the Checkers have working agreement. Ex-Checker Jim McNulty club manager of local golf course.SUN COAST: Suns may lose Greg Pilling to Charlotte this season. He was sold to the Suns with the understanding the Checkers could repurchase him for this coming season. Greg&rsquo;s European trip last year was a failur and he came back to Charlotte to find a set lineup to necessitate the deal. &#9632;

f0027-01

New Cape Cod Cubs Make Rapid Strides Lining Up Player Deals With NHL Clubs

SOUTH YARMOUTH&mdash;The Cape Cod Cubs announced the signing of former National Hockey League and American Hockey League scoring star Bronco Horvath to a one-year contract as their first coach.Cubs&rsquo; General Manager John Craw ford said Horvath, 42, flew in and agreed to contract terms. The ex-Bruin &lsquo;Uke Line center came in from Canada and was introduced to press, radio and television representatives at a new conference.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02129/3223124-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="247" height="434"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bronco Horvath</figcaption></div>Horvath, who played four seasons with the Bruins (195758 through 1960-61), also saw NHL service with New York. Montreal Chicago, Toronto and Minnesota. He coached the OHA London, Ont., Knights last season.Crawford called the appointment of the Port Colborne, Ont., native &ldquo;another very important step in making the Cubs a successful first-year team in the Eastern Hockey League. We are confident Bronco can do the job. He has been very highly recommended to us by a number of executives at the highest level of pro hockey.&rdquo;The Cubs also introduced their first player at the press conference. He is 25-year-old goaltender Pierre Chagnon of St. Cesaire, Quebec, who starred for the Fitchburgh Hornets of the New England League last season.The Cubs&rsquo; general manager said Chagnon will report to pre-season camp in South Yarmouth on Oct. 2. &#9632;

f0027-02

Cubs Pick Horvath As Coach

<div class="byline">BY STEPHEN ARNOLD</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01158/3223169-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Long bus hauls are a thing of the past for the Long Island Ducks. Players have complained for years that it was impossible to give their best on the ice after long rides from the north to southern cities.</figcaption></div>COMMACK&mdash;If you&rsquo;ve ever gone from beer to French champagne, from beans to caviar, from a Datsun to a Rolls Royce, than you can have some idea of the way the Long Island Ducks must feel.The Ducks made the unbelievable transition from &ldquo;school bus&rdquo; to DC-3, and with the change, they&rsquo;ve said goodbye to the days of minor league travel.And while the DC-3 is to the 747 what the Model T is to the Cadillac, it still represents an unheard-of luxury to players accutomed to taking long road trips in a school bus.And that brings up an unusual problem facing Ducks&rsquo; President Al Baron. Baron must sell the school bus, painted red-white-and-black with Long Island Ducks written across the sides.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t get over it; I still can&rsquo;t believe I own the plane,&rdquo; confessed Baron. &ldquo;Now, if anyone wants a bus&hellip;&rdquo;The innovation of having their own plane is a first in hockey and makes the Ducks unique. NHL teams and some professional clubs fly on charter flights but none own their own aircraft. In fact most pro sports teams rely on major airlines to get them around the country with the exception of the baseball Los Angeles Dodgers, who have had their personal plane for many years.With a serious face, Baron explained the purchase of the plane. &ldquo;I just couldn&rsquo;t afford to go by bus anymore,&rdquo; he offered. &ldquo;I feel for the players. Maybe that&rsquo;s why we haven&rsquo;t made the playoffs in the last four years. We could have made a total of $100,000 in that time and wiped out our losses.&ldquo;The biggest complaint in our league is that it&rsquo;s a bus league. The players have complained that it&rsquo;s impossible to play after the long bus rides&mdash;we&rsquo;ve eliminated that. We should be a big winner.&rdquo;The Ducks purchased the plane from a Sayville, New York resident, Sam Hunter. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t say how much we paid,&rdquo; said Baron, &ldquo;but it was in the medium-to-high five figures&mdash;$80,000 maybe.&rdquo;The cost of maintaining the plane demonstrates why other Eastern League clubs will travel by land. Fuel, hangar space, pilots&rsquo; pay, etc., will be $45,000 for the season. It cost the Ducks $20,(XX) to go by bus.But, hopefully, that difference and more will be made up by the caliber of play. Baron is confident that the improvement in transportation will be directly equalled by the play on ice. Last season, the Ducks faded at the end and missed the playoffs by a single point.How much time will be saved by the DC-3? It takes 265 road miles to get to Cape Cod (a new member of the league), and 5 1/2 hours. By plane, it takes 55 minutes and it&rsquo;s only 153 air miles.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02100/3223162-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="1116" height="646"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Ducks this coming season will go first class in their own plane, shown above after its purchase by club owner Al Baron. Below is what the players can expect in seating accomodations on their long luxury rides around the EHL.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0371/3223155-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="1106" height="776"></div> &#9632;

f0028-01

Ducks Take To Flying—Bus For Sale!

