Remembering Neilson’s invitation
Back in 1974, this columnist had his shot to try out for the Petes
The Peterborough Petes opened their 68th training camp Tuesday. Fifty years ago, I was invited by coach Roger Neilson to try out for the Petes.
The previous season, I had toiled for the Peterborough Lions of the Metro Junior-B Hockey League. We had a competitive club. I was enjoying a banner year playing on a line with Steve Casey and Rick Minnie, until sustaining a seasonending shoulder separation in a January game against Wexford.
That same season, I was attending my final year of high school at Kenner Collegiate. In those days, Peterborough players often attended the high school in the area in which they were billeted. Former Petes Brad Pirie, Ed Pizunski and Peter Scamurra were classmates of mine. Tony Cassolato and Don (Red) Laurence also attended Kenner.
In the summer of 1974, my training regimen consisted of wind sprints and three-mile (4.8-kilometre) runs a few times per week. My weight training program came from my summer job at Coca-Cola, which consisted of making deliveries to a variety of grocers and convenience stores.
Carrying full cases of two-litre bottles in each hand into a store and returning with cases of empty bottles was a daily occurrence. Carrying five or six cases of 24-pack cans of coke at a time into stores was my strength training. There was no gymnasium work, no personal trainer and no on-ice workouts.
On the day camp opened, I drove my beige 1966 Valiant into the Memorial Centre parking lot, carried my equipment inside and reported to coach Neilson. We had a brief conversation. His assistant recorded my height, six-foot-one. I tipped the scales at 189 pounds.
I was given a duotang that contained the schedule of scrimmage games, was handed a sweater number and assigned to a dressing room. It was not the Petes dressing room. This room was reserved for returning Peterborough players and their top draft picks. I knew then that, if I was going to make the team, I would have to make an impression.
When I took to the ice, it was the first time I had skated in more than seven months. To say I was a bit rusty would be an understatement but it didn’t take too long to find my skating stride. The real test was finding out how my shoulder was. That didn’t take long.
In the opening period of the first of six scrimmage games, a puck was rimmed around the boards. My job was to make sure the puck got out of our defensive zone, a play I had made hundreds of times.
The job of the defenceman, in this case rugged rearguard Gary Purdon, was to make sure I did not get past him. I still recall the thunderous jolt when we collided. We grinned at each other, knowing that we had each accomplished our goal. Purdon eliminated me from the play, and I made sure the puck got out of the zone.
In six scrimmage games, I scored a goal on a nice set up by defencemen Doug Halward and added a couple of assists, but I didn’t make the impression I had wanted. After meeting with Roger, I was assigned to another season of junior-B hockey. It was the same fate for several local players. Purdon obviously impressed and made the Petes that season.
This week, many Petes hopefuls hit the ice trying to make a positive impression. Time will tell if they stay in town or get sent elsewhere for another year of seasoning.