Wanting to hear from local fans, HockeyThunderBay.com reached out to a number of Lakehead products, who have spent many years invested in the game, to get their thoughts and reflections to on the following two questions:
1. Who was your favourite local player, or someone from the city who played at any level, that you admired growing up?
2. Who do you think the best player from your era, or otherwise, from Thunder Bay was and why?
Here is what George Gwozdecky, one of the most successful NCAA coaches of all-time, had to say:
GWOZDECKY: Skated in the local junior ranks as a forward with both the fabled Port Arthur Marrs’ and Thunder Bay Vulcans. … Went on to play U.S. collegiate hockey at the University of Wisconsin, winning a NCAA championship with the Badgers in 1976-77 under the legendary (Badger) Bob Johnson. … Following Johnson’s footsteps, Gwozdecky eventually turned to coaching himself, beginning at the NCAA Division III ranks at Wisconsin-Rivers Falls and Wisconsin-Stevens-Point, winning a NAIA national championship in 1983. … Then joined another highly-successful coach, Ron Mason, behind the bench as an assistant at Michigan State University, from 1984 through ’89, winning a NCAA title in 1986, and advancing all the way to 
the final in ’87. … Then was head coach at the University of Miami (Ohio) for five seasons, capturing a Central Collegiate Hockey Association title in 1993. … This was followed by a stellar 19-year stint at the University of Denver. … In his tenure at DU, his teams won 20 or more games on 16 occasions and captured two NCAA Frozen Four crowns. … The Pioneers also won multiple Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season and playoff championships under his watch. … A three-time recipient of the WCHA Coach of the Year award, Gwozdecky went on to garner national top coach laurels twice. Remains the only person in NCAA hockey history to win a championship as a player (1977), assistant coach (1986) and head coach (2004 & ’05) at Wisconsin, Michigan State and Denver respectively. His 593 career wins as a NCAA head coach place him in the Top 20 overall. … Later spent two years as an assistant in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning. … Still coaching, he has led Valor Christian to five straight Colorado State High School finals’ appearances, featuring a trio of crowns, including in the 2022-23 campaign. … Was inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2010, the University of Denver Athletic Hall of Fame and the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.
FAVOURITE PLAYERS: I grew up cheering for the Detroit Red Wings because of Alex Delvecchio.
I was born in 1953, so I was too young to ever remember watching Alex play his hockey locally, but I was really proud that he was from the ‘The Lakehead’, Fort William & Port Arthur.
During my minor hockey days, my local hockey hero was Ray Adduono.
I remember watching Ray when he played junior hockey for the Port Arthur North Stars and then for the Port Arthur Marrs’.
He was a gifted stick-handler, a smart passer, and his hockey IQ was through the roof.
Also, on that Port Arthur Marrs’ team was a talented 16-year-old by the name of Vic Venasky, who would go on to star in U.S. college hockey at Dever and later the National Hockey League with the Los Angeles Kings.
Bob (Battleship) Kelly was the enforcer. He went on to have an NHL career in the same role. Other marquee players for the Marrs’ were Tim McCormack, Dave Merritt, Ken Rodgers, Bill McCracken and goaltender Johnny Adams.
The team was coached by Albert Cava.
I would be fortunate enough to play my junior hockey for Albert Cava a few years later.
One of my most vivid hockey memories during my youth was the winter/spring of 1967.
That was the year that the Port Arthur Marrs’ advanced through the western Canadian playoffs and qualified for the Memorial Cup Finals against the Toronto Marlboros.
The intense rivalry and sometimes “over-the-top” hatred between Port Arthur and Fort William was momentarily put aside in the spring of 1967 once the Marrs’ won the league playoffs.
In those days, under equalization rules, the CAHA permitted teams from small population areas to select and add players to their roster in order to reduce the competitive advantage that teams from larger population bases supposedly had.
I remember the Marrs’ picking up three players from the Fort William Canadiens, whom I truly detested.
John Ferguson, Ron Busniuk, along with goalie Ted Tucker were all hated by Port Arthur fans. However, once these pickups joined the Marrs’, the hatred turned to love.
Later on, the Marrs’ would pick up Chuck Kelner from the Geraldton Goldminers, Gerry Hart from the Flin Flon Bombers and Juha Widing and Bill Fairbairn from the Brandon Wheat Kings.
It seemed that everyone in northwestern Ontario followed the Marrs’ progress that spring as they successfully made their way – series after series – in winning the western Canadian championship.
When the Marrs’ went on the road, my ears were glued to the radio broadcast and when they played at home, the magnificent Fort Williams Gardens was jam packed.
After winning an incredibly tense and dramatic series against the Flin Flon Bombers, the Marrs’ went on to claim the western Canadian Junior Championship by defeating the New Westminster Bruins.
I remember being at the Thunder Bay Airport to help welcome the team back home and attending a parade as well as some big city functions in their honour.
As a young kid, I just remember the incredible excitement and pride that everyone seemed to have.
All games of the Memorial Cup Finals that year were played at the Fort William Gardens.
The Toronto Marlboros were a really talented and veteran team. A number of their players would go on to have NHL careers.
The first game of the series was played on May 7 of that year, with the Marlies beating the Marrs’ 6-3.
Two nights later the Marlboros would take a 2-0 series lead in the best-of-seven.
The Marrs’ came back to win game three, but it was evident that the Marlies firepower was too much for them.
Toronto would go on to win the Memorial Cup in five games.
It’s interesting to note that the first four games of that series drew well over-capacity crowds of 5,300-plus at the Gardens.