SAULT STE. MARIE&mdash;The United States Hockey League, sporting three new franchise and two divisions, looks forward to an interesting 1972-73 campaign.At a recently held two-day meeting at Mt. Horeb, Wis., league directors approved a 168-game schedule, opening Oct. 13, earliest in league history. Each club plays a balanced 42 games, six against each other.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0457/3223207-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="271" height="437"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gene Ubriaco</figcaption></div>With eight entries, two divisions were formed, the Northern section has Marquette (Mich.) Iron Rangers, Calument (Mich.) Cooper Islanders, Sault (Ont.) Canadians and last year&rsquo;s playoff champions, Thunder Bay (Ont.) Twins. The Southern Division is comprised of Green Bay (Wis.) Bobcats, reigning league champs, Waterloo (Iowa) Black Hawks, Chicago (Ill.) Warriors and Sioux City (Iowa) Eagles.A late application from Milwaukee was received and tabbed with future plans for next season when the USHL is expected to expand to ten cities.Of the new entries, Chicago, Calument, and Sioux City, the Chicago club appears to be the most advanced with former Chicago Black Hawk forward Gene Ubriaco signed as playing-coach. Also under contract is colorful rearguard Howie Young. A new ten million Olympic sports complex will seat approximately 6,000 Warrior fans.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0547/3223200-1-eng-US/f0028-052.jpg" title="f0028-05" width="1769" height="1172"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Green Bay Bobcats were the class of the United States Hockey League last season. With an expanded eight-team league facing them in 1972-73, the Bobcats face a new challenge to their championship hold. Here they are after their title coup, front row, from the left CHUCK WHALEN, JOHN GIBBS, MIKE FUNK, MIKE CURRAN, JOHN HARPELL, MIKE GLEFFE, RON BECK. Middle row, coach PAUL COPPO, EMERY RUELLE, FUZZY FRENETTE, MIKE COPPO, ROY HARVEY, BRUCE RIUTTA, STEVE ROSS, DOUG KACAREVICH, president JIM VAN ESSEN. Back row. trainers PETER FUNK and BOB VAN LANEN, CARL LACKEY, BOB EMPIE, RANDY McARTHUR, MATT ORESKOVICH, trainer HAROLD VANDERLIN.</figcaption></div>Calument, always a hotbed of hockey, has hard working native Paul Lehto as general manager and coach. The Copper Islanders will play part of their home schedule in Michigan Tech&rsquo;s new 4,0(X)-seat Colisium at Houghton. This marks the 70th anniversary of organized hockey in Northern Michigan, dating back to 1903 with hockey&rsquo;s first professional team, the Houghton Portage Lakers of the International Pro League.Sioux City, the league&rsquo;s most westerly city, has Gary Lipshutz as the club&rsquo;s first president. Former Denver star Rich Blanche has signed as playing coach. The Eagles roster is expected to be made up of ex-college stars and re-instated pros.League Chairman Bob Hoppe, has called a pre-season meeting for Sept. 29 and 30 at Chicago.The expansion of the league from five to eight teams, places the defending champion Bobcats in the South Division, along with Chicago, Waterloo, and Sioux City. However, the establishment of divisions does not affect the number of times teams meet each other. Each team, regardless of division, plays a balanced schedule&hellip;meeting every other league opponent six times. Divisional winners will be determined through regular season competition, and the league champion will be decided in post season play-offs.Green Bay begins league competition the weekend of Oct. 2122, with games at Marquette and the Canadian Soo. The Bobcats&rsquo; home opener is set for Saturday, Oct. 28, against the Chicago Warriors.The Bobcats have announced that orders are now being accepted for season tickets for the 1972-73 schedule.Bobcats President Jim Van Essen noted that advance requests for season tickets are running well ahead of previous years, and he gave several possible reasons for the increased interest. Last season&rsquo;s home games were played before record crowds, averaging more than 3,800 persons, which placed the choice seats in great demand. Also, the Bobcats won the USHL championship last year, and the league has been expanded this season to include three new teams. &#9632;

