Bobby Smith

Bobby Smith was born in North Sydney, Nova Scotia but his family had moved to Ottawa by the time he was 2 years old. Ottawa would become a special place for Smith.

After developing through the Ottawa minor hockey system, Smith graduated all the way to the OHL where he would play for the hometown 67's. At the time he was the second most talked about junior phenom of his day. Some kid named Wayne Gretzky was getting even more attention.

While Gretzky only played one season in the OHL, Smith went on to become perhaps the best player the "O" had ever seen. In three years he tallied 158 goals, 227 assists and 385 points in 187 games. In his final year of junior he scored an OHL record 192 points including 69 goals and 123 assists. That same year Wayne Gretzky, who was two years younger, scored 182 points with the Soo Greyhounds.

The stats do not tell all about Smith's junior career. With Gretzky off to the WHA, Smith became the most sought after junior prospect. At his size, 6'4" and over 200lbs, many scouts preferred Smith over the smaller Gretzky. Smith was named the Canadian Major Junior Player of the Year in 1978 and was a Memorial Cup All Star the year before. And he had great character, as he maintained straight As in high school and later at the University of Ottawa, where he studied chemistry and psychology, while playing with the 67s.

Being the most attractive prospect at the NHL draft meant the obvious - Smith was destined to be the #1 overall draft selection by the league's cellar dwellers - the Minnesota North Stars. He was selected ahead of other junior standouts like Ryan Walter and Bill Derlago.

Minnesota would have no regrets in taking Smith with their pick. Within 3 seasons the Stars went from worst in the league to Stanley Cup finalists. Smith was a big part of an exciting young team that also boasted Neal Broten, Dino Ciccarelli and Craig Hartsburg.

Smith won the Calder Trophy in his rookie season. He scored 30 goals and 74 points while playing in all 80 games. Despite his strong play the Stars missed the playoffs, but showed marked improvement over their last place finish the year before.

Bobby was a big part of the Stars return to the playoffs in 1979-80. While battling through an injury shortened 61 games, Smith scored 27 goals and 83 points to lead the Stars to the post season. And the Stars didn't just make the playoffs, but performed great in them, surprising many teams. Smith himself only scored 1 goal but added 13 assists in 15 games. While he took some heat for not scoring more himself, his tremendous playmaking and play without the puck was a huge part of the Stars quick turnaround.

While some were calling the Stars playoff run of 1980 a fluke, Smith and the Stars proved that wasn't so in 1981. The Stars not only duplicated their previous run but bettered it by reaching the Stanley Cup finals against the defending champ New York Islanders. While the upstart Stars were little match to the powerful Islanders, everyone had a new found respect for the youthful Stars, and particularly Bobby Smith who led the team with 25 points (8 goals, 17 assists) in 19 playoff contests.

Smith's best season came in 1981-82 when he notched career highs in all major offensive categories: 43 goals, 71 assists and 114 points. Despite winning the Norris division the Stars were quickly bounced from the 1982 playoffs by Chicago.

However things would take a turn for the worse for Bobby and the North Stars following that disappointing playoff result. The Stars fired their coach and hired Bill Mahoney as the new head coach. Mahoney apparently had his own agenda and wanted to make a name for himself. Smith's wife Beth explains:

"This guy (Mahoney) came in and decided he'd show everyone who was boss, starting with Bob." As a result, Bobby's ice time was cut dramatically and so too his production, though it remained at a point a game clip. However the new head coach's style did not complement Bobby's style well and it wasn't long before the two locked heads.

"I put up with it for a while" explains Bob, "but at that age I was pretty impatient and eventually I just said 'Enough. Trade me to a team that appreciates me, or I'll quit and go back to school.' "

The Stars felt Smith's threat was real and complied with his trade demand. They traded the gigantic forward to Montreal in exchange for Keith Acton, Mark Napier and a draft choice (Ken Hodge Jr.). It was a great match for Smith. Montreal was relatively close to his old stomping grounds in Ottawa. It was also a great experience from a hockey standpoint.

