LISTING THE TOP 50 67’S PLAYERS IS NO EASY TASK
From Bell to Zion, there’s no shortage of picks, as selected by Kilrea and his team
When asked, often over a cold adult beverage, Brian Kilrea always said selecting the best Ottawa 67’s player of all-time was a no-brainer.
The legendary head coach and GM never once strayed from naming Denis Potvin, though he often qualified the question with a “do you mean best ever … or best I coached?”
Unfortunately, Kilrea never coached Potvin with the 67’s, though he did in 1984-86 as an assistant coach with the New York Islanders, and the two became fast friends.
Past Potvin, Kilrea would list Bobby Smith, Peter Lee and Dougie Wilson. Kilrea would then say, pretty much, it was all the rest after that.
He didn’t mean that in a negative way. He just meant those three were by far the next best after Potvin, the only 67 ever inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a player, with Kilrea, the winningest coach in major junior hockey, inducted as a builder.
The 67’s franchise, so busy celebrating in its 51st season, has rolled out its top 50 of all-time over the past few days. Those players who built the franchise will be officially recognized Friday night, on the 50th anniversary of the first game ever at what was then called the Ottawa Civic Centre.
It will be 67’s royalty at centre ice, just the kind of players who would love one more crack at the visiting Oshawa Generals.
Original 67’s superstar Pierre Jarry will be there. He was something.
Then there’s Bryan McSheffrey, the original 67’s power forward, and Tim Higgins, who with Smith and Steve Payne formed the best forward line in franchise history.
Also scheduled to attend are Alyn McCauley, one of only two first-overall picks by the 67’s in the Ontario Hockey League midget draft, along with the likes of Yvan Joly, part of the second-best forward line in team history with Fox and Sean Simpson, and Nick Boynton.
Throw in Murray Wilson, the 67’s alumnus with the most Stanley Cup rings (four), represent also his brother and their father, Doug Sr., a 67’s scout.
No 67’s top-50 list would be complete without Jeff Vaive, who wowed teenage girls with his legendary mullet he so hated to cover with a helmet.
Then there’s Steve Marengere, who, if the fans voted, might be the favourite for his exciting style of play over five seasons with the 67’s. In today’s NHL, where smaller players get a chance, Marengere could have been a star.
Finally, the 67’s will introduce 96-year-old Jack Kinsella, the last serving member of the original ownership group that included Howard Darwin, Howard Henry, Bill Cowley and Bill Touhey.
Still, this celebration is all about the players who have worn the jerseys of the 67’s, who might have been called the Senators had the Gorman family not blocked use of that name.
"It’s Denis Potvin … then Bobby Smith and Peter Lee, and Doug Wilson, and don’t forget Jimmy Fox … and then the rest,” said Kilrea, who saw just about every 67’s player in person during his 44-year association with the club.
“The first five names are easy,” Kilrea always said. “That’s just my opinion. But try naming a top 10. It gets really tough from No. 6 on. There has just been so
many great players play here. It’s almost impossible past that group of five.
“How do you leave certain names out of a top 10? Even a top 50 is tough because there’s going to be guys left out who played great here.”
The only really big stars Kilrea didn’t coach with the 67’s were
How do you leave certain names out of a top 10? Even a top 50 is tough because there’s going to be guys left out who played great here.
Potvin, Jarry, Gary Doyle, Murray Wilson and Terry Murray, who played in the lean early years.
Even so, who better than Kilrea to formulate a list of the top 50, along with longtime assistant Bert O’Brien and head scout Patty Higgins, who has played a role in drafting just about every local 67 since maybe the Potvin brothers. Well … just about.
They also had input from a couple of media folk, though final decisions came down to those three.
There’s room for argument on some, but very little, and a half century has brought many great players to the 67’s.