Bookshelf

There’s A Painful Irony In Nylund’s Knee Injury

TORONTO—When the Boston Bruins made Gord Kluzak the No. 1 pick in last year’s National Hockey League entry draft, some critics second guessed the selection. And why not? Kluzak had just recovered from a knee injury he suffered in his last season in junior hockey and the question was would his knee stand up to the rigors of the NHL. When Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Gary Nylund third overall from the Portland Winter Hawks, nary a sceptic offered it a second thought. And why not? At 6-4, 220 pounds and injury-free, Nylund looked like a sure blue-chipper. A week into the regular season, there is irony in the case of both players. Kluzak has not only survived the brief time test, he’s silencing his early critics. Nylund, conversely, is watching from the wings…

Hawks Hope To Inherit Tessier’s Winning Ways

CHICAGO—An optimist would consider the Black Hawks to be one of the four best teams in the National Hockey League last season, while a pessimist would put them down as the seventh worst. Who’s right? It depends on the eye of the beholder. If you’re looking at the playoffs, the Hawks were one of the four tops—they made it all the way to the Stanley Cup semi-finals before Vancouver bid them good day. But, if your vantage point is the regular season—in which the Hawks’ team picture could have been a hospital X-ray—they were the seventh worst, finishing with an overall record of 30-38-12. Now, however, the statute of limitations has run its course. A new season is underway. There’s a new coach, Orval Tessier; and some new players, the most conspicuous of…

One Of The Hardest Hitting Defensemen In The NHL?

Imagine, if you can, the way former National Hockey League defenseman Bob Baun feels when he watches NHL defensemen play their game today. No longer do most defensemen bounce offenders off the boards, throw hipchecks that would rattle opponents’ teeth, or employ a play-the-man type of defense. Instead, most concentrate on offense and scoring goals, something that was unheard of, for the most part, in Baun’s playing days. Baun spent 17 seasons (1956-1973) in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Oakland Seals and Detroit Red Wings. But today, the former Lanigan, Sask., native is the Canadian Sales Manager for the Pan-American Family Insurance Company (known as American Family Life in the United States). The company specializes in cancer insurance. “I’ve been working at this job for almost five years now,” said Baun. “I spend…