As far as the hockey world is concerned, the month of August is truly the “Dog Days” as far as ice news is concerned. However, August of 1967 is slightly different from that of previous summers. Because of the National Hockey League’s Great Expansion, all 12 of the NHL teams had an abundance of work to do and we’ll summarize most of what they got done in August right here.
Flyers Invite 68 to Camp
The Philadelphia Flyers say they have invited 68 players to their training camp, slated to open in Quebec City on September 10. Players will report on the 10th and will hit the ice under the watchful eye of coach Keith Allen a day later. Allen will be assisted by new Quebec Aces coach Vic Stasiuk.
General manager Bud Poile said that by the NHL Opening Night of October 11, he and Allen will have chosen an 18-man roster for the Flyers, and will have set up the American Hockey League Aces as well. Poile also expects to place one or two professionals with Seattle of the Western Hockey League. Any promising amateurs that show well at camp will be sent to either the Jersey Devils or Knoxville Knights of the Eastern Hockey league.
Poile also remarked that the team is looking for a veteran goaltender to back up Bernie Parent, who is expected to be the number one man between the pipes for the Flyers. The presence of a reliable veteran would enable the team to allow 22-year-old Doug Favell time to develop in the minors, likely at Quebec.
Parent First to Sign
Parent, by the way, was the first Flyer player to sign a contract with the team. The 22-year-old netminder inked a three-year pact for a reported salary of $20,000 per year.
Wolman, Schiff Sell Flyers Shares
Philadelphia Eagles vice-president Ed Snider became the majority owner of the Flyers when construction partners Jerry Wolman and Jerry Schiff sold their stock to him. Snider now owns 60 per cent of Flyers stock.
Spectrum Nearly Ready
The Flyers also announced that their new arena, to be known as The Spectrum, is 90 per cent complete and will be ready for the start of the NHL season.
35 Try Out For Bruins
The Boston Bruins have sent invitations to 35 players to attend their training camp, set to open on September 7 in London, Ontario.
Four notable new faces will suit up under second-year coach Harry Sinden. Phil Esposito, Fred Stanfield and Ken Hodge were acquired in a major trade with Chicago, while Eddie Shack, sure to be a crowd favourite at Boston Garden, comes over from Toronto.
Eight amateurs will try out for Boston. They include forwards Garnet Bailey, Bill Lesuk, Jim Lorentz, Rosaire Paiement and Derek Sanderson, defenceman Barry Gibbs and goalkeepers Dennis Gibson and Russ Gillow.
No Surgery for Orr
Bruins also said that prized rookie defenceman Bobby Orr will not require knee surgery. Orr suffered ligament damage during an unsanctioned exhibition game in July in Winnipeg.
Dr. John Palmer, a Toronto orthopedic surgeon, said that the knee was placed in a cast where it will stay for two or three weeks. He also said Orr should be ready for the start of the National Hockey League season.
Cooke Tries to Buy Seattle Totems
Los Angeles Kings owner Jack Kent Cooke told reporters he had purchased the Seattle Totems of the Western Hockey League at the beginning of August. Cooke’s bid to buy the club failed as a group of stockholders banded together and purchased the majority of Totems stock, leaving Cooke holding an empty bag.
The Totems will continue their previously arranged working agreement with the Philadelphia Flyers
Blues Sign Glenn Hall
The St. Louis Blues will begin the 1967-68 NHL season with one position well stocked. The Blues announced in early August that they had signed one of the all-time great goaltenders, Glenn Hall, formerly of Chicago Black Hawks.
Hall, 35 and a veteran of 12 NHL seasons, will receive a substantial raise over his salary with the Black Hawks. He was the Blues’ first selection in the goaltender phase of the Expansion Draft and the third netminder picked overall.
Hall retired from the Chicago club at the beginning of last season, feeling he had enough of the rigors of professional hockey. However, when he found he was unable to find work that offered compensation similar to what he made as an NHLer, he relented on his decision and returned to the Black Hawks. He now feels that he has two or three good years left.
