WITH such a splendid history of those hailing from the Lakehead, who have made their mark in hockey over the decades, the list of names of players, coaches, teams and the like go on and on and on.
One such individual who achieved success, both on and off the ice, was Rudy Migay.
Despite being smallish in stature, his skill, combined with speed, effectiveness handling the puck and a tenacity on the ice earned him the moniker: ‘The Toy Terrier.’
Heading to southern Ontario back in 1946, Migay scored 25 times to finish ninth in Ontario Hockey Association junior scoring and helped lead the St. Michael’s Majors to a Memorial Cup title in 1947.
On the run to the championship that year, he was second on the squad in offensive production with 23 points in 10 outings with seven tallies and 16 assists.
The following campaign, Migay returned home to join the Port Arthur West End Bruins, who also went on to win the Memorial Cup, after sweeping the Barrie Flyers in four games, which were all played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
Migay had a hat trick in the opener and his club never looked back, skating to victories by scores of 10-8, 8-1, 5-4 and 9-8.
He was one of a large group of players from that Port Arthur squad that went on to compete in the NHL; such as Bart Bradley, Dave Creighton, Danny Lewicki and Benny Woit.
From there the talented forward went on to play professionally for 12 seasons, including 417 contests in the NHL with the Maple Leafs.
His numbers in Toronto saw Migay score 59 times, including a dozen game-winners, and dish out 92 assists while amassing 293 penalty minutes.
Part of this was a career single-season high 15 tallies and 20 assists with his offensive numbers tying him for fourth on the Leafs in 1956-57.
His contributions that year also saw him selected to the league’s select squad that took on the defending Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens in the 1957 NHL All-Star Game.
Picking up an assist on a shorthanded marker, Migay aided in a 5-3 triumph over the Habs in a contest held back on October 5, 1957 at the Montreal Forum.
His man-down proficiency saw him finish in the Top 10 six times in NHL shorthanded goals during his career.
Stints in the American Hockey League had him win a Calder Cup with the Pittsburgh Hornets in 1951-52 and earn AHL co-MVP and first team all-star laurels with the Rochester Americans during the 1958-59 campaign.
He later went on to be associated with the 1961-62 Port Arthur Bearcats side that claimed the Ahearne Cup, an annual international hockey event held in Sweden from 1957 through 1979.
In the 25 years it was held, the Bearcats were just one of three Canadian teams that won it, joining the Edmonton Mercuries (1957) and the Sherbrooke Castors (1966).
After hanging up the skates as a player, Migay stayed involved in the game, being hired by the Pittsburgh Penguin as a scout, a position he held for seven seasons, beginning in 1967.
From there he moved to the Buffalo Sabres in 1979 where he served as their head scout for much of his 22 years with that organization.
Some of the notable talent he selected over his tenure with the Sabres featured the likes of Hockey Hall of Fame honoured members Dave Andreychuk and Phil Housley along with NHL stars such as Alexander Mogilny and Tom Barrasso.
Inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame back in 1990 and the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame in 2005, Rudy Migay, who passed away in January 2016 at the age of 87, remains one of the plethora of local hockey legends who shone brightly and represented the city with honour and distinction.