Behn Wilson

Behn was born in Toronto, Ont. Named after his grandfather who was from Scotland thus explaining how he got the H in his name.

When growing up his sports activities never centered around any particular sport. Hockey would eventually become the No. 1 sport for Big Behn. Along with his sports interest was his interest in school as well. When he enrolled at the University of Toronto it was to pursue his interest in pre-medicine. Behn's parents encouraged him to not let sports consume all of his time. When he was in grade 2 he started going to speech and drama courses, something that he really liked. He studied Shakespeare and many of the classical plays. He took Canadian poetry and did phonetics and speech therapy

But when Behn put on his skates his poetry was gone with the wind. He was mean and tough. Opposite players hated to play against Behn, who always was ready to deliver a devastating hit or a sneaky punch. He was a brutally punishing hitter, and smashing fighter. But playing that way every shift is not easy, not even for someone of Wilson's size. He was often criticized letting up on players, especially players significantly smaller than him.

Though he had a reputation as a thug, he actually had the makings of a very good player. He was a good skater for such a big man, blessed with speed and balance, although lacking great agility. He also had a low, heavy slap shot from the point and knew when to pinch in off of the blue line. When he was on his game he was a top four defenseman on any team in the league.

But Wilson was enigmatic, not able to play to his potential many nights. He hurried his decisions, often making bad passes in all three zones which resulted in turnovers and odd man breaks against. As one NHL analyst once said, " Behn Wilson has all the talent and a full deck of cards to go with it. His only problem is the cards are shuffled the wrong way."

Behn played his junior career for three OHA teams between 1975-78: The Ottawa 67's, Windsor Spitfires and Kingston Canadians. He played a total of 163 games in which he scored 154 pts. (35+119) and picked up 470 Pim's.

Philadelphia had traded their veterans Orest Kindrachuk, Ross Lonsberry and Tom Bladon for Pittsburgh's 1st round choice in 1978. Philadelphia liked what they saw in the young defenseman. He not only displayed fine overall skills but was big (6'3" 210 Ibs) and tough as nails, so they used the 1st round choice to select Behn 6th overall in the 1978 draft.

Behn didn't disappoint and had a fine rookie season (1978-79) playing all 80 games scoring 49 points, including 13 goals. He not only contributed fine offensively but also engaged in numerous fights against players like Tiger Williams, Willi Plett and Gary Howatt. He eventually ended up with 197 PIMs in his rookie season. Behn played five seasons for Philadelphia and reached a career high in 1981-82 with 16 goals, 47 assists and 63 points, as well as 237 PIM's.

Behn's reputation however wasn't the best in the league. He was responsible for several questionable altercations and Philadelphia felt it was better for him to move on. He was traded to Chicago in June 1983 for Doug Crossman and Philadelphia's 2nd round choice in 1984 (Scott Mellanby) in the 1984 draft.

Often playing with Keith Brown, Behn continued his hard nosed style of play in Chicago and had three very solid seasons on the Blackhawks blueline before sitting out the entire 1986-87 season with a back injury. He eventually returned for the 1987-88 season but it was evident that his back wasn't 100%. After the season Behn announced his retirement, only 29 years old.

Wilson went into business for himself after hockey. He had been studying economics from the University of Toronto during his off-seasons while still in the NHL.

Read more...

Lidio "Lee" Fogolin Sr.

Last week I wrote a piece about Lee Fogolin, the veteran Edmonton Oilers defenseman from the dynasty days of the mid-1980s.

Did you know that Fogolin was a second generation NHL star?

Lidio "Lee" Fogolin Sr. played 427 games in the NHL, mostly in the 1950s. The statistics tell us he played 2 and 1/2 seasons in Detroit before playing 5 and 1/2 seasons in Chicago, where son Lee Jr. was born. Father and son played very similar stay-at-home, hard hitting styles of defense. Lee Sr. scored 10 goals and 58 points in his career. He got into 28 playoff games, scoring 2 assists.

I was not satisfied with the little bit of information the statistical record provides. I wanted to know more about Lee Fogolin Sr. I turned to an old book I found in a used bookstore once upon a time - Frank Pagnucco's Heroes: Stars of Hockey's Golden Era, published in 1985.

Pagnucco interviewed Fogolin, asking him to describe himself.

"They always teamed a hitting defenceman with a rushing defenceman," Fogolin explained. Despite strong skating and a hard shot, Red Wings boss Jack Adams welcomed him to the NHL in 1948 saying "Listen, kid, I got enough fancy pants on this team. I need guys who'll stay back there and hit 'em.

Fogolin took the advice the heart, and lasted nearly a decade in the league. He became a feared bodychecker.

Fogolin remembered one big hit on Dean Prentice.