"For me, just to see the older guys coming around was a thrill: Dickie Moore, Jean Beliveau, Jacques Plante, occasionally the Rocket or Henri. Heck it was a thrill to be on the same ice as guys like Guy Lafleur and Larry Robinson. I loved Montreal; I mean, there I was, in the prime of my career, in the greatest hockey city in the world, with the greatest organization, close enough to home that my dad could come down for the games, all my games on TV, Beth (his wife) in her home town...."

Smith continued to play strong two way hockey for his 6 1/2 seasons in Montreal. But by far his best season would have been 1985-86. He posted 31 goals and 86 points (he posted better numbers - 93 points - in 1987-88 with Montreal) and helped the Canadiens win the Stanley Cup. It was a surprise Cup victory for Montreal and a special feeling for Bobby, as it would be his only Cup championship.

Towards the end of Bobby's days in Montreal, it appeared as though his best days were well behind him. He slumped through an injury plagued 1989-90 season. He only scored 26 points in 53 games. The Habs traded the devalued Smith back to Minnesota for a draft choice on August 7, 1990. It was a homecoming for Smith, although the Stars had never really been the same since the day they traded him.

Smith continued to play 3 more seasons in Minnesota. He struggled to post respectable numbers but was a standout as always in the playoffs. In fact in 1991 he helped power the North Stars back to the Stanley Cup finals before bowing out to might Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Smith scored 8 goals and 16 points in 23 games. It was almost like the old days a decade earlier.

Smith announced his retirement just days before his last game in April of 1993. Four months later he was refocused on his new goal - school.

Smith was an extremely intelligent person and had always been a great student and had intended to go to University all along. He took classes at the University of Minnesota during his off seasons and enrolled full-time after retirement to complete his business degree. He earned his B.S. and MBA degrees from Minnesota's Carlson School of Management between 1993 and 1996. He later went on to hockey management including being the general manager of the Phoenix Coyotes.

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Tim Young

The Minnesota North Stars had a lot of talent in their day, particularly at center ice where the likes of Neal Broten, Bobby Smith and Mike Modano once roamed. Another top notch center in North Stars history has to be Tim Young. Young's best years were played mostly in the late 1970s for the Stars. He was quickly overshadowed by Smith and Broten, but was always a key player.

Tim Young was an offensive wizard, particularly because of his playmaking ability. He was a swift skater and deft puck handler as well as a an accurate shooter, but playmaking was his forte. He was an excellent specialty teams player as he was a good penalty killer and was also often used on the point of the North Stars power play. In fact Tim even played a few shifts here and there on defense while at regular strength when injuries depleted the Stars lineup.

Tim was born in Scarborough Ontario and played his junior hockey with the Ottawa 67s where he is forever a legend. In his final season of junior he played in 70 games and scored 56 goals and collected an amazing 107 assists for an impressive 163 points!

Those offensive numbers made him an attractive pick in the 1975 Entry draft. The Los Angeles Kings selected the 6'1" 190lb right hander with the 16th overall selection.

Young didn't last long in the Los Angeles though. Two weeks later he was traded to Minnesota as the Kings felt they couldn't get young signed to a contract. They ended up trading him to Minnesota for a second round pick in 1976 Entry Draft.

It was a great trade for Minnesota. Tim stepped in and played respectably in his rookie season - scoring 18 goals and gathering 51 points in 63 games. But he exploded in year two, 1976-77, when he set a then-Minnesota North Stars team record for points with 95. He scored 29 goals and added a career high 66 assists to create the record.

Young would slip from that lofty level which saw him play in the all star game the following years though. He scored just 58 and then 56 points the following two years, respectively. This is due in large part to the arrival of Bobby Smith in Minnesota. The highly touted Smith (who outscored Wayne Gretzky in junior hockey) was almost given the number one center's job in Minnesota, meaning Young didn't get the ice time that he did in his record setting year. Though his scoring totals were down, he was still held in high regard by the Stars and the entire league.