f0028-04

USHL Expands To Eight Clubs As Chicago Joins Loop

DES MOINES&mdash;The name Des Moines Oak Leafs, almost a household word around the International Hockey League for 10 years, has disappeared from the face of the IHL.The club will head into its ninth league season with an entirely new identity and a new affiliation.Crawford Hubbell, president of the Des Moines hockey club, has announced the team will be henceforth known as the &lsquo;Capitols&rsquo; and will have a stronger working agreement with the Atlanta Flames, the National Hockey League&rsquo;s newest expansion club.The Capitols will also have a new general manager in Ken Wilson, who formerly was associated with Muskegon in the IHL. He replaces Terry Slater, who has moved to the Los Angeles Sharks of the new WHA.Hubbell hopes the changeover will establish a stronger identity with the city of Des Moines and points up the importance the city holds as the capitol of the State of Iowa.For the first time in the team&rsquo;s history, the Capitols will have a concrete affiliation with a National Hockey League team. The final details of the agreement were made by Wilson and Cliff Fletcher, the Atlanta Flames General Manager.New uniforms will also feature the 1972-73 edition of the Des Moines Capitols. The team will take the ice in white, red and gold uniforms, the same colors of Atlanta. The sweaters will feature a gold dome crest symbolizing their new identity, with Des Moines written across the gold dome and the name Capitols underneath.The new Capitols received their first setback when George &lsquo;Corky&rsquo; Agar informed the club he was going to Germany to play hockey next season.The unexpected loss of Agar coupled with the fact the club had already given up &lsquo;Battleship&rsquo; Bob Kelly and Pete Slater to Flint for next season, was a jolt to the Capitols.All three of these players were involved directly or indirectly in a controversial trade which took place last February between Flint and Des Moines.Heading into last season&rsquo;s stretch drive prior to the playoffs. Des Moines acquired the services of Agar from the Flint Generals. In return, Des Moines gave Flint the right to choose any two Des Moines players at the end of the season.Flint General Manager Frank Gallagher decided on Kelly and Slater as the two Des Moines players he would like in return for Agar.The Capitols were braced for the loss of Kelly and Slater, but General Manager Wilson was not ready for Agar&rsquo;s recent decision to play the 1972-73 season in Germany.The Dayton Gems, meanwhile, were busily signing players for the new season.Richard (Chick) Balon, an eight-year veteran in the IHL, became the second member of the Gems to sign for the 1972-73 campaign.Balon, a 32-year-old right-winger, who came to the Gems in a multi-player deal from Toledo back in early 1970, joins defenseman Lorne Weighill on the signed list according to General Manager Lefty McFadden.Chick, whose brother Dave plays for the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL, scored 18 goals and had 29 assists for 47 points in 63 games last season for Dayton.Balon. Weighill and their teammates will start training camp at Wampler&rsquo;s Winterland Arena here on Monday, Oct. 2.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01126/3223238-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="572" height="518"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOB KELLY</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0029-01

