Little known detail about Marcel Bonin - the collision with Goegan aggrvated a back injury first suffered wrestling a bear.
Oui. "L'ours' de Joliette". The Wrestling Bear of Joliette.... When Joe Louis retired from Boxing broke, he travelled around with a Circus and Referee'd a promotion whereby anyone who could pin a big brown bear (or mebbe a black bear) would win $1000. Marcel gave it a go but failed, trying many a time again thereafter, apparently getting to know the bear fairly well over the years.... The other interesting thing about Bonin was that he was a noted checker & digger followed by tape-tape passes, never a prolific goal scorer but for that 59 playoff run by the Habs. He actually claimed that once he hit 15 goals or so on a season, that was it. He started passing it off because if he hit 20 or 25, they'd expect that or more the next year.
Oui. "L'ours' de Joliette". The Wrestling Bear of Joliette.... When Joe Louis retired from Boxing broke, he travelled around with a Circus and Referee'd a promotion whereby anyone who could pin a big brown bear (or mebbe a black bear) would win $1000. Marcel gave it a go but failed, trying many a time again thereafter, apparently getting to know the bear fairly well over the years.... The other interesting thing about Bonin was that he was a noted checker & digger followed by tape-tape passes, never a prolific goal scorer but for that 59 playoff run by the Habs. He actually claimed that once he hit 15 goals or so on a season, that was it. He started passing it off because if he hit 20 or 25, they'd expect that or more the next year.
Probaby a variety of bears over time.
The passing was bonus related. Once Bonin hit his goal scoring bonus there was no next level bonus but there was an assist bonus that could be attained. If he scored more, next years goal bonus would be higher.
Perhaps C58. Never gave it much thought, though apparently Marcel used to chew & eat grass a fair amount as well, kinda like a cat I guess, keep the system cleaned out huh? At only 5'7" and playing at about 170lbs or so, one of the strongest players of that era which for the younger generations should help to put into perspective how far the game has come since then when considering size, and how little it mattered back then in comparison to heart, desire, strength & skill, artistry & just plain guts.... As for Bonin, became a noted Historian in Quebec post hockey career.
Perhaps C58. Never gave it much thought, though apparently Marcel used to chew & eat grass a fair amount as well, kinda like a cat I guess, keep the system cleaned out huh? At only 5'7" and playing at about 170lbs or so, one of the strongest players of that era which for the younger generations should help to put into perspective how far the game has come since then when considering size, and how little it mattered back then in comparison to heart, desire, strength & skill, artistry & just plain guts.... As for Bonin, became a noted Historian in Quebec post hockey career.
The arena in his native Joliette is named after him. A couple of years ago he was active in his home town.
Best candidate for this that I can see on the Oilers is Dave Hunter. He was on the team for their first 3 cups. Not sure if he is far enough down the depth chart to qualify for this thread though.
pat hughes as well with oilers and habs
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Pierre Bouchard won 5 cups in 8 years with Montreal. He was usually the fifth or sixth defenseman and if my memory is correct he would occasionally play some shifts as a forward.
Claude Provost has the most Cups of any player not in the hall of fame with 9. He was a right winger on the Canadiens in the 50s & 60s, and was generally a checking 3rd liner behind Maurice Richard Geoffrion and, after each respected retirement, Bobby Rousseau and Cournoyer.
That said, he probably would have been a star in the 70s or 80s after expansion. He was probably just unluckily stuck behind two of the best players in history at his position in his prime. As it was, he still scored 254 goal and had 589 points in just over 1000 games.
Twice top 5 in the league in goalscoring (second one year tied with both Howe and Mahovlich) and twice top 10 in points, including 6th in 64-65 when he lead the Canadiens in points...makes you wonder why he is not in the Hall considering he was better known as a checker.
Pierre Bouchard won 5 cups in 8 years with Montreal. He was usually the fifth or sixth defenseman and if my memory is correct he would occasionally play some shifts as a forward.
Pierre on a lot of occasions was actually the 4th defenseman with "The Big 3". He didn't get many points but he wasn't on the ice for many against either. Very solid Dman who Ken Dryden loved having him clear the rebounds. Too bad he's mostly remembered for the Johnathan fight.
