Don Deacon

Newspaper archives suggest the Detroit Red Wings really felt Don Deacon could have been a very special NHL player had he been able to control his weight. Standing at just 5'9" tall, he struggled to keep his weight below 200lbs, therefore slowing him down.

Other sources suggest the roly poly center from Regina lacked the drive to become a NHL regular. While playing with the AHL Pittsburgh Hornets, player-coach Larry Aurie fined Deacon for "lack of hustle and interest." Deacon's listless play in that 1938-39 season had gotten so bad that he was the target of the boo-birds among the Duquesne Garden faithful. What makes that so surprising is he recovered from his rocky start to register 66 points in 46 games, a new record in that league.

Despite his misgivings, Don Deacon managed to average 40 points in a pro career that lasted seven years, most notably with the Hornets and Cleveland Barons. Parts of three of those years were spent with the Detroit Red Wings where he scored 6 goals and 10 points in 40 career NHL games.

In 1942 Deacon became part of Canada's military effort in World War II. He was stationed in Calgary for two years, helping a local team capture the Alberta senior championship.

Unfortunately Deacon never got his discharge from the army, as he died in a freak accident on Christmas night, 1943. While serving with an army unit in British Columbia, Deacon somehow accidentally fell off of a friend's balcony, plummeting 25 feet to the ground. He died soon thereafter with a fractured skull and internal bleeding.

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Billy Dea

Billy is mostly remembered for his "iron man" status.

He didn't miss a single game in the AHL between 1958 and 1967. He played almost 700 straight games in the AHL for the Buffalo Bisons. He became the all-time ironman on Christmas night 1965 in Cleveland when he appeared in his 526th consecutive regular season game. Oddly enough, the man who's mark Billy was erasing played with Cleveland that night. His name was Bill Needham, a defenseman who had previously played 525 straight games.

Billy never saw himself as an ironman although he admitted that it would take something special for him to miss a game.

"I'm no hero. I'm not the type who would go out and play with an injury just to set a record, although I will say it would take more to keep me out of the lineup than ordinary."

Although his penalty minute totals do not suggest it (just 44 minutes in 397 career NHL games), Dea was a very robust player. He was nicknamed "Kayo" and "Hard Rock" for good reason. The Edmonton born Dea was commonly called a "honest" hockey player, which was a great compliment for the pint-sized player. He stood just 5'8" and weighed 175lbs.

After a solid junior career with Lethbridge which saw him score 207 points, including 123 goals, in 142 games, Dea went on to a three game tryout with the Saskatoon Quakers in the WHL.

He played very well and was soon signed by the NY Rangers. Billy debuted for the Rangers during the 1953-54 season and played 14 games. He then played two seasons in Vancouver (WHL) but battled pneumonia for over two months and never regained his strength. The Rangers dealt him to the Detroit Red Wings. Detroit sent him to Edmonton (WHL) where Billy had a fine season in 1955-56, scoring 71 points in 70 games. The next season Billy cracked the Detroit lineup and became a regular in the NHL for the first time, spending some time on Gordie Howe's left wing. He scored a respectable 15 goals and 30 points.

In the midst of the 1957-58 season Billy was traded to Chicago in a eight player deal and finished the season in Chicago.

For the next nine seasons Billy played in the AHL for the Buffalo Bisons where he became very popular. His Bisons coach Phil Watson's praise for Billy was simple.

"Billy is a hardworking hockey player and he's a good hockey player."

And the Bisons GM Fred Hunt liked Billy from another standpoint.

"He's a wonderful team man. He never causes any trouble. Even at contract time, he just comes in and signs without any haggling. You never know he's on the club except when he's on the ice."

This was everything a team or a GM could wish from a player and that's exactly what they got from Billy.

Everybody, including Billy, thought that his playing days in the NHL were over until Chicago called for his services during the 1967 playoffs. Billy's next break came with the expansion. Pittsburgh Penguins claimed Billy in the 1967 expansion draft and he went on to play two full seasons with Pittsburgh, scoring a fine 16 goals for the expansion team in 67-68 and followed it up with another solid campaign.

At the start of the 1969-70 season Billy was traded to his old club Detroit. He played 70 games for Detroit and was a valuable checker. He played another season in Detroit before being sent down to the CHL.

Billy's last active season came in 1971-72 when he played for the Tidewater Wings in the AHL. At the time of his retirement he was 39-years old.

Dea, who was a second cousin of New York Rangers star Don Murdoch, would stay in hockey all of his life. For a time he would coach the Red Wings and later in life he would serve as a scout for the Wings and the Florida Panthers. He also ran a ladies' hair salon in Fort Erie, Ontario.

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Hap Holmes

Hockey Hall of Famer Harry "Hap" Holmes played only 103 NHL games, but enjoyed a 15 year career with 5 different leagues. He was one of hockey's early star puck stoppers, and had he not spent his best years out west, Hap Holmes almost certainly would be bigger legend in hockey circles today.

Holmes strapped on the pads for Toronto of the NHA, Seattle of the PCHA, Victoria of the WCHL which would later become the WHL, and Toronto and Detroit of the NHL.

The cap-wearing Holmes backstopped four Stanley Cup winners, including two in Toronto, one in the NHA days and another in the NHL's very first season. He also backstopped Seattle and Victoria.

However his most famous feat came in one of hockey's most infamous moments.

That moment was the 1919 influenza cancelled Stanley Cup finals. The series featured the two best goalies of early hockey history, as Holmes went head to head with his nemesis, Georges Vezina. The final game was a 0-0 draw. Due to the flu, the referee called the game off to rest the weary players. That set up a 7th game showdown. Unfortunately that 7th game was never played, as the flu claimed the life of Joe Hall.

Though much of his career pre-dated the NHL or was spent out west in the PCHA/WHL, the legendary Holmes finally became a NHL star at the end of his career. He, like most surviving members of the Victoria Cougars, relocated to Detroit. He played the final two seasons of his career in the Motor City, earning an impressive 17 shutouts in 85 games.

Described as both fearless and non-chalent almost to a fault. Some mistook his "nerveless" approach to the net as lazy, just like some mistook his efficient play as unspectacular.

Following his retirement from the crease, Holmes became instrumental in bringing AHL hockey to Cleveland. To honour his contributions, "Hap" Holmes is now forever immortalized in the American Hockey League. The top goalie in that league is awarded the Hap Holmes Memorial Trophy.

Illness forced Holmes to seek warmer climates later in life. He relocated to Florida and operated a fruit farm until his death in 1941. He was just 53.

The NHL honoured Hap Holmes with his posthumous induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972.

Make no mistake, Hap Holmes truly was one of the best goaltenders in the world in his long, 15 year career. He was arguably the best goalie in the PCHA for six straight years. He saved his best play for the playoffs. His four Stanley Cup championships with four different teams should be stuff of legend. He even outduelled the likes of Georges Vezina and Clint Benedict.

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