Des Moines Revamped With New Name—Capitols

<div class="byline">BY LYNDON LITTLE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0029-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02101/3223269-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">IHL Commissioner BILL BEAGAN, left, talks over hockey point with FRANK GALLAGHER, president of the Flint Generals, one of the league&rsquo;s most successful franchises. Gallagher says IHL owes much of its growth and success to Beagan&rsquo;s administrating. (Hockey News Photo by Lyndon Little)</figcaption></div>MONTREAL&mdash;Professional hockey in North America, a sport which is currently undergoing a phenomenal growth period, is becoming an increasingly attractive career field for young men of drive and ability.The International Hockey League has such a man in Bill Beagan, the loop&rsquo;s talented young commissioner.Beagan, 34, a former National Hockey League official, is set to begin his fourth season with the IHL this fall and his stewardship in the previous three terms has been of such high quality that he is widely regarded as one of the outstanding young administrators in the game.From Windsor, Ontario, where he makes his home together with his wife, Barbara, and their two children, Carolyn (9) and Mike (3), Beagan oversees the activities of the exciting and popular IHL.With his strong background ties with the NHL, it comes as no surprise that one of the main priorities Beagan brought with him to the IHL job was a strong belief that the IHL could become a vital development ground for future big league talent. The past few seasons have proven him correct.To this end, one of the most important planks in his program has been an agreement worked out with the NHL which permits a limited number of players under professional contracts to join the nine IHL member clubs.The past season saw the initial year of operation under the new program with NHL teams allowed to place a maximum of four players bearing pro contracts with their IHL affiliated teams. The only two qualifications placed on the pros, designed to keep salary structures within the league in line, were that they must be under 25 years of age and signed to a contract not exceeding $10,000.This coming season the quota of pros for each team will be increased to five.<h2>Cut Down Rowdyism</h2>A concomitant measure in Beagan&rsquo;s overall plan to make his league a productive spawning ground, was, in his words, to decrease the amount of rowdyism in the league&rdquo;.A new constitution was drafted and approved which clearly spelled out the consequences of extreme misbehavior and provided for stiffer penalties. The first season under the beefed-up regulations saw a 50 per cent decrease in the number of misconduct penalties.&ldquo;Let me make it clear, though,&rdquo; explains Beagan, that I fully recognize that a certain amount of violence is an important part of the popularity of hockey today. But, it is necessary to distinguish &ldquo;violence&rdquo; from &ldquo;brutality&rdquo;.&rdquo;With the accent on fast, skillful play, the IHL is turning out new professionals in record numbers. Frank St. Marseille of the St. Louis Blues, who jumped directly from the Port Huron IHL club to the NHL in the first season of expansion hockey, is considered the leader of this movement. He has been followed into professional hockey by such distinguished IHL grads as Hugh Harris (Muskegon), Mike Dumas (Davton), Rick Dudley (Flint), Bob Roselle (Toledo), Brian Watts (Port Huron), Lyle Carter (Muskegon), BarryMerrell (Dayton), and perhaps the most publicized of them all, Gilles Meloche (Flint), the sensational young net star of the California Golden Seals.Beagan, a native of Parry Sound, Ont., is a 12-year veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces which took him to Egypt with the United Nations peace-keeping forces. While based in Ottawa for five years, he began his officiating career and was scouted by NHL Supervisor of Officials Frank Udvari. He left the services in 1967 with a Canadian Decoration (CD) and began a two-year stint as an NHL official.In 1969 the IHL commissioner&rsquo;s post became available and supported by a personal recommendation from NHL president Clarence Campbell, Beagan was the successful candidate over six other applicants.<h2>Brought Youth To Job</h2>&ldquo;Because of my age (only 29 at the time)&rdquo; Beagan recalls, &ldquo;I was a bit surprised that I was chosen for the job. However, things have worked out fine and my age has not proven a problem. I have established good rapport with the league owners built on mutual respect. I respect their wisdom and experience, and they respect my ability as a commissioner.&rdquo;Frank Gallagher, the owner of the Flint Generals and the senior governor in the league, testifies to the respect that he and his fellow club owners have for Beagan. &ldquo;Bill&rsquo;s been good for the league,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s worked hard and all the team&rsquo;s are benefiting from his actions.&rdquo;A major influence in his overall philosophy and conduct of league matters, admits Beagan, stems from his association with NHL President Campbell. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve received a lot of help from the NHL in general,&rdquo; comments Beagan, &ldquo;but Mr. Campbell in particular. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him both as an administrator and a former soldier. He&rsquo;s dedicated to his job, like I try to be. If you call NHL headquarters in Montreal, you know he&rsquo;s going to be there working.&rsquo;Beagan&rsquo;s enthusiasm for his job manifests itself in 10 to 14 hour work days. If he isn&rsquo;t clearing away paperwork behind his desk in Windsor, you&rsquo;ll find him on the road to one of the IHL cities to catch a game or to give personal attention to some league matter.&ldquo;In my first year with the IHL I must have seen close to 100 games&rdquo;, he says. &ldquo;Being new to the whole situation I felt it was important to get out to the grass roots level and get the feel of the pulse of the circuit.&rdquo;Strenuous road workouts early in the morning&mdash;totaling about 100 miles of running a week&mdash;keeps him fit despite the long hours. &ldquo;Sure,&rdquo; he says,&rdquo; my wife and family would like to see more of me at home, but that&rsquo;s part of hockey. The day I wake up in the morning and don&rsquo;t feel like facing a 14-hour day of work, that&rsquo;s the time I&rsquo;ll start thinking about some other line of employment.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0029-02