"He passed the puck and made the fatal mistake of admiring the beautiful pass he made. I was right inside our blue line. I took one step. I used to hit with the shoulder . . . and I can still remember . . . I was scared really. I caught him with my shoulder in the breastbone and down he went. I said, 'Oh my god, I think I killed him.'"

Fogolin was forced out of the NHL by 1957 after breaking his elbow twice. He tried to extend his career playing pro hockey in Calgary, but soon retired. He later returned to his home town of Thunder Bay, Ontario. He tried coaching locally, but soon became involved in the service station business before working for a steel firm. He would regret not staying more involved in the game after retiring as a pro.

But his career highlight in hockey was still to come. His son would soon make the NHL, and, unlike his father, would lift the Stanley Cup over his head.

"In all my years of hockey I never worked myself into such a frenzy," Fogolin told Pagnucco. "I wanted to see him win a Stanley Cup. The ultimate thing in your career is winning the Stanley Cup and getting your name on it."

Read more...

Dave Manson

When a player is affectionately known as "Charlie" Manson, it comes as no surprise he was one of the most feared NHL tough guys of his era. But he could play too, a terrific package of terror and talent.

The pride of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, the former hometown Raiders star Dave Manson played in over 1100 NHL games, most notably with the Chicago Blackhawks. He also played well in Edmonton, Winnipeg and Montreal before toiling with Toronto and Dallas late in his career.

Manson quickly established himself as a rough and tumble customer. He had nearly 2800 career penalty minutes, including a Chicago single season record (since broken) of 352 penalty minutes in his third season, 1988-89.

The following season he would have bettered his own record if he was not suspended three times - twice for pushing a linesman and returning to fights, and once for biting the hand of Scott Stevens.

With his rugged approach to the game he was an obvious fan favorite in the Windy City. He had some real battles in that old Norris Division, and Chicago had some long time rivalries. Bob Probert and Joey Kocur were in Detroit. Basil McRae in Minnesota. Todd Ewen and later Scott Stevens in St. Louis.

That Stevens bout was quite the classic. Let's take a look:



Manson backed down from nobody, and you can not accuse him of having a bark worse than his bite. You see, Manson often had to let his physical play send messages for him, as he his voice was reduced to a raspy whisper courtesy of Sergio Momesso, then with Vancouver. Big Momesso punched Manson right in the throat during one altercation, and Manson contracted a permanent case of laryngitis. Even after two major surgeries, Manson still talks very softly and gravelly.

Despite the nickname and impressive pugilistic resume, one should not be too quick to jump to the conclusion that he was simply a goon. No, in fact he was also an offensive defenseman who twice played in NHL all star games.

Remember that '88-89 season where Manson sat in the penalty box for 352 minutes? The defenseman also registered 18 goals and 54 points that year.

Blessed with a heavy shot, Manson was a natural on the power play. He loved to tee up one timers but was also smart enough to change up his shot now and again. And he was never afraid to pinch up and surprise the penalty killers with his straying from the left point.

That year Manson really put it altogether. There is not a coach in the league that would not want a defenseman with Manson's scary combination of physical aggression and offensive intimidation. He was always playing on the edge, but he constantly struggled to keep that right balance.

The problem was Manson was never able to maintain the right mixture over any length of his career. This was due to discipline and hockey sense.

First and foremost was discipline, but with penalty minute totals like his that comes as no surprise. Too often he would unnecessarily engage in scrums after the whistle instead of just concentrating on hockey. He would often throw himself off his own game as he ran around out of position and taking bad penalties. With his well-established reputation as one of the most feared men on ice, he did not need to do this. He needed to learn let his reputation do a lot of the intimidating for him, and just concentrate on playing hockey.

Discipline in hockey also refers to playing the game smartly and patiently. This is also known as hockey sense.

At times Manson was too over-exuberant in his offensive game too, making bad pinches, impossible passes, and plenty of turnovers. He was very much a gambler with the puck, and he got burned many times. This only led to a significant number of minor penalties, for hooking and tripping, because he did not have the superior foot speed to make up for his gaffes.

Had Manson learned to be more patient with the puck and just make the safe if unspectacular play, he would have been one heck of a defender. He might not have been as noticeable on the ice if he played more conservatively, but given his turnover history that might have been a good thing.

Defensively he could be an adventure, too. Certainly the opposition did not like to put the puck into his corner, given the likelihood he would try to put you into the first row of seats. But the opposition knew Manson would stray too far from his optimal position to make a big hit or to unnecessarily help out his defense partner. Poor reads by Manson led to wide open scoring chances for attackers too often.

Manson may have been a big city star who lasted over 1100 wars in the NHL, but he never forgot his hometown roots. He was always a Saskatchewan boy at heart, proud of his hometown of Prince Albert where he led the WHL Raiders to the Memorial Cup in 1985. Following the conclusion of his NHL career, Manson returned to Prince Albert and became involved in coaching with the Raiders.

Read more...