The Pro Hockey Alumni Podcast Hosted by Mark Willand. "The Voice of Hockey Legends"
Episodes
Sunday Jul 21, 2019
Sunday Jul 21, 2019
Morris Lukowich scored over 40 goals four times in his big league career.
This is Part 1 of our two part series with WHA and NHL All Star Morris Lukowich, who scored over 300 major league goals by combining great skating, hard shooting and a willingness to absorb punishment in front of the net.
After a brilliant junior career with the Medicine Hat Tigers, Morris was drafted by the NHL Pittsburgh Penguins in 1976, but opted to play with Gordie Howe and the WHA Houston Aeros.
He immediately made an impact in the WHA and eventually became a 65-goal scorer and Avco Cup Champion with the 1978-79 Winnipeg Jets. He was also highly productive in the NHL, topping the 30-goal mark four times.
You’ll be enthralled by Luke’s memories of his often hard-to-believe journey through youth hockey, juniors, Houston, Winnipeg, Boston, LA and beyond. He also has some insightful revelations about his interactions with Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull.
Luke doesn’t hold back with these fascinating hockey tales, but he also offers meaningful lessons in perseverance, commitment and courage.
Monday Jul 15, 2019
Monday Jul 15, 2019
Rick Middleton, Ed Giacomin and Johnny Bower are just a few of the NHL greats who played for the AHL Providence Reds
In Episode 41 of the Pro Hockey Alumni Podcast, we discuss, the rich tradition of professional hockey in Rhode Island as we prepare for the 19th annual Rhode Island Reds Reunion on August 4, 2019
More than two dozen former Providence Reds and other hockey luminaries are expected to attend the event at Goddard State Park in Warwick, RI. Ticket Info is on the show notes and also mentioned in the show.
Among those expected to attend and receive special awards are Boston Bruins Alumni Rick Middleton, Ross Brooks and RI native Noel Acciari.
Today, we talk with Buster Clegg, a fixture in RI hockey for over 50 years and the President of the RI Reds Heritage Society. We’ll discuss the glory days of pro hockey in the old R. I. Auditorium and such future NHL greats as Ed Giacomin, Johnny Bower, Orland Kurtenbach and many more.
We’ll also have funny anecdotes from Rick Middleton on his memorable 1973-74 season in Providence.
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The reunion will also feature the Society’s annual awards’ presentations, a buffet dinner, music, raffles, and a silent auction of hockey memorabilia. Cost is $40 per adult, $15 for children.
The reunion’s annual dinner-dance will be held at the 12 Acres banquet facility in Smithfield on Saturday, Aug. 3 and will feature guest speaker Greg Bouris, the former communications director for the New York Islanders, the Florida Panthers and the MLB Players Association.
Tickets are $50 per person. For information and reservations to each event, contact Mal Goldenberg at mal@rmcri.com or (401) 864-6191. Tickets will not be sold at the gate.
Tuesday Jul 09, 2019
Tuesday Jul 09, 2019
The Hartford Whalers are back! A celebration of the Hartford Whalers 3rd annual reunion coming up on July 12th and 13th 2019 as hosted by the Hartford Yard Goats baseball team.
The key event for hockey fans will be the on-field BBQ on the afternoon of the 13th — this is a great way to meet the Whalers and hear some unforgettable hockey stories while enjoying great food and one of America’s great minor league ballparks.
Today’s shows features conversations with Yard Goats Asst. GM Dean Zappalorti a die-hard Whalers fan who coordinates the event and four Whalers reunion attendees: Mike Rogers, Jordy Douglas, Wayne Babych and Andre Lacroix, all of whom share memories of their days with the Whalers. By the way, all of these comments are excerpted from previous editions of the podcast.
Thursday Jun 27, 2019
Thursday Jun 27, 2019
Dennis “Super Sobby” Sobchuk was a dynamic junior hockey star, who went on to achieve success in the World Hockey Association.
Sobby is still a hockey legend in Regina Saskatchewan, where he starred with the junior Pats in the early 1970s. He played 200 games from 1971 to 1974, registering 191 goals and 225 assists. On a team that included the likes of Clark Gillies and Gregg Joly, he was named the most valuable player of the 1974 Memorial Cup. He later had his number #14 retired and in 2018 he and Guy Lafleur were chosen as honorary captains of the MasterCard 100th edition of the Memorial Cup event.