Smart Moves Helped Bill Beagan Breathe New Life Into IHL

<div class="byline">BY BOB BRISCOE</div>EDMONTON&mdash;The fledging World Hockey Association has failed to impress graduates of the Western Canada Hockey League or the WCHL grads have failed to impress the operators of teams in the newest pro hockey league.At any rate none of the 45 players drafted out of the WCHL by the National Hockey League in June&rsquo;s annual amateur lottery of young talent had opted to sign with WHA and many had signed contracts with teams in the NHL.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01150/3223300-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="270" height="440"><figcaption class="caption-body">Phil Russell</figcaption></div>This turned out to be rather surprising news in the West where the WHA has become the biggest hockey story considering the signing of Black Hawk star Bobby Hull with Winnipeg Jets and former WCHL star Jim Harrison, late of Toronto Maple Leafs, with Alberta Oilers.And it is even more surprising when one considers that the operators of the two Western Canada WHA entries&mdash;Bill Hunter of Alberta Oilers and Ben Hatskin of Winnipeg&mdash;own teams in the WCHL.Hunter&rsquo;s junior team&mdash;the Edmonton Oil Kings&mdash;won the WCHL championship for the second consecutive season and had several players selected by the NHL in the early rounds. First-round choice Phil Russell, whose WHA rights were held by Philadelphia Blazers, signed early following the draft with Chicago Black Hawks. Oil King Captain Tom Bladon, who Hunter had on his WHA list, signed with Philadelphia Flyers and center Brian Ogilvie, also on Hunter&rsquo;s WHA list, also signed with Chicago of the NHL.Many of the best WCHL graduates were on the list of the Calgary entry in the WHA, which eventually ended up as the Cleveland franchise but again most opted to sign with NHL clubs, including defenseman Jim Watson of Calgary Centennials with the Flyers, and Brian Walker, also of Cents, with Pittsburgh Penguins.Meanwhile, the far-flung WCHL continues to flourish despite high operation costs through geographical problems. At one of the quickest and most business-like annual meetings ever held by the league late in June, the WCHL lodge brothers presented an annual report of continued fan support with attendance in the 12 league cities during the 1971-72 season totalling well over the 1,000,000 mark.In preparing for the 1972-73 season, the WCHL tabled applications for entry from teams in Prince Albert, Sask., and Prince George, B.C. for one season and took steps to strengthen the two teams which entered the league last season&mdash;Victoria Cougars and Vancouver Nats.The Cougars and Nats who finished fifth and sixth respectively in the Western Division, will be allowed to draft a total of five players each from the other 10 league teams. The more established 10 WCHL teams will protect two goaltenders and 17 skaters each from their 70-player list with the Victoria and Vancouver teams alternately selecting one player each from those teams, who will lose only one player apiece.In order to help solve the high travel costs in the league, the WCHL next season will move further toward straight divisional play. The six clubs in the Eastern Division will visit the six western teams only once next season with more play between the division teams making up the balance of the 68-game schedule.There would also appear to be few coaching and managerial changes in the WCHL as the new season approaches. The only definite move has taken place in Regina where Earl Ingarfield coached the Pats to the Eastern Division title in his first year as a junior mentor. Ingarfield resigned to take a scouting position with the NHL expansion New York Islanders. Pat general manager Del Wilson almost immediately announced that Bob Turner, former NHLer with Montreal and Chicago would return as Pats&rsquo; coach. Turner coached the Regina team for several seasons before taking a full time scouting job with California Seals prior to the 1972-72 season.Gerry Brisson, former coach with Brandon Wheat Kings, moves into the front office of Winnipeg Jets as director of player personnel, replacing Jimmy Walker, who moved on to full time scouting duties with Chicago of the NHL. Club owner Ben Hatskin has announced no plans for a coaching change from Nick Mickoski, who piloted Jets to a last place finish in the division last season.Former NHL coach Rudy Pilous spurned a job affer with the WHA Chicago Cougars to return as manager-coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings. Pat Ginnell returns as manager-coach of Flin Flon Bombers, former National team coach Jackie McLeod remains as manager-coach of Saskatoon Blades and Stan Dunn will be back as bench boss of Swift Current Broncos.The only possible coaching change in the Western Division could come in Victoria although general-manager Eric Bishop has made no announcements. Managing director Mitch Pechet took over the coaching duties of the Cougars last season when former pro Fred Hucul resigned. Former NHL goaler Charlie Hodge, who replaced Alf Cadman as coach of Vancouver Nats midway through last season, will return as will the New Westminster managing-coaching duo of Bill Shinske and Ernie McLean.Rumors that Jack Shupe would be replaced as manager-coach of Medicine Hat Tigers proved to be false and he&rsquo;ll return as boss of Tigers, who are regarded by most hockey people in the west as one of the better talented teams in the league as 1972-73 season looms.There were also rumors that Brian Shaw, after one season as coach of the Edmonton Oil Kings, would move into pro hockey. Now it appears Shaw will remain in Edmonton, where he is likely to assume more duties with the junior team. &#9632;

f0030-01

NHL Moves To Ink Top Stars: ‘Have Not’ Clubs Get Help

WARROAD&mdash;The Canadian Central Hockey League will launch an expansion program of its own with the 1972-73 season.President Mike Yaschuk announced following the annual summer meeting that the CCHL will operate with six teams with the addition of two new entries&mdash;Thompson Hawks and East Kildonan, both from Manitoba.The East Kildonan franchise will consist of graduates from the University of Manitoba and University of Winnipeg and promises to ice a strong contender.With two new clubs the senior-calibre league consists of Thompson, East Kildonan, St. Boniface Mohawks. Warroad Lakers, Fort Frances Canadians and Kenora Thistles. The CCHL plans a 40-game schedule and will stage best-of-seven series for its semi-final and final playoffs at the end of the campaign.The league also carried out the election of officers at the summer meeting returning Yaschuk to the presidency. Others named were Dick Johnson of Warroad, first vice-president and, Bob Johnson of Kenora second vice-president. Also re-elected to office were R.A. Labelle secretary-treasurer, A. Allaire publicity and statistics and Gordon Kerr referee-in-chief. &#9632;