The extra money the Blues are paying the veteran no doubt influenced that rosy outlook.
Hicke Signs, Raps Expansion Process
Bill Hicke, 29, was the second California Seals player to sign his 1967-68 contract and he wasted no time making known his views on the NHL expansion process.
Never really an outspoken type, Hicke said that the six new teams were given a bum deal by the established clubs:
“I don’t think the new owners got a fair shake in the draft. The league was charitable with the goaltenders who were available, but that was all. Of the 20 players each team drafted, only six or seven are National Hockey League calibre.
“When they first were talking about the draft, they said the old teams would only protect eight players. Then, when it came down to the actual draft, they were able to protect 11. Even that is misleading because in reality they were able to protect 15 of the first 20 players on their roster.”
Baun, Parise Sign
Shortly after Hicke signed, the Seals announced that veteran Bobby Baun and rookie Jean-Paul Parise had inked their 1967-68 contracts.
Baun was the first skater taken by the Seals. He said that he is very excited about the Seals’ prospects for the upcoming season and expects the team to finish no lower than second place. He is particularly looking forward to playing for coach Bert Olmstead, a former team mate with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Parise, a former Boston Bruins farm hand, was California’s ninth draft pick.
NHL Names Western Ref Boss
The National Hockey League has named William (Dutch) Van Deelen to the newly created position of Western supervisor of officials. Van Deelen will work directly under NHL referee-in-chief Scotty Morrison. Eastern supervisor of officials will continue to be veteran NHL referee Frank Udvari.
Van Deelen, 43, is a native of Edmonton. He played junior hockey for the Regina Abbotts before joining the Canadian Navy. After his discharge from the navy, he played for San Francisco of the old Pacific Coast Hockey League, Regina Caps of the Western Canada Senior Hockey League and New York Rovers of the Eastern Hockey League.
For the past 13 seasons, Van Deelen has refereed in the Western Hockey League and at all levels of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association.
Quick Hits:
- Defenceman Don Cherry was the first member of the Rochester Americans to sign his 1967-68 contract.
- Former NHL defenceman Marc Reaume has been named coach of the Leamington Flyers of the Western Ontario Junior B Hockey League.
- Ground will be broken in early October on the $10.4-million Nassau County Coliseum, to be built at Long Island, NY. The rink will seat 14,000 for hockey and could house a second NHL team for New York.
- Detroit Red Wings goalie Roger Crozier spent a week in a Bracebridge, Ontario hospital with another bout of pancreatitis.
- Boston Bruins forward Tommy Williams, a native of Duluth, Minnesota, says he would like to play for the Minnesota North Stars some day. But for now he is happy with the $500 raise he received from the Bruins.
- Bruins defenceman Ted Green has been skating every day in Winnipeg and says his injured knees “feel great.”
- Charlie Burns, 31, has turned down a minor-league coaching post to try out for the California Seals.
- Bill Quackenbush, a veteran of 14 NHL seasons, has been named coach of the Princeton University hockey team.
- Pittsburgh Penguins first player signing was forward Jeannot Gilbert, 26, who toiled for AHL Hershey Bears last season.
- Pittsburgh Penguins coach Red Sullivan says that veteran Andy Bathgate, who has played left wing and centre the past couple of seasons, will return to his familiar right wing slot this year with Pittsburgh.
- New York Rangers re-acquired veteran forward Camille Henry from the Chicago Black Hawks in exchange for a player to be named later.
- Toronto Maple Leafs have loaned up and coming young executive Jim Gregory to the Vancouver Canucks of the Western Hockey League, where he will serve as coach. Canucks also named Canadian broadcaster Annis Stukus general manager.
- Minnesota North Stars have signed veteran Chicago Black Hawks defenceman Elmer Vasko. Vasko, 31, sat out last season in retirement to devote more time to his liquor business.
- Harry Howell is the first New York Ranger to sign his 1967-68 contract. It will be his 16th NHL season.
50 Years Ago In Hockey 