His junior career was so impressive that he became the first player to sign with a professional hockey team before leaving major-junior hockey. Dennis signed a 10-year, $1-million contract with the WHA's Cincinnati Stingers in 1973. He played the 1973-74 season with the Pats and was loaned to the Phoenix Roadrunners for the 1974-75 season because the Stingers didn't have an arena in which to play.
Dennis was the centerpiece of the Stingers franchise, notching 44 goals and 96 points in 1976-77 while earning a spot in the 1977 WHA All Star Game.
Three major shoulder injuries would curtail his career, but did not diminish his legend. After playing in the 1979 Avco Cup finals with Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers, Dennis has a brief NHL stint in Detroit before retiring in 1982.
You’ll enjoy Dennis’ recollections of a colorful and unforgettable ride in a career that could only have happened in the 1970s.
Sunday Jun 16, 2019
Sunday Jun 16, 2019
With the St. Louis Blues winning the Stanley Cup, what better time to talk with Blues legend Wayne Babych — the first 50-goal scorer in franchise history.
A great shooter, who who could mix it up with anyone, Wayne was drafted third overall by the Blues in 1978. As a rookie in 1978-79, he scored 27 goals in 69 games playing RW on the Blues “Kid Line” with Bernie Federko and Brian Sutter as he finished third in the rookie of the year voting behind.
After scoring 26 goals in just 59 games in the next season, Wayne hit his stride in 1980-81 as the upstart Blues battled for the top overall record in the NHL. Coach Red Berensen paired Wayne with center Blake Dunlop and LW Jorgen Pettersson and Wayne responded with 54 goals — a league-leading 40 of which were scored even strength — and he played in the 1981 NHL All Star Game.
The following pre-season, however, Wayne suffered a severe shoulder injury that would hamper him for the rest of his career. After three more solid seasons in St Louis, Wayne joined the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1984 and had the distinction of being Mario Lemieux’s first regular RW.
Wayne eventually landed in Hartford, where he joined brother Dave in the Whalers unlikely 1986 playoff run.
In retirement Wayne and Dave Babych have committed much of their time to helping a variety of worthwhile causes and positively impacting lives round the world.
We cover it all — the Blues, the fights, the fun and the tragedies — in this entertaining conversation with Wayne.
Host: Mark Willand
Friday Jun 07, 2019
Friday Jun 07, 2019
John Van Boxmeer was a first round draft pick (14th overall) by the Montreal Canadiens in 1972 and went on to an outstanding 10-year NHL career as a high-scoring defenseman with the Habs, Colorado Rockies, Buffalo Sabres and Quebec Nordiques.
John was part of Montreal’s 1975-76 Stanley Cup powerhouse team, playing behind Hall of Fame defensemen Larry Robinson, Guy Lapointe and Serge Savard. In search of consistent playing time, he was dealt to the Colorado Rockies in 1976 and established himself as a solid NHL blueliner with an improving, but struggling franchise.
When Scotty Bowman took over as GM in Buffalo he acquired John in exchange for Rene Robert and John delivered seasons of 51, 68 and 69 points from 1979-80 to 81-82. By 1984, however, injuries would take their toll and his playing career ended — but he soon embarked on a successful 25-year coaching career in the NHL, AHL, IHL and Swiss Elite Leagues. He is now a pro scout with the Sabres.
John has great insights on his career at all levels and excellent stories to tell about hockey legend like Guy Lafleur and Bobby Orr. He even recalls his infamous TKO loss to Dave “The Hammer” Shultz in 1976.
Host: Mark Willand
Saturday May 25, 2019
Saturday May 25, 2019
WHA legend Larry Lund, the Rebel League’s 12th all-time leading scorer, is our guest on episode 36 of the PHA Podcast.
Before becoming an original Houston Aero at he age of 32, Lund played 12 outstanding seasons in the minors, mostly in the Western Hockey League with Seattle and Phoenix.
With Gordie Howe and the Aeros, Lund centered the “Go Go Line” with Andre Hinse and Frank Hughes, as the Aeros won the Avco Cup in 1974 and 1975. His best season was 1974–75 when he led the Aeros in points with 108, good fifth overall in the WHA. He played in the annual WHA All-Star game and was productive in the post season.
In his WHA career, Lund recorded 426 points in 459 regular season games and added 65 points in 59 post-season contests.
In a addition to his stellar playing career, Lund is well-know as the founder of the Okanagan Hockey School, the longest running hockey school in North America. Larry is a member of the BC (British Columbia) Hockey Hall of Fame.