Canadian Central League Expanded To Six Entries

<div class="byline">BY JACK GATECLIFF</div>TORONTO&mdash;The Toronto Marlboros feel they have a deal that will bring Mark Howe, the second half of their much-hoped-for Howe brother combination, to Maple Leaf Gardens. However, the rival London Knights are putting in an llth-hour bid to land the much-publicized 17-year-old son of the former Detroit Red Wing super star Gordie Howe.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01133/3223369-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="270" height="468"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mark Howe</figcaption></div>The Knights made Mark their first selection in the recent OHA midget priority draft, but when the Howe family remained adamant that their son would either join his older brother Marty with the Marlies or else play in a U.S. college, the then London general manager Doug Pratt apparently worked out an agreement with the Toronto club. The deal would see prized Marlie Junior B prospects Bruce Boudreau and Steve Langdon come to London in exchange for Howe.London club owner Howard Darwin was reportedly annoyed when news of the deal reached him and he dismissed Pratt from his position. Darwin then hired former Ottawa 67s coach Bill Long as the new manager-coach of the team and thrust him the task of trying to obtain the Howe boy for the Knights.Conducting the negotiations on behalf of the Marlies is Frank Bonello, who coached the team to a first-place finish in the OHA this past season and has been subsequently named the club&rsquo;s new general manager, replacing Tommy Smythe who earlier resigned.&ldquo;I feel we have a legitimate deal for Mark,&rdquo; Bonello has reported. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;ll sit down with Bill and talk it over. I&rsquo;m not going to ram something down his throat, but I know Mark isn&rsquo;t interested in going to London.&rdquo;The entire issue was brought before the OHA Junior A Council at the request of the London club. But the other club owners in effect tossed the ball back at the two teams involved and told them to reach an agreement between themselves.The Marlies, meanwhile, completed their front-office personnel by naming former Maple Leaf star George Armstrong as the replacement for Bonello behind the Marlie bench. A veteran of 10 NHL seasons, Armstrong has been a special aide to the Leaf front office since his retirement a year ago. It will be his first experience in coaching.Radical changes throughout the entire 10-team league will be the order of the day when the 1972-73 OHA season opens in the last week of September.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02105/3223362-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="558" height="1298"><figcaption class="caption-body">BILL LONG&hellip;New Challenge</figcaption></div>In fact one of the few things which will remain constant is the schedule&mdash;each team will continue playing 63 games.For the first time in its long history the Major OHA, which has produced more professional players than any other amateur league in Canada, will have entries from Northern Ontario.Veteran Hap Emms sold his Niagara Falls franchise to Sudbury while Sault Ste Marie, after first being turned down by the other nine club owners.The Montreal Junior Canadiens have been given permission to suspend operations for at least one season and a Quebec Junior Hockey League club will operate in the Forum.The inclusion of two Northern Ontario teams makes sense.Now the Southern entries will be able to play two games on the Northern swing, thus cutting down on expenses.Emms had no sooner disposed of his Niagara Falls holdings than he announced he had purchased St. Catharines Black Hawks from owner Fred Muller.The elder of the Emms clan has been connected with Junior A since 1947 when he put together the Barrie Flyers, then moved to Niagara Falls in 1961.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0387/3223355-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="571" height="602"><figcaption class="caption-body">GEORGE ARMSTRONG&hellip;Turns To Coaching</figcaption></div>Hap will be president of the team, his son Paul general-manager and Frank Milne will continue for a third term as Black Hawk coach under the new management.Other than Milne the only coaches who will be back with the same clubs next season are Gus Bodnar in Oshawa and Roger Neilson in Peterborough.After coaching Salt Lake City of the Western Hockey League in 1970-71, Bodnar led Oshawa from ninth to second position in 1971-72.Neilson had been reported as resigning as the Peterborough pilot following a slight disagreement with the executive but was rehired and will continue his dual capacity as hockey coach and a Peterborough physical education teacher.After two years in the American Hockey League, Eddie Bush is returning to the OHA as Kitchener coach, succeeding Ron Murphy who resigned at the end of last season.Hamilton Red Wing owner Nick Durbano, whose club finished in the cellar last spring, will try to breathe new life into the team and new interest among the fans by naming Dave Draper as coach. &#9632;

