1972 Off-Season

1972 Off-season

Draft

The 1972 entry draft was not an overly strong one. Although there was no shortage of talent available, the draft seemed to lack that franchise player, such as a Stuart Holly or a Freddie Huff. With the first pick, California took speedy winger Dennis Yates, who was coming off a big year in the Canadian junior circuit in which he scored 42 goals. Hamilton selected center George Little from Oshawa, ON, while Denver selected Guy Fisset, a big center from Shawinigan, QC, to round out the top three. Rudy Hunter of St. Catharines, ON, was the first defenseman selected, chosen by Vancouver, while Chicago was the only team to select a goaltender, taking Tim Massey 12^th overall. LA made a splash selecting 6’3”, 223-pound winger Roy Priest with the 17^th pick. Although a weak skater, Priest had earned a reputation as one of junior hockey’s most feared fighters and the Wizards hoped he would make other teams think twice about taking shots at their young stars.

Here are the other picks from the draft:

1.       California – Dennis Yates, F

2.       Hamilton – George Little, F

3.       Denver – Guy Fisset, F

4.       Toronto – Charlie Fisher, F

5.       Vancouver – Rudy Hunter, D

6.       Pittsburgh – Kenny Sharp, F

7.       St. Louis – Terry Wolfe, D

8.       New York – Phil Holmes, F

9.       Ottawa – Tony Knight, D

10.   Winnipeg – Eric Barton, F

11.   Calgary – Sven Larsson, F

12.   Chicago – Tim Massey, G

13.   Philadelphia – Bobby Ford, F

14.   Quebec – Bruce Park, D

15.   Boston – Tim Beck, F

16.   Detroit – Ken Gilbert, F

17.   LA – Roy Priest, F

18.   Nova Scotia – Rick Snyder, D

19.   Montreal – Ray Rogers, D

20.   Minnesota – Roland Webb, F

Off-Season News

The league announced a few significant rule changes entering the 1972-73 season. Perhaps the biggest one would be the way the standings would work. Rather than determining standings by wins first, the league would use a point system. Two points would be awarded for a win, while one would be awarded to each team involved in a tie game. The league also made an adjustment to the playoff format. Going forward, a “wildcard” system would be implemented. The top teams from each division would automatically advance to the second round of the playoffs. The remaining teams would be ranked according to conference standing. This would cut back on situations where a team might get into the playoffs simply due to weak competition in their division.

There would be no major logo or uniform changes for PHL teams in 1972, but the league did make one significant change, mandating that all teams wear their white jerseys for home games, and their coloured jerseys on the road. The change was made in an effort to market the game better by displaying each visiting team’s colours. A few teams resisted the idea. Pittsburgh even requested permission to eliminate their white jerseys entirely, arguing that their yellow jerseys provided plenty of contrast against any other uniform in the league. Their request was rejected. Predictably, the Chicago Shamrocks also protested the change. The Shamrocks of course had famously been dragged kicking and screaming into their white sweaters in the first place back in the 1950s, and now owner Frederick Garfield Jr, whose father had famously uttered the line “We wear green” two decades earlier, was refusing to comply with the change. PHL president Alan Garcia eventually agreed that Chicago could wear green at home for ten home games a year provided the visitors were willing to wear white for those games.

One of the biggest debates at the start of the summer concerned player safety. In the wake of the Jim Cobb incident, team owners began pushing the league to mandate helmets for all players. The Players Union opposed the mandate for 1972, but agreed to discuss it further with the league. As a result, the PHL formed the Player Safety Committee to research developments in equipment as well as the legal advantages of mandatory helmets.

The biggest news of the off-season came in August, 1972, when Alan Garcia announced that the PHL would add four new franchises beginning in the 1974-75 season. The first two would begin play in the fall of 1974, while the next two would start in 1976. There would be two western teams and two eastern teams added. Immediately, bids began pouring in from different cities. The strongest bids came from Seattle, Edmonton, New York for a second franchise, Washington, Dallas, Atlanta, and Cleveland. Garcia also announced that for the first time in PHL history, he would form an Expansion Committee, a group of advisors from around the game and other sports as well.

Retirements

Eugene Herbert, F, Head Coach, Montreal, 1921-1972

If there was one man who was the face of his franchise throughout the history of the PHL, it was Eugene Herbert. Herbert played center for the Royale in the Quebec Hockey League from 1921 to 1936, where he dazzled the Montreal fans and fans around Quebec with his smooth skating and puck skills. In 1936, when a bad knee forced Herbert to retire at age 33, he took on the role of head coach in Montreal, where three years later, the Royale became a charter member of the PHL. Herbert coached the Royale to eight appearances in the finals, winning two Lewis Cups in 1966 and ’68. Herbert retired at the conclusion of the 1971-72 season at age 69, having coached more games than anyone in PHL history.

David Zimmer, G, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Quebec, San Francisco (GHL), 1951-1972

David Zimmer is widely regarded as the greatest goaltender in PHL history. Joining Philadelphia in 1951, Zimmer played 12 seasons with the Redshirts, taking them – often single handedly – to the Lewis Cup final three times during the 1950s. In 1963, Zimmer was traded to the Buffalo Bulls, where he led them to a second-place finish in 1965. That summer, Zimmer signed with the San Francisco Nuggets of the new Global Hockey League. He would play for the Nuggets right up until the GHL merged with the PHL in 1969, when he was traded to the Quebec Nationale. After leading the Nationale to a miraculous run to the final in 1970, Zimmer’s play began to deteriorate in 1970-71 and he eventually lost the starters job to young goaltender Andy Poole. After one last season back with Philadelphia, albeit as their backup, Zimmer retired, leaving behind a legacy as perhaps the greatest player to never win the Lewis Cup.

Jeff Miller, D, Hamilton, 1952-1972

Miller played on the Hamilton Blueline for 20 years, winning the Lewis Cup with the Kings in his first two seasons. Toward the end of his career, Miller provided important veteran leadership to young players such as Gilbert Boudreau and Gerry Stokes.

Transactions

Detroit acquires F, Bjorn Rasmussen from Vancouver in exchange for F Doug Porter.

Detroit adds another big name to their powerful lineup while Vancouver adds a much-needed up-and-coming prospect.

LA acquires F Gilbert Girouix from St. Louis in exchange for F Steven Pierce and a 1^st round pick.

LA adds a veteran superstar to mentor their young, talented lineup, while the struggling Spirits manage to dump salary while adding a draft pick and a decent prospect.