In 1979-80 Young enjoyed his finest year since his record year when he scored 31 goals (then a record for goals by a center in Minnesota) and 74 points. 5 of his goals came in one game against the New York Rangers in mid January, setting a record for most goals by a Star in one game. A key reason for his resurgence was a broken ankle suffered by Smith which meant for 19 games Young was the number one guy again.

1980-81 was perhaps the greatest if not most surprising moment in North Stars history - their Cinderella run to the 1981 Stanley Cup finals. After scoring 25 goals and 66 points in the regular season, Young upped his play in the playoffs when he was teamed with super rookie Dino Ciccarelli with 3 goals and 14 assists in 12 games as the Stars fell just short of the championship. Perhaps one of the reasons the Stars fell short was that Tim hurt his knee late in the playoffs.

However the Stars quickly plummeted after their fine playoff showing. Young had a bad year to follow up his fine playoff as well. He broke his ankle in the summertime while playing softball and miss most of the first half of the season. Although he scored 10 goals and 41 points in 49 games that season, he never really got untracked and struggled like the rest of the team.

Young was mostly healthy for the 1982-83 season but his offensive stats were down. He scored 18 goals and 53 points in 70 games. The North Stars began looking to move Tim and did so in the off-season by trading him to Winnipeg for Craig Levie and Tom Ward.

Tim's career pretty much fizzled out at that point, due to injuries. He played parts of the 1983-84 season with Winnipeg before being moved to Philadelphia in 1984-85, although he finished his career in the minor leagues.

Tim was one of the better players in his prime, and its too bad he's been forgotten about by most of the fans nowadays.

"Tim Young has a world of talent," once said his former coach Glen Somnor. "He can do almost anything he puts his mind to do on a hockey rink."

It was true, and its too bad his career ended prematurely. He ended his career with 628 games played, many in a quietly spectacular form. He scored 195 career goals and 341 career assists for 536 points.

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Gilles Meloche

Judging a hockey player based on his stats often leads to inaccuracies, particularly when it comes to goaltenders. Gilles Meloche is the perfect example of this.

He surrendered 2756 goals against, more than anyone else in history. His 270-351-131 career record is pretty weak, and his 351 losses is only one shy of the NHL record - set by Hall of Famer Gump Worsley, who played nearly 900 games.

One would decipher from those stats that Gilles wasn't a very good puck stopper. But in actuality nothing could be further from the truth. Quick, agile and a tremendous attitude were his trademarks. Meloche was a very good goalie on some VERY bad teams. If Meloche had played in Montreal during the 70s and Ken Dryden played in Oakland and Cleveland, then we very well might be saying Meloche is one of the all time greats and Dryden would be the one with the poor numbers.

Gilles actually got his start in the NHL with Chicago. He was a happy 70th overall draft pick of the Hawks in 1970 as Gilles grew up idolizing Hawk legend Glenn Hall. Meloche played his first pro year with the IHL's Flint Generals but did appear in two NHL games when Hawks backup Gerry Desjardins broke his arm. It was a good debut for Gilles - he won his first two starts - 6-4 in Vancouver and 5-2 against the California Golden Seals.

Those were the only two games Meloche ever played for Chicago. In the summer the Hawks sent Gerry Desjardins to Oakland for Gary Smith. However Desjardins' broken arm had not healed properly and the NHL nullified the trade. The two teams agreed to new terms and this time Meloche and defenseman Paul Shmyr were sent out west.

An interesting story happened immediately after the trade. Shmyr and Meloche disappeared for the next three days. There was much speculation that two would not report to California as they never showed up for their flight. However Shmyr had wanted his car with him out west, so he convinced the young Meloche to join him as they drove 3 days across the country!

You probably wouldn't have blamed anyone for not wanting to go the Seals franchise though. Soon the WHA would raid their roster and they became the NHL's doormats. But Meloche very much enjoyed his time there and looks back on it fondly.