f0031-01

Howe Issue Hot Potato For New Coach; Bonello, Armstrong To Direct Marlies

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0558/3223421-1-eng-US/f0031-052.jpg" title="f0031-05" width="306" height="350"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0639/3223414-1-eng-US/f0031-062.jpg" title="f0031-06" width="311" height="363"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0730/3223407-1-eng-US/f0031-072.jpg" title="f0031-07" width="299" height="381"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0470/3223400-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="2745" height="1086"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Campbellton, New Brunswick Tigers were one of the youngest and smallest teams to ever play in the Canadian intermediate hockey league finals this past season but it didn&rsquo;t deter them from winning the Hardy Cup&mdash;emblematic of intermediate &lsquo;A&rsquo; hockey supremacy in Canada. The Tigers, with seven former pros or semi-pros on their roster, defeated Rosetown, Sask., 3-2 in games in a best-of-five Cup final. It was the first time Campbellton ever won a national hockey title. The team was coached by Gerry &lsquo;Red&rsquo; Ouellette, a 12-year pro veteran, who led the Tigers to a 20-5 league and 20-12 playoff record for the season. Here are the champions from the left, front row, DAN BURKHART, JOHN WOOD, GEORGE BERUBE, GERRY OUELLETTE, playing coach, STEPHEN FRASER, CHARLIE CHARLONG, NOONAN MAHER, LOU ROY, WAYNE KEELEY. Back row, JACKIE PARKER, MARTIN DOYLE, DONNIE WOOD, VAN CURRIE, ROBERT ALLAIN, BRIAN FORSTER, OWEN JELLY, JEAN-PAUL PICARD, HARRY GRAY, DAVE VICK, trainer PETER ALLISON. Inset at right from top down, BEV BAWN, CLEM TREMBLAY and GORDIE GALLANT.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0031-05

Canada’s Best Intermediate Hockey Team

ATLANTA&mdash;The Atlanta Flames obviously subscribed to the &ldquo;strength down center ice&rdquo; philosophy of building a hockey team when they announced as the team&rsquo;s first three signings super Quebec junior center Jacques Richard and young goaltenders Phil Myre and Danny Bouchard.The acquisition of Richard on a two-year deal (no terms were disclosed but the figure was close to $200,000) is considered as a vital step for the fledgling team which will begin its first season of play in the National Hockey League this coming season. The Flames&rsquo; No. I selection (No. 2 overall) in the June draft of overage juniors, Richard was hotly persued by the Quebec Nordiques of the rival World Hockey Association.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c4-01193/3223452-1-eng-US/c4-012.jpg" title="C4-01" width="254" height="437"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jacques Richard</figcaption></div>The fact that Richard, 19, starred as a junior for the Quebec City Remparts meant that the Flames likely had to overcome a very strong WHA bid to land the slick center. However, the fact that the Flames, who will join the NHL West Division, have been accumulating a sizeable colony of French-Canadian personnel headed by coach Bernie Geoffrion, goaltenders Myre and Bouchard plus several other amateur choices from Quebec League, may have been a factor in swinging Richard south to Georgia.Richard, who combines great speed with his playmaking ability, was the runaway scoring leader in the QJHL last season with 71 goals and 89 assists.As for Myre and Bouchard, both Montreal natives, their signings appear to solidify the new team in the vital goaltending position.Myre was the Flames&rsquo; first choice in the special netminders section of the expansion draft where he was claimed from the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; roster. A three-year veteran of the club, Myre, 23, had spent an unhappy season with the Canadiens in 1971-72 and found himself much of the time only the No. 3 man on the team&rsquo;s goaltending depth chart. He appeared in only nine contests compiling a 3.73 average.Following an outstanding junior career with the Niagara Falls Flyers of the Ontario Hockey Association, Myre turned pro with the Canadiens&rsquo; Houston farm team of the Central League in 1968 where he was named the league&rsquo;s top netminder his first season. He split the next season between the Canadiens and their American League farm team the Montreal Voyageurs.Bouchard, who has yet to appear in an NHL game, was considered the top young netminding prospect in the Boston Bruins&rsquo; chain. A former OHA star with the London Knights, he appeared in 50 games for the Boston Braves (the Bruins&rsquo; top farm team) last season and recorded a fine 2.51 average.Both Myre and Bouchard signed multi-year pacts with no terms announced. &#9632;

