NHL Notebook: Shinny, Mr. Bower and WJC

All around New England most ponds and lakes are finally becoming hockey wonderlands. The burst of Arctic air has allowed enthusiasts to spend countless hours playing shinny with an occasional break for hot chocolate or an extremely frosty libation.



There’s nothing like playing on a pond and even NHL players jump at the chance when their schedule allows. That was the case for Boston Bruins rookies Anders Bjork and Jake DeBrusk during the recent three-day mandatory Christmas break.

Bjork, a native of Wisconsin, has been dealing with the typical ebbs and flows of a first-year NHLer, so he admitted the break was a great time to hit the reset button and enjoy some neighborhood pond hockey.

“Oh, yeah. Definitely,” Bjork said. “Playing on the ponds was a huge part of me growing up. I loved it and sometimes me and my brother would skate before school when we were young. Being on the ponds is a place all hockey guys love to be. It helps remind yourself why you play and why you enjoy it. I definitely helps you reset.”

Bjork and his friends pulled two real nets and some flood lights down to the pond and played for hours in minus-2 temperatures.

“It’s cool. A lot of our neighbors play, so it’s fun,” Bjork said.

DeBrusk, a native of Edmonton, wasn’t so fortunate. When he returned home it was minus-27.

“That would’ve been awesome if it wasn’t so cold,” admitted DeBrusk . “I wouldn’t have gotten off the ice.”

During the All-Star break in 2012, Patrice Bergeron spent his time off on the ponds in Lake Placid, N.Y. He first visited the small town in the Adirondack Mountains when the Bruins spent two days practicing there between Games 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Montreal Canadiens.

Since the Bruins were focused on the task at hand while camped out in the home of Team USA’s “Miracle on Ice” gold-medal victory in the 1980 Winter Olympics, Bergeron didn’t have time to enjoy the atmosphere. So, he returned the following winter and played pond hockey with a bunch of kids for two days. Afterwards, he admitted it was special and helped him remain focused during the break and enjoy the game at the same time.

While in Washington, D.C., recently, I visited one of my favorite spots at the Lincoln Memorial. The Reflecting Pool was frozen and I wondered why the National Park Service wouldn’t allow skating. It would be incredible to skate there. After a bit of research, I learned it used to be allowed.

It was also cool to watch the amazing atmosphere between Team USA and Canada during Friday’s outdoor World Junior Championship game at New Era Field in Buffalo, N.Y. Speaking of outdoor games, the NHL will hold its 10^th anniversary Winter Classic game between the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres on New Year’s Day at Citi Field in New York.

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Any time I needed, or wanted, to talk hockey with Jonny Bower I would simply call him (he had given me his number years ago) and I would always introduce myself by saying, “Hi, Mr. Bower. It’s Joe from Providence.” He would always remember me and would quickly start to reminisce about his playing days for the Rhode Island Reds even before I asked a question. I cherished those conversations and he was always so generous with his time and story telling.

When he passed away on Tuesday, it felt as though a family member died. I’m sure countless people in the hockey world felt the same. The last time I spoke with Mr. Bower was the day Gordie Howe passed away on June 10, 2016. I was in San Jose for the Stanley Cup finals when my former employer asked everyone on staff to collect as much reaction to Howe’s death as we could. I immediately thought of Bower.

So, I called.

“Hi, Mr. Bower. It’s Joe from Providence.”

He was 91 at the time and immediately starting talking about his playing career with the Reds. He also knew why I was calling. When I asked how he was feeling, he said: “I live day-by-day and that’s all you can do. I get up in the morning, look in the mirror and (think) ‘Geez, I’m still alive.’” Bower told me with a laugh.

Bower was a true legend. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman issued the following statement on the day of Bower’s passing.

“There is so much to appreciate in Johnny Bower’s accomplishments on the ice, including four Stanley Cups and membership in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and yet there was so much more to the man who served his sport, his country and his community with such distinction,” said Bettman. “Johnny Bower enriched us all by sharing the pure joy he felt for the game he played and for the men who played it with him and against him. It was a personal privilege to know him, a delight to be in his presence and an honor to celebrate him as one of the 100 greatest players in NHL history. Johnny Bower was a bright light of our sport, a light that will shine forever.”

Former Bruins goalie Tim Thomas shared a similar career path as Bower. Thomas didn’t realize they both played in Providence until one day in 2005 when he was eating at a Wendy’s in North Attleboro and saw an old black-and-white photo of Bower in a Reds sweater hanging on the wall of the fast-food restaurant.

“He was an inspiration to me before I made it,” Thomas told me a few months before the Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011. “Looking at his story was one of the reasons I said, ‘Hey, it’s happened before.’”

So, I called and asked Bower what he thought of Thomas in March 2011.

“He’s my favorite. We stick together pretty good,” Bower told me. “I think the world of him. He’s a great hockey player, a great goalkeeper. I watch quite a few games of his and he does a lot of things I used to do.”

A few summers ago, I was supposed to fly to Toronto and then take the “Bower Bus” back to Warwick, R.I. for the Rhode Island Reds’ annual heritage society reunion. I idea was to write about the journey, but unfortunately Nancy Bower wasn’t able to make the trip, so Johnny stayed home with his wife and the trip was cancelled.

Bower was a true gentleman and I will miss our conversations.

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Bruins fans know that prospects Ryan Lindgren, Trent Frederic and Jeremy Swayman are representing Team USA at the World Junior Championship in Buffalo, N.Y. Fans also know that Urho Vaakanainen and Joona Koppanen are playing for Finland, while Oskar Steen is representing Team Sweden. Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy represented Team Canada in the 1984 WJC in Sweden. He said recently he still pays attention to the tournament.

“We didn’t win, unfortunately, but it was a great experience for me at that time,” he said. “The kids really like it and there’s a lot more now playing in the NHL. The Americans have made it tougher on the Canadians now. Back then it was usually Canada and Russia a lot of times and now it’s more of the Americans. It’s on TV now the whole time. You see some of our guys there, so I follow more of the individual players. I’m always going to watch Canada and I hate losing to the Americans because I’m going to hear it (laughs) but it makes it interesting.”

In 1984, future Bruins enforcer Lyndon Byers also played for Canada.

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Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask recorded his 40^th career shutout with a 25-save performance to help the Bruins to a 5-0 win over the Ottawa Senators Saturday night at Canadian Tire Centre. He becomes the second goalie to register 40 shutouts with the Bruins, joining Tiny Thompson, who holds the record with 74. . . Flames forward Jaromir Jagr played in his 1,732 career regular-season game during Calgary’s 2-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. Jagr passed Ron Francis (1,731) for sole possession of third place on the NHL’s all-time list. . . With a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, Washington Capitals coach Barry Trotz earned his 737^th win of his career, surpassing Lindy Ruff for sole possession of fifth on the NHL’s all-time list for coaches. Next on the list is Al Arbour with 782. Scotty Bowman is the all-time leader with 1,244, followed by Joel Quenneville with 869 and Ken Hitchcock with 802. That’s awesome company for Trotz.