"Oakland didn't have a very good team for most of my time there, but those were good years for me because I was in my early twenties and playing 50 to 60 games a year. I just wanted to play the game. When you're losing three games out of four, four games out of five, its easy to lose your confidence. But I was getting great press and the fans were always with me. I just enjoyed playing the game and I was having fun so I really didn't mind my days in Oakland. I was in the NHL and that was all that mattered," remembered Meloche in Dick Irvin's great book In The Crease.

With such an awful record the Seals were having trouble making a go of it in Oakland, and the team finally moved in 1976 to Cleveland and became the Barons. Meloche accompanied the team to Cleveland, but as Gilles recalls, not much changed.

"In fact it got worse. Nobody went to the games. It didn't feel like the National Hockey League with only 5000 or 6000 fans in the stands. It wasn't run like a big league team and it was the only time I went into a team's office and asked to be traded.

The Barons wouldn't move Meloche however, as he was one of the very few bright spots.

In 1978 the Barons merged with the Minnesota North Stars. Meloche described his time in Minnesota as "the best time in my career."

"The North Stars had finished in last place overall the year before and they ended up picking Bobby Smith, Steve Payne and Craig Hartsburg in one draft. My first year there we missed the playoffs by three or four points but we made them the next six years and they were great years."

Great was right, especially in 1980 and 1981.

In 1980 the North Stars faced off with the 4 time defending Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens. The heavily favored Habs were looking for their unthinkable 5th Cup in a row! But Meloche and the Stars had a different idea. Meloche was brilliant - so brilliant that long time hockey broadcaster Dick Irvin said "Meloche's goaltending in that series rates among the best I have ever seen in the playoffs!"

Meloche, who had been criticized for not being a "big game" goaltender, shook that label with a 3-0 shutout victory in the Montreal Forum in game one. The very next night the Stars again shocked the Habs with a 4-1 win! The Habs stormed back in the next three games and took a 3-2 series lead, but the Stars continued to fight on. The Stars forced a game 7 with a 5-2 win in Minnesota in game 6. Then the exciting game 7 showdown in Montreal was played. Minnesota's Al MacAdam scored the winner on Denis Heron with around 2 minutes left to play as Meloche backstopped the Stars to one of hockey's biggest playoff upsets.

"That was the greatest thrill of my career" later admitted Meloche.

The Stars bowed out to Philadelphia in the next round of the playoffs, but the next year they made it all the way to the finals where they met the New York Islanders, who won the Cup in 1980. It was an exciting ride for the Stars and their fans, but Meloche knew they were heavy underdogs.

"You know, you get into a series where you don't think you have too much of a chance to win and that's bad because the mental edge has something to do with it. We weren't really in the series but it was still a thrill. I remember losing on the Island and seeing the Stanley Cup on the ice. You know then why its something everybody dreams about."

Meloche continued to play with the Stars until the conclusion of the 1984-85 season. After talking contract with the Edmonton Oilers, Meloche was put on the trading block. There was some serious thought that the Montreal Canadiens were interested in Meloche as Doug Soetart was apparently unhappy in Montreal. Meloche would have loved to finish his career in Montreal, but that did not materialize.

Gilles finally landed in Pittsburgh where he finished his career with 3 more seasons. Following his playing days he became a goalie consultant and scout for the Pens.

So there you have it - one of hockey's better goalies with some of hockey's worst records.

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Brad Maxwell

There were some extremely high expectations placed upon Brad Maxwell's shoulders as a junior hockey star with the New Westminster Bruins.

Drafted 7th overall by the Minnesota North Stars in 1977 Maxwell was a key figure in coach Punch McLean's legendary junior team in the suburb of Vancouver The team also boasted Barry Beck, Stan Smyl, Mark Lofthouse and John Ogrodnick, but, aside from power play point partner Beck, it was Brad who earned the highest praise.

One report even mentioned Maxwell in comparisons to the incredible Bobby Orr. What Orr did for the Boston Bruins Maxwell did for the New West Bears. He was able to control the flow of the game single-handedly. He was a fine rushing defenseman, but also, like the rest of coach McLean's team, a tough as nails player as well.

