Wilson was the perfect coach for a certain rookie goaltender in the AHL.
Johnny Wilson earned high grades as a coach and a person.With the recent passing of Johnny Wilson, I can't help but reflect back on my rookie season. Johnny was my first professional coach with the Springfield Kings in 1969 and I could not have hand-picked a better person and coach to take care of me.
Johnny not only believed in me as a young goaltender and handed over the No. 1 duties to me, but he also was instrumental to me in my personal life. I have a number of fond memories of Johnny that I will always treasure.
As noted, I was a rookie goaltender in 1969 - boy, have things changed as to how rookies are now treated. Back in those days all rookies were subjected to the "shaving" experience conducted by the veteran players. Butch Goring, also a rookie that year, had a little bit of cockiness that the veteran players did not like. The vets took care of that by shaving his head, along with his eyebrows and the rest of his body hair. You can use your imagination; I will not go into details. However, having gone through it, suffice to say it was not a pleasant experience.
The first time the players decided I was next in line for the shaving ritual I was on the ice taking some extra shots. I will never forget the sight of Larry Johnson, Dave Amadio and Roger Cote coming back on to the ice with towels wrapped around their heads and straight razors in their hands singing the Gillette song. I skated off the Coliseum ice and in full gear ran across the floor out into the parking lot and was able to dive into my car. Thank God I had left it unlocked. The guys circled the car like they were doing some kind of tribal dance but finally left me alone. I was not so lucky the next time.
Another rookie story I will share with you had to do with my car, a new Cuda convertible. We were heading out on a long road trip. I asked Randy Miller where to leave my car. He showed me where to park it. I should have been smart enough to figure something was up, because only I and Greg Boddy, another rookie on the team, had left our cars in the same area. We arrived home about 3 a.m. after being away for several days. My car was covered in ice and snow with only the antennae sticking out. After a bad snowstorm, they had plowed the snow and ice right up and over my new car. All of the other guys had parked in an area where the snow was plowed away from the cars. To this day I can picture Randy driving by me waving as I was digging my car out with my bare hands.
Rookies these days are not subjected to any of this. There are the odd practical jokes, of course, but nothing like we went through. There are rookie parties where they have to pick up the pay check and sometimes the bill runs pretty high. However, if you are a high-round draft pick and just pocketed a few hundred thousand dollars with a signing bonus, it is not a big deal.
Bruce Landon during his playing daysOver the years the Falcons have produced some great rookies who have gone on to wonderful NHL careers. Do yourself a favor some game and focus on just the rookies in the lineup on both teams. You will see just how talented these young kids are and what a pleasure it is to watch them play. Even a novice fan will probably be able to determine which ones have a long NHL career ahead of them.
Finally, I have one request of our fans, especially those of you that sit higher up in the arena. Take a game and move down a few rows behind the glass. You will notice how much faster and more physical the game is when you are closer to the playing surface. It also will make you realize just how tough a job it is for the officials.
I want to wish all of our great fans a Happy and Healthy New Year.
Bruce Landon is president and general manager of the Springfield Falcons. He can be reached by commenting on this blog or sending him an e-mail at blandon@falconsahl.com. For more information visit the team website.