Stan Baluik

Although he played in just 7 NHL contests, Port Arthur, Ontario's Stan Baluik was a great, great athlete.

He was a standout junior player with the Fort William Canadians of the Northern Ontario Hockey Association, and later with the Kitchener Canucks of the Ontario Hockey Association. In four consecutive junior seasons he led the league in assists, twice finishing as the overall leading scorer.

Baliuk would turn professional in 1956, gaining some minor league seasoning in the QHL and WHL (although his progress was interrupted by a couple of serious leg injuries) before joining the Providence Reds of the AHL in 1959. As a professional he is best remembered in Providence where the great playmaker averaged well over a point a game. In his first AHL season he was honored with the Red Garrett Memorial Award as the league's top rookie. That season he also got his only NHL call up. In seven games with the Boston Bruins he scored zero points and picked up a minor penalty.

Baluik continued to play hockey until 1964. That is when he accepted a position as the club pro at the Kirkbrae Country Club in Lincoln, Rhode Island, a position he held for many years. Baluik was an amazing golfer, playing twice at the Canadian Open while he was still 16 years old. He would go onto win numerous tournaments in his amateur golf career.

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"The Preacher" George Abbott

On November 27, 1943 George Abbott, an ordained Baptist minister, made his only NHL appearance.

Abbott doubled his preaching duties by being the Toronto Maple Leafs practice goalie. Back in these days teams only carried one goalie. If a goalie got injured they would often dress a skater in net or pull someone out of the stands, as long as the other team agreed to it. Teams would only object when there was another NHL goalie in the building.

That's what happened in 1943 when Bruins starting goalie Bert Gardiner became violently ill and could not play against the Leafs. Desperate, the Bruins asked Toronto if they could use Abbott for the game. The Leafs obliged. Maybe it was Abbott's reward for being a practice goalie. Maybe it was because the Leafs knew he wasn't that good, and they knew all of his weaknesses.

The Leafs won the game quite handily. 7-4 was the final score, with Abbott said to have faced 52 shots. Babe Pratt, with his Al MacInnis-like shot, knocked Abbott down, delaying the game.

Abbott was said to be a pretty goalie in his younger days, starring with the Dunnville Mudcats as a youth. A puck to the eye ended his career with the amateur Hamilton Tigers.

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