1973 Off-Season

1973 Entry Draft

The 1973 PHL Entry Draft appeared to be much stronger than the previous year. St. Louis held the first overall pick and used it to select talented winger Grant Millen. Pittsburgh finally found their franchise cornerstone on defense, selecting 6’4”, 215 lb Greg Holt second overall. The Vancouver Bighorns also took a defenseman, Shawinigan, QC native Yvan Deschamps to round out the top three. Other interesting picks included California’s Alan Chadwick, whose grandfather, Johnny, played nearly 20 seasons with Detroit from 1923 to 1940, and Clint Allen, son of PHL legend George Allen, who went 20^th to Minnesota. The only trade during the draft took place when Boston sent legendary defenseman Doug West to Detroit in exchange for the Mustangs’ 19^th pick. The Bulldogs used the pick on JP Bissette, a speedy winger from Quebec.

1.      St. Louis – Grant Millen, F

2.      Pittsburgh – Greg Holt, D

3.      Vancouver – Yvan Deschamps, D

4.      Denver – Brad Hewson, F

5.      Hamilton – Billy Little, F

6.      California – Alan Chadwick, F

7.      Toronto – Phil Morrison, D

8.      Quebec – Dwayne Holland, F

9.      Winnipeg – Adam Hanson, D

10.   LA – Shannon Lane, D

11.   Chicago – Mike Parks, F

12.   New York – Kirk White, F

13.   Boston – Richard Sharp, D

14.   Ottawa – Steve Peterson, F

15.   Philadelphia – Jeff Malone, D

16.   Calgary – Don Taylor, F

17.   Nova Scotia – Wayne McBride, D

18.   Montreal – Claude Bordeleau, F

19.   Boston (From Detroit) – JP Bissette, F

20.   Minnesota – Clint Allen, D

1974 Phenom Alert:

David Appleby, age 16, Kitchener, ON

David Appleby began skating at two years old on his parents' farm outside Kitchener. He began playing youth hockey at age 12 and immediately began tearing up the local youth leagues. He is entering his second season in the Ontario junior league where he scored a whopping 79 goals in 1972-73. Appleby is already being mentioned in the same breath as PHL greats such as Skippy Cleveland, Gilbert Giroux, and current star Stuart Holly.

Rule Changes:

In the wake of the Jim Cobb incident in 1972, the league spent the 1972-73 season researching player safety. A committee was created to discuss possible rule changes and after much discussion between the committee, the league, the players’ union, and the league’s insurance providers, it was finally decided on June 12, 1973, that any player who had yet to sign a pro contract prior to July 1, 1973 would be required to wear a helmet. After Cobb’s injury, the PHL’s insurance providers began to insist that the league mandate helmets. The issue was that the PHPA strongly opposed the mandate, insisting that its senior members –many of whom had never worn a hockey helmet in their entire lives- should be allowed to make the choice. A compromise was finally reached when the league agreed to grandfather the helmet rule in.

Retirements:

Sam “Skippy” Cleveland, F, New York, Calgary. 1939-63, 1969-73

There is little dispute about Skippy Cleveland’s place as the greatest player in PHL history. Cleveland entered the league the year it started – 1939 – joining the New York Civics as a 16-year-old. Right off the bat he was a key player on broadway, but it wasn’t until the Civics acquired superstar George Allen from the folding Windsor Wings that Cleveland’s career really took off. The duo of Allen/Cleveland dominated the PHL scoring race each year throughout the late ‘40s and early ‘50s until Allen was dealt to Detroit in 1955. It would not take long for the Civics to find Allen’s replacement, however. Dave Riley, a speedy forward from northern Michigan, was recruited to play alongside Cleveland and the duo would lead the Civics to back-to-back Lewis cups. Cleveland retired briefly in 1963 but soon found himself back on the ice with the Calgary Wranglers of the new Global Hockey League. Cleveland would lead the Wranglers to two GHL titles before a merger brought Cleveland back into the PHL in 1969. He would play four more seasons with Calgary, retiring in 1973 as the all-time leader in seasons played (27), games played (1749), goals (972) and points (1806)

Andy Reid, F, Detroit, 1955-73

Andy Reid retired in the summer of 1973 as perhaps the greatest player ever to play for the Detroit Mustangs. “Mr Mustang” as he was nicknamed played 1350 games over 18 seasons with Detroit, winning the Lewis Cup with them four times in 1963, ’69, ’70, and ’73. Reid also leads the Mustangs in almost every offensive category.

Stuart Keplar, D, Nova Scotia, 1959-73

Stuart Keplar was initially recruited by Boston in 1953, but was never able to crack the lineup. In 1959, Keplar finally got his big break when the expansion Nova Scotia Claymores picked him up. Keplar played his entire 14-year career with the Claymores, winning the Lewis Cup with them in 1967.

Transactions:

Detroit acquires F Bruce Walker from California in exchange for F Ken Gilbert.

The Mustangs acquire another veteran superstar forward to replace Andy Reid, while California gets a young star who will be key in their rebuild.

Detroit acquires D Doug West from Boston in exchange for 1^st round draft pick.

Doug West returns to the Mustangs, where he played the first 12 seasons of his career, Boston uses the pick to select JP Bissette.