A lingering knee injury in recent years made the decision easy. "I waited five or six years, but the knee didn't respond," Hill said.
Playing parts of 34 seasons, in Calgary, Rocky Mountain House, Nelson, Edmonton and Regina, Hill amassed career totals of 11 goals, 26 assists, and six or seven hundred minutes in penalties. "That last number is sketchy," Hill said. "Half the time we had no clock and just guessed."
But the numbers don't tell the whole story. Known as "Pylon," Hill made up in physical presence what he lacked in the skills of skating, shooting, and passing. "The 'new NHL' was the kiss of death for guys like me," Hill said. "It was all skating and puck movement, like the burger without the beef. No wonder the coaches stopped calling."
[This blog entry has been formatted to fit your screen and edited for content, specifically testimonials from Hill's opponents: "Brutal. Couldn't play worth a shit. Thought every icetime was Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals" and "Not much of a skater but tough to budge in front of the net" and "With that long stick of his he could hack at you from 14 feet away" and "Took the poor guy half an hour to get his equipment on."]
Probably most famous for crushing an 8-year-old into the boards of the old rink on the U of A campus, or for assisting on all three goals a one-eyed guy scored in Nelson, or for using the same stick for the last 16 years, Hill can also call upon a slim but potent bank of high points over his career. Almost single-handedly he repelled a Kinsmen two-man advantage at a key juncture of game in Rocky in '77. And poor Phil P.--"don't use his full name," Hill told this reporter. "I don't want to embarrass the guy"--is still looking for Hill's laser-like forehand that beat him high to the glove side from close range out at the Sherwood Twin arena in Regina in '94.
By the time his career wound down, Hill had put together just the right look out on the ice. "Modelled after Borje Salming, my favourite player," Hill said. "Long, blue, white, TWICE as good as anything else out there."
Could he be coaxed out of retirement with the right offer? "Coaxed, hmmmm," Hill said.
8 comments:
You forgot your off-season training - floor hockey!
Standing o! They'll be hoisting your jersey in Regina!
Yes, there was floor hockey, ball hockey, street hockey, table hockey, and falling-asleep hockey (favourite hockey fantasy: coming off the bench to take a lead pass behind the defence, break in on goal, and make like Mahovlich, depositing the puck to the open side past the helpless goalie).
Favourite hockey short story, by the way: Brian Fawcett's "My Career with the Leafs".
Yes, Brenda. Usually they try to hoist it with me in it.
Holy ha ha, Gerry. Loved it.
Thank you, Shelley A. I should point out that now that the hours of pre-game fretting and post-game gorging are over, I've freed up time for crokinole and scrabble. Look out!
Let's be honest, the Leafs would be lucky to have a player over 25 on their team, if only so they can remember what life was like when the Leafs could be called winners.
Great post!
Thank you, Tomas. Hill could have mentioned his one season as co-coach of the Rangers, a squad that made it all the way to the finals, driven in part by a speedy winger, one T. Hill, whose best years were still to come.
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