Larry was great to interview and he takes you behind the scenes of those colorful Houston Aeros teams and his roommate — Gordie Howe.
We greatly appreciate the letters and great reviews. We do the show for you fans so we appreciate your feedback. Our audience has grown tremendously since we began last year and we are grateful for your support.
Now … let’s talk classic hockey with Larry Lund.
Host: Mark Willand
Friday May 17, 2019
Friday May 17, 2019
“The 'Ol Two-Niner” Phil Bourque is our guest on episode 35 of the PHA Podcast.
Phil played 18 pro seasons and is best known as a key member of the 1991 and 1992 Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. The grit, hustle and toughness of foot soldiers like Bourque, Troy Loney and Bob Errey were a crucial elements to success for the star-studded Pens.
Phil recalls his passion for becoming an NHL player and the many obstacles he faced en route to making to the top. He takes us behind the scenes with revealing stories about Mario Lemieux, Scotty Bowman, Badger Bob Johnson and many others that helped make the early ‘90s Penguins one of hockey’s all-time great franchises.
Phil is also candid about his upbringing in Massachusetts and the complex and rocky relationship he had with his father and the impact it had on his life.
A popular broadcaster with the Penguins and a riveting motivational speaker, Phil Bourque delivers one hour of entertaining and often inspirational recollections of a hard-won and rewarding career.
Host: Mark Willand
Saturday May 04, 2019
Saturday May 04, 2019
Winnipeg-based author and journalist Geoff Kirbyson is our guest on episode 34 of the PHA Podcast and we’ll take an in-depth look at the 1978-79 Winnipeg Jets Avco Cup Championship team. After the interview with Geoff we’ve included some great insight on that team by Jets center Terry Ruskowski, who was our guest episode 16.
Geoff Kirbyson is a life-long Jets fans, who wrote a fabulous book about the WHA’s greatest line - The Hotline - Anders Hedberg, Ulf Nilsson and Bobby Hull. When Ulf and Anders left the Jets for the NHL New York Rangers in 1978, all seemed lost for the Jets. However, the arch-rival Houston Aeros folded in the summer of ’78 and the Jets were able to obtain many of their top players, including Ruskowksi, Rich Preston, Morris Lukowich and Scott Campbell.
How this team overcame their differences to eventually to defeat Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers to become WHA champions is truly an inspirational story.
To celebrate to the 40th anniversary of the 1978-79 Jets, Geoff has organized a reunion and a banquet that fans can attend on June 1, 2019. Please see the show notes for details or visit Geoff Kirbyson on Twitter.
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Host: Mark Willand
Geoff is organizing a 40-year reunion of the 1978-79 team at the end of this month, culminating with a banquet on June 1. Players are flying in from four different countries, including Kent Nilsson, Terry Ruskowski, Rich Preston, Willy Lindstrom, Morris Lukowich, Peter Sullivan, Roland Eriksson, Scott Campbell, Kim Clackson, John Gray, Paul MacKinnon, Glenn Hicks, Joe Daley, Markus Mattsson, Bill Lesuk, Lyle Moffat and coach Tommy McVie. https://www.eventbrite.ca/.../40-year-reunion-of-the-1978...
Saturday Apr 27, 2019
Saturday Apr 27, 2019
1992 US Olympian and 10-year pro Tim Sweeney is our guest on episode 33 of the Pro Hockey Alumni Podcast.
A Hall of Fame 4-year player at Boston College, Tim played along side numerous future NHLers such as Craig Janney, Brian Leetch and Doug Brown. Tim was drafted by the Calgary Flames in 1985 and began his pro career in 1989-90 with Salt Lake of the IHL, where he led the team in scoring and was voted as the top US rookie in the league.
While with the parent Flames in 1992, Tim was chosen to play for the United States in the 1992 Olympic Games in Albertville, France. The unheralded US squad finished fourth in the games and Tim tied for the team lead in points with 7.
After a pair of prolific seasons with Providence in the AHL, Tim was chosen by the expansion Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the 1993 expansion draft and enjoyed an excellent season in the Ducks first-ever campaign.
Eventually, Tim would make his way back to the Boston Bruins and then the New York Rangers and was productive for both teams before retiring in 1999.
In this interview, Tim reveals a lot of interesting anecdotes about people he met along the way including Stu Grimson, Joey Mullen, Raymond Bourque and Wayne Gretzky.
Today, Tim is a successful businessman in Massachusetts and remains a key player for the Boston Bruins Alumni team.