As the 1969-70 season approached, the Nova Scotia Claymores had wanted to enter the new decade and new era for the league with a brand new look. However, due to numerous changes to the PHL's structure and image in the summer/fall if 1969, the league requested that all teams wait until 1970-71 to unveil new logos and uniforms. Finally, in June, 1970, the Claymores unveiled their new look.
The new primary logo features a hockey-gloved arm wielding a claymore sword inside a wave forming a "C". The uniforms feature the same colours as before, but with the addition of Blue. The stripes are meant to invoke a Scottish tartan pattern.
Also in the summer of 1970, the New York Civics unveiled new uniforms in time for the 1970-71 season.
No radical changes in New York. Just updates to the striping and a new arched wordmark along with drop shadows on all numbers and letters.
Draft Results:
The 1970 PHL draft featured was unusually strong with several projected future stars. following their painful 18-win season, the Pittsburgh Stingers held the first overall pick and used it to select 18-year-old Phenom Danny Stevenson. Stevenson had been a big star in the Southern Ontario Hockey League, scoring 77 goals in the 1969-70 season. The Stingers counted on Stevenson to become their franchise player. The top defenseman in the draft, Craig Tucker, went to Hamilton, while power forwards Dave McCarthy and Warren Jensen were selected third and fourth by Buffalo and Calgary respectively. LA selected small forward Stuart Holly fifth. Holly, a Saskatchewan native, had scored 64 goals in the Prairie Hockey League in 1969-70, but slipped in the draft rankings because of his small size, standing at 5'7". The first and only trade occurred when Pittsburgh dealt winger Sam Greer to Chicago for the Shamrocks' 12th pick. The Stingers used the pick to select goaltender Gary Bowen. The rest of the draft results are listed below:
- Pittsburgh - Danny Stevenson, F
- Hamilton - Craig Tucker, D
- Buffalo - Dave McCarthy, F
- Calgary - Warren Jensen, F
- LA - Stuart Holly, F
- St. Louis - Doug Pittman, D
- Philadelphia - Gary Nichols, F
- Ottawa - Jeff Grant, F
- Vancouver - Neil Harper, F
- Quebec - Carlton Foster, F
- California - Bobby Murphy, D
- Pittsburgh (From Chicago) - Gary Bowen, G
- New York - Don Boyd, F
- Nova Scotia - Eddie Gibs, F
- Toronto - Gerald Garner, D
- Minnesota - Jeff Schneider, F
- Winnipeg - Cliff Bates, F
- Montreal - Ken Sharp, F
- Boston - Daryl Ferguson, D
- Detroit - Marty Lyons, G
Off-season News:
One of the most intriguing storied in the summer of 1970 was the fate of the troubled Buffalo Bulls franchise. Denver millionaire Mark Kirkpatrick continued to express interest in purchasing the club throughout the 1969-70 season. On June 20, 1970, Kirkpatrick finally got his wish. When the PHL could not find a viable owner for the Bulls in Buffalo, they agreed to sell the team to Kirkpatrick for 3.5 million. When he could not secure an arena lease in Denver for the 1970-71 season, Kirkpatrick was forced to keep the team in Buffalo for one last season. When rumors of the agreement became public, Buffalo fans immediately protested, launching a "save the Bulls" campaign. However, in mid-August, the team secured a 5-year lease at the 15,000 seat Denver Forum, and officialy announced that they would begin playing in Denver in the fall of 1971. As part of the relocation agreement, the Bulls would take the history, name, and colors of the team from Buffalo. The logo could not be changed for at least five years but Kirkpatrick said he would introduce a Colorado-themed secondary logo.
Retirements:
Wayne Jeffereys, G, Toronto, 1954-1970
Jeffereys manned the Toronto goal for all of his 16 seasons in the league, backstopping them to two Lewis Cups in 1958 and 1964.
Don St. Pierre, F, Boston, Minnesota, 1956-1970
Don St. Pierre was a key piece of the Boston Bulldogs' success in the late '50s and early '60s, including their last Lewis Cup title in 1959. In 1966, St. Pierre was selected by Minnesota in the expansion draft, where he provided veteran leadership for the expansion club.
Bruce James, D, Chicago, 1959-1970
Gritty defenseman Bruce James was a key player on the Shamrocks' blueline for 11 seasons. James never won the Lewis Cup with Chicago, but played in the finals with them in 1965.
Transactions:
Pittsburgh trades F Sam Greer to Chicago for 12th overall draft pick.
Chicago gets another young forward with good potential, Pittsburgh uses selection to take a much-needed goaltender in Gary Bowen.
Winnipeg trades D Doug West to Boston for D Rick Chandler.
Boston gets a veteran superstar defenseman on his last legs to assist in their quest for the Cup, while Winnipeg gets a young defenseman loaded with potential.
No comments:
Post a Comment