"We definitely had a big team," recalled Maxwell, "and we were very tough. But I don't think we were goons. Thinking back over all the hockey games I've played in, and all the game I've watched, I've never seen anybody hurt bad in a fight. We did a lot of fighting in those years, but it was because Ernie (Punch McLean) foresaw the changing scene. He knew that big tough players were the next NHLers and that's how built his great teams."

Appearances in the Memorial Cup were the norm for the Bruins of the late 1970s. Maxwell played a huge role in the 1977 Championship. He scored an exciting end to end goal against the Ottawa 67's to clinch the Bruins victory in the final game.

Aside from Maxwell's strength and aggressiveness, Brad was actually more of a skill player. He possessed and extremely hard and accurate shot from the point and was an excellent puck carrier - though he lacked the speed to dominate at the NHL level. He was particularly effective on the point of a power play where he played the role of "quarterback."

Maxwell would go on to play in 10 big league seasons, 8 with the North Stars and the last two bouncing around with Quebec, Toronto, Vancouver and New York Rangers while battling a nagging hamstring injury. The highlight of his career had to be the 1981 Cinderella run at the Stanley Cup which fell just short while still a member of the Stars.

Maxwell never really achieved expectations in the NHL. Only one season, 1983-84, did he put up great numbers when he scored 19 goals and 73 points. But injuries nagged Maxwell throughout his career. And in the era of Paul Coffey and Ray Bourque, Maxwell's fine play was often unappreciated. But he was one of the upper class defensemen in his day too.

All in all he was a standout junior player, and a pretty good NHLer. He is a strong candidate for the best defenseman in Minnesota North Stars history.

Brad scored 98 times while assisting on 270 others in his 612 NHL games. He spent 1292 minutes in the penalty box. Brad was a key player in the playoffs as well - upping his play and his stats. He scored 12 goals and 61 points (plus 178 PIM) in 79 career playoff contests. He remained in Minnesota following retirement, first working as a salesman for a brick and building supply company before becoming a cabinet maker.

Brad has some interesting family relations. He is the son of former junior star and legendary junior coach and manager Ron Maxwell, a minor leaguer best known for coaching the Brandon Wheat Kings and Victoria Cougars. However he was not related to former Minnesota North Star teammate Bryan Maxwell. His sister Rhonda married one time NHLer Rick Lapointe.

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Dennis Maruk

Dennis Maruk turned out alright for a guy who was supposed to be too small to play professional hockey. He played in 888 National Hockey League games, accumulating an impressive 356 goals and 522 assists for 878 points. Included in those totals are back-to-back seasons of 50 and 60 goals respectively, and a 136 point season!

So how does a 5'8" center thrive in the National Hockey League?

"I remember as a 19-year-old being worried when I went to pro camp, so I asked Dave Hutchison what it was going to take for me to make it," Maruk said. "He told me that I could score goals and make plays, but that I had to stay aggressive -- always be aggressive. I always remembered that and it helped me stay in the NHL."

Dennis was an aggressive player, almost chippy at times. But he was a clean player too, only picking up more than 100 PIM in a season just once. Ironically that was Maruk's best year. Maruk scored 60 goals and 136 points in 1981-82, and had 128 PIM.

Dennis was drafted by the California Golden Seals in 1975 after a spectacular career with the OHA's London Knights. In his final year of junior he scored 66 goals and 145 points in 65 games.

Dennis stepped right into the NHL the next year, and did not disappoint. Right from that first season he showed he had what it took to play in the National Hockey League, despite his lack of size. He scored 30 goals and 32 assists in a full 80 game schedule.

The Seals franchise relocated to Cleveland where Dennis played the next two years. He scored 28 goals and 78 points in 1976-77 and 36 goals and 71 points in 1977-78.

The Cleveland Barons entered the NHL's graveyard after 1978 and Maruk became a member of the Minnesota North Stars. But not for long. After only 2 games in a North Stars jersey, Dennis was traded to Washington in exchange for a first round pick. Minnesota used the pick to select highly regarded Tom McCarthy. Maruk went on to become a superstar.

