Norm Defelice

Expansion came too late for Norm Defelice.

Defelice was a long time minor league goalie during the Original Six era. For nearly 20 years the tiny Defelice bounced around the minor leagues, finding a nice home with the Clinton Comets of the EHL from 1958 through 1965.

But Defelice would only get a short taste of NHL glory.

The Boston Bruins summoned Defelice from Hershey a couple of weeks before Christmas 1957. The Bruins star goalie Terry Sawchuk was hospitalized for "nervous exhaustion."

Defelice would two call ups to Boston while Sawchuk dealt with his breakdown. In a total of 10 games Defelice's 3-5-2 record and 3.00 GAA did not impress to many NHL observers. Nor did his performance on Toronto's winning goal agains the Bruins in Defelice's first ever game. He let in a shot from center ice courtesy of Leafs defensive defenseman Jimmy Thomson.

When Sawchuk was ready to strap on the pads again, Defelice disappeared to the minor leagues, never to be seen by a NHL team again. The Bruins turned to Don Simmons as their goaltender of the future.

He played until 1970 before turning to coaching. He guided the senior league Galt Hornets to the Allan Cup finals only to suffer a heart attack during the playoffs.

Defelice decided his weakened ticker could not withstand the rigours of coaching. he took a job in public relations for the Ontario Jockey Club before securing a career in the construction business. He later managed a concrete business and a building supply business.

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Eddie Jeremiah

Eddie Jeremiah's NHL career lasted just 15 games in the 1931-32 season, 9 contests with the New York Americans and 6 with the Boston Bruins. He picked up a single assist in an otherwise unnoticeable NHL career.

Yet his contributions to hockey undeniably rank him as one of the greatest hockey legends.

The son of Armenian immigrants, Jeremiah was born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1905. He grew up excelling not only at hockey, but also baseball and football. He lettered in all three sports at Dartmouth University.

Following graduation Jeremiah pursued a five year professional career, most of that time spent in the old Can-Am League.

Jeremiah became a hockey legend when he returned to Dartmouth as coach of the hockey program, also coaching baseball and football. He coached the hockey team from 1937 through 1967, making the NCAA finals in 1948 and 1949 and winning Ivy league titles in 1959 and 1960. In 1942, prior to an official NCAA championship, "Coach Jerry" guided Dartmouth to a national title with a 21-2 record.

Between 1942 and 1946 he coached Dartmouth to a college record 46 consecutive win. In 1951 he was named as the first ever college hockey coach of the year. And in 1964 he coached Team USA to a 5th place finish at the Innsbruck Olympics.

Jeremiah, who won a college record 46 consecutive games, died of cancer in 1967, just three months after he coached his last game. The National Hockey League saluted Jeremiah's contributions to hockey in the United States with the Lester Patrick trophy in 1969.

In 2008 Jeremiah, who also wrote four books on hockey, was also honored with the Hobey Baker Legend of Hockey Award.

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