C4-01

New Flames Shell Out To Land Amateur Whiz Richard

<div class="byline">BY JACK BERRY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="C4-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c4-02171/3223483-1-eng-US/c4-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">One of the more energetic officials at the summer hockey meetings was new NHL publicist BOB CASEY, shown left, with Philadelphia press director JOE KADLEC. Casey and NHL staff handled record number of delegates flawlessly. (Hockey News Photo by Lyndon Little)</figcaption></div>DETROIT&mdash;After Bobby Hull signed his $2 1/2 million contract the question was put to Gordie Howe. What would you have done if you had been offered that kind of money?&ldquo;It would&rsquo;ve been a tough decision,&rdquo; said Howe, hockey&rsquo;s all-time scoring champion with 786 goals and now a Detroit Red Wing vice president.&ldquo;I always was treated well in Detroit,&rdquo; Howe said, adding, &ldquo;You play this game for two reasons&mdash;for the love of the game and for the money.&rdquo;Fortunately for the Red Wings, there wasn&rsquo;t a World Hockey Association when Howe was in his prime. Howe always made a comfortable living but it wasn&rsquo;t until the last couple years of his 25-season career that the club finally put him in the $100,000 class.&ldquo;What I wouldn&rsquo;t give to be 30 again&hellip;even 35,&rdquo; said Bill Gadsby, Howe&rsquo;s close friend and a National Hockey League defenseman for 20 years, the last five in Detroit.Gadsby had a shot at the WHA money but he rejected it outright&mdash;. the Chicago Cougars pleaded with him to listen to a coaching offer.Gadsby is happy now, out of hockey, working in real estate development and various other projects for John J. Curran who is Howe&rsquo;s partner in several ventures.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got a heckuva boss,&rdquo; said the well-tanned Gadsby. &ldquo;He loves to play golf and he tells me to take clients out and play golf.&rdquo;While Gadsby is content out of the game, the show goes on at Olympia where workmen are building a new press box in the rafters and the old box is being made over and extended for the luxury trade with 321 seats at $10 each.Despite the club&rsquo;s failure to make the playoffs last season&mdash;the fifth time in six years&mdash;the Wings already have an advance sale of $1 million on season tickets and expectations are that 75 percent of the building will be sold on a season basis, up some five percent or so from last year.The primary reasons were the energetic performance of the team after Johnny Wilson took over as coach, the blossoming of rookie Marcel Dionne and the prolific scoring of Mickey Redmond.Dionne and Redmond were plucked in the WHA draft but both said they had no desire to play in the new league and General Manager Ned Harkness and Toronto attorney Alan Eagleson, Dionne&rsquo;s agent, were working on a long-term contract.Redmond turned down what Harkness called &ldquo;a fantastic offer&rdquo; from the Philadelphia WHA team to return to Detroit.&ldquo;And you know,&rdquo; Harkness said, &ldquo;not one of our players has tried to use the WHA as a wedge in bargaining.&rdquo;But the presence of the other league certainly has taken the rubber band off some NHL money rolls.Several Red Wing fringe players have gone to the WHA but club attorney John Ziegler, a former member of the NHL Legal Committee, said he would be &ldquo;very surprised if this turns into a bidding war. I think the NHL has learned from the ABA (American Basketball Association and the NBA (National Basketball Association).&ldquo;We have informed all of our players that we expect them to perform to their contract, just as we have,&rdquo; Ziegler said and he pointed out that the hockey contract binds a player from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.&ldquo;If we can&rsquo;t come to an agreement, then it would go to arbitration,&rdquo; Ziegler said.Asked if the Wings would go to court for a player, Ziegler declined to answer directly but you got the impression that it would depend on the player. And right now, the Wings have practically everyone under contract. &#9632;

C4-02

Harkness Puts Club In Fold As Detroit Box Office Booms

MONTREAL&mdash;The solid ice efforts this past season of young Bobby Clarke of the Philadelphia Flyers didn&rsquo;t go unnoticed by the Professional Hockey Writers&rsquo; Association&mdash;the men who cover the NHL games.The 22-year-old Clarke was named winner of the Masterton Memorial Trophy for his performance in 1971-72 by the PHWA scribes. Unfortunately because of prior commitments, Clarke was not able to be present at the summer hockey meetings here for the actual presentation.Clarke has been a solid skater for the Flyers ever since the club made him their second round choice in the 1969 amateur draft. In three NHL seasons he has totaled 77 goals and 190 points.Previous Masterton Trophy winners were Claude Provost, Montreal. 1967-68; Ted Hampson, California, 1968-69; Pit Martin, Chicago, 1969-70, and Jean Ratelle, New York, 1970-71. &#9632;

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August 1, 1972

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