Maruk elevated his play to 90 points in 76 games in his first season with the Caps. However his second season was forgettable. He was on pace for another 80-plus point year but injuries shortened his season to just 27 games.

Maruk came back with vengeance in 1980-81 and showed the North Stars how wrong they were to give up on him, and showed the Caps how right they were for picking him up. Maruk played in all 80 games and scored 50 goals and 97 points!

Maruk dwarfed his own numbers in 1981-82 when he turned in one of the best single season performances in National Hockey League history. He scored 60 goals and 136 points in 80 games, still team records.

Maruk failed to reproduce his incredible season a year later, and slipped back to a point a game level of production, scoring 81 points in 80 games. However for the first time in his stay in Washington, the Capitals made the Stanley Cup playoffs. Despite his incredible efforts in the past, Maruk finally got his first taste of post season action. It was short lived as the Caps lasted only 4 games.

The North Stars tried to correct past wrongs in the summer of 1983 when they traded their 2nd round pick to Washington in exchange for Maruk. The Caps felt that despite being only 28, Maruk's best days were behind him, as experienced in his 55 point decline from the year before.

Maruk's arrival meant a glut at center ice in Minnesota. Bobby Smith and Neal Broten were already there which meant that Dennis would be a third line center. The Stars ended up trading Smith to Montreal during the season but Dennis never did find his scoring niche in Minnesota.

Maruk played parts of the next 6 years in Minnesota, scoring 60 points in each of his first two years and 58 in his third. He slipped to 46 in year 4 before a severe knee injury all but ended his career. He played in only 28 more games over the next two season before his shattered knee forced him to retire in 1989.

Ten years after his retirement from hockey, the name Dennis Maruk once again appeared on professional hockey box scores. Maruk, who was living in Lake Charles, Louisiana, suited up for eight games this season with Lake Charles Pirates in the Western Professional Hockey League, a very low minor league made up of teams from Texas and Louisiana. However Maruk's story was not about an old player making a silly comeback. Maruk reasoned he was just "filling in because the team had some injuries and were short a few players." Maruk picked up two assists.

Maruk and his wife Kim opened an antiques store in Louisiana. Dennis also keeps busy with the developing hockey programs down there.

Dennis Maruk quietly was one of the most electrifying athletes in hockey during his hey-day, yet in many ways he slipped away without anyone noticing. Why is that?

"I never played for teams that were very good, or that got a lot of coverage. Those teams never seemed to be in contention. Even the Washington teams (that) I had 50 and 60 goals for, (they) weren't very good teams. One thing I did do -- played the game at 100 per cent all the time."

Maruk will likely never join the Hockey Hall of Fame, but three of his sticks reside there. They included an all-star game stick and the sticks he used to score goal 351 and his 60th in 1982.

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Cesare Maniago

Cesare Maniago exemplified the need for expansion in 1967-68. Maniago was a star in the minor leagues for much of the 1960s, not only a top goaltender but the CHL MVP in 1965. But back in those Original Six days Cesare couldn't crack an NHL lineup. The few times he got called up to the NHL he backed up names like Jacques Plante, Ed Giacomin and Johnny Bower.

The NHL was forced to expand because of players like Maniago. The minor leagues were becoming full of NHL quality players that really were as good as many NHLers. The farm teams could ice a team that could compete against the NHL. If they didn't expand, the minor leagues perhaps could have taken over the NHL as hockey's top league.

Maniago moved around a lot in his early days. He played in places like Sudbury, Spokane, Vancouver, Ottawa, Quebec, Buffalo, Omaha, Minneapolis and Baltimore - all in the minor leagues from 1966 through 1966. Despite short stints with Toronto and Montreal, it wasn't until 1965-66 that Cesare cracked an NHL lineup somewhat regularly. He played 34 games over the next two years with the New York Rangers, backing up the legendary Eddie Giacomin.

The Minnesota North Stars were one of 6 new teams entering the League in 1967-69. They selected the Trail British Columbia native in the expansion draft in June 6, 1967.

