IT’S a bit of a milestone this week as this marks Net Shots column No. 1,250, which first began in 1997.
WHL STARS: You can’t help but be captivated by the names: The Portland Buckaroos, Seattle Totems, San Francisco Seals, Denver Spurs, Edmonton Flyers and the like.
Looking back, you’ll find many players from the Lakehead found their way west to ply their professional trade in the long-since defunct Western Hockey League and its precursor, the Pacific Coast Hockey League.
One of the WHL’s brightest stars was goaltender Jimmy McLeod.
After playing locally for the Port Arthur Bearcats in the mid-1950s, he made his way to Okanagan Senior League in British Columbia followed by a one-year stint with the Muskegon Zephyrs of the IHL.
From there McLeod spent the next 12 years of his career in the WHL.
With stops between the pipes in Portland, Seattle, San Francisco and the Los Angeles Blades, his efforts saw him named a four-time WHL all-star and be tabbed their top goaltender on five occasions.
McLeod backstopped three of his clubs to WHL Lester Patrick Cup championships and set league marks for lowest goals-against average in a season with the Buckaroos. He also sat second overall in WHL games played among goalkeepers at 446.
As a 34-year-old, he was called up and saw action in 16 NHL match-ups with the St. Louis Blues in 1971-72, going 6-6-4 with a 3.01 goals-against average.
After joining the Chicago Cougars in the first year of the WHA (1972-73), he suited up 54 times and had the third-most appearances in the league that season behind Jack Norris (64) and future Hockey Hall of Fame Honoured Member Bernie Parent (64). He also tied for ninth in wins with 22, on a Chicago side that lacked offensive talent and scored the fewest goals in the league and ended up last in the 12-team standings.
McLeod did his part however, allowing the fifth-fewest goals-against (166) and was eighth in average (3.06).
That same 1972-73 season the NHL’s Blues brought up a fellow Lakehead native and long-time Portland WHL teammate of McLeod, Connie Madigan. Madigan went on to establish an NHL record that still stands today, becoming their oldest rookie in history at 38 years of age.
The defenceman dressed for 20 contests and collected three assists and 25 penalty minutes before returning to the Buckaroos.
While he was definitely not shy with his physical brand of play that saw compile 1,846 penalty minutes in 806 WHL games, Madigan was also a crafty playmaker.
His skill with the puck saw him dish out 406 assists, to go with 97 goals, while finishing in the Top 10 in helpers on numerous occasions.
He was named the WHL’s top defenceman in 1965-66, earning the accolades a year before fellow local product Larry Cahan accomplished the feat with the pre-NHL version of the Vancouver Canucks.
Another from the city, the late Bruce Gamble, collected WHL rookie of the year laurels with the Canucks in 1959.
Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame inductee Jimmy Ward coached the Portland Eagles for five seasons, winning 119 games following a 12-year NHL career with the Montreal Maroons.
You also saw Bart Bradley appear in a half-dozen campaigns and score 124 times from 1951-57 with four WHL clubs while finishing in the Top 10 in offensive production on multiple occasions.
After the PCHL became the WHL in 1951, another local hall of famer, ‘Bud’ Poile guided the Edmonton Flyers to a league title.
Poile was also a player-coach for two seasons after that and produced at nearly a point-per-game pace.
In 1954-55, it was another WHL crown for Poile in Edmonton. He did likewise in 1961-62.
Kenora’s Don Raleigh helped the Brandon Regals hoist the trophy as their coach in 1957, defeating Poile’s club and Lee Fogolin Sr.’s Calgary squad along the way.
Being recruited to coach the San Francisco Seals in 1962, Poile delivered behind the bench once more, winning yet another championship.
Next week: Recalling other local talent who made their mark in the old WHL.