"When expansion came and you ended up in Minnesota, your first reaction was that you were an outcast, that nobody wanted you. But we had some guys who had been good players. Leo Boivin and Doug Mohns were two of them. I played with Gump Worsley in Minnesota when he was at the end of his career and I can't say enough good things about him."

Maniago might have felt outcasted at first, but soon he showed he was right at home in the NHL. After bouncing around in the minor leagues, Cesare stayed put in Minny for the next 9 seasons. In 1976 he was traded to Vancouver and played his final two NHL seasons in his home province.

Cesare, who now owns a sporting goods store in Vancouver, was involved in several history making headlines. He surrendered Boom Boom Geoffrion's 50th goal of the season in 1961 to make him only the second player to score 50 in a season. Bobby Hull scored his 51st of the season against Maniago in 1966, thus marking the first time a player scored more than 50 goals in a single season. Stan Mikita also scored his 500th career goal against Maniago in 1977.

One of my favorite Cesare Maniago story was when he tried to become the first goalie to score back in the 1961-62 season with Hull-Ottawa of the EPHL.

"Those were the days when the goalie could skate across the red line, and I used to join the rush on a delayed penalty. One time I took a shot and hit the goal post. But that all ended in a game against Kitchener. Jean Ratelle was with them and they had a pretty good team. I was carrying the puck at their blueline and somebody hit me with a bodycheck that KO'd me. I was out like a light and went into convulsions. Imagine how that must have looked, a goalie knocked out at the other team's blueline. Anyway, I think that was the last time I ever rushed up the ice."

That was classic Cesare. A colorful guy and not a bad goalie either.
Upon retiring from hockey in 1978, Maniago got involved with the sporting goods retail business, eventually building his own little empire. Maniago Sports Ltd marked an interesting circle of "Little Cesare's" life, as a sporting goods store in his childhood made a very big impact on his life.

The store in his native Trail BC was owned by former Canadian tennis player Walt Stohlberg.

"He was an ex-Davis Cupper for Canada" recalled Maniago, a local rink rat at his early age. "And one day I was there, he picked up a tennis racket, told me to get a good goalie stick and started hitting tennis balls at me."

Is that what made him interested in goaltending?

"Sure it did!" fondly remembers Maniago with a big smile.

That was the humble beginnings for this big league netminder. Stohlberg was also a big part of Maniago's post-hockey life. He introduced Maniago to the retail people in the sporting goods industry in British Columbia. He prepared Cesare for business life, and even taught his wife Mavis how to do the bookkeeping.

"He was pretty involved and then he had a stroke" recalls Cesare. "Then he had another couple of strokes and he was gone...."

Time passed and Maniago continued to work hard for Stohlberg's company. He eventually bought the company from Stohlberg's widow. He changed the name to Maniago Sports at the suggestion of a retailer. It was a sound business move as Maniago's name was well known in the community, but it was a tough decision for Cesare.

"I wanted to keep Walt's name. That's how much I thought of the individual."

Nowadays Maniago Sports is one of the biggest sporting good retailers in the Vancouver area.

Does Maniago miss his hockey days though?

"A lot of people ask about that. I never had a chance to reflect because I've kept constantly busy. maybe some have more time. Maybe some want to continue to think about how it was. I will admit one thing I miss. The total excitement of winning an important game. The thrill of a key victory."

His key games include his Allan Cup championship, even though it came against his hometown. Maniago backstopped Chatham Ontario to the amateur championship against the Trail Smoke Eaters.

"That really created the stepping stone to pro hockey for me, and it was in Trail against the Smoke Eaters! I had to laugh...one guy, the goal judge, was an ex goalie. He was barking out instructions to me and then when Trail scored, he was cheering!"

Another favorite memory is of course his first NHL game.

"Johnny Bower was hurt and we won 2-1 in Detroit, and I was the first star of the game. That created real excitement when they announced the stars. I actually was in tears that night.

" There have been other thrills, but nothing quite like those two."

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