Brian Glennie

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Brian Glennie
Born (1946-08-29)August 29, 1946
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died February 7, 2020(2020-02-07) (aged 73)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 197 lb (89 kg; 14 st 1 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Toronto Maple Leafs
Los Angeles Kings
National team  Canada
Playing career 1968–1979
Olympic medal record
Men's ice hockey
Bronze medal – third place 1968 Winter Olympics team

Brian "Blunt" Glennie (August 29, 1946 – February 7, 2020) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1969 until 1979. Glennie was a master of the hip-check.[1]

Amateur career[]

Glennie was born in Toronto, Ontario. He had an outstanding junior career with the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey Association, eventually captaining the team to the 1967 Memorial Cup.[2] As a PeeWee he was coached by future Toronto Maple Leafs coach Roger Neilson.[3]

After junior Glennie joined the Canadian National Team program run by Father David Bauer for the 1967-68 season. He was a member of the Canadian team in the 1968 Olympics at Grenoble, France which won the bronze medal.[4][5] This tournament was also representative of the IIHF World Championship.

Pro career[]

As a pro Glennie went on to play 572 career NHL games, all but 18 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, scoring 14 goals and 100 assists for 114 points. Glennie, a defensive, hard-hitting defenceman was often paired with the offensively-skilled defencemen on the Leafs, such as Tim Horton, Börje Salming and more frequently former Marlboro teammate Jim McKenny.[6] Glennie has described his playing style as "a standup guy who would take the guy out" and his partner would then "get the puck and start something happening."[7] The Hockey News ranked Glennie #6 on their list of the best all-time body checkers.[8]

He was a member of Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series. While he did not have the opportunity to play against the Soviet Union, Brian played in two of the games against Sweden[9] and Czechoslovakia.[10] He counted the experience among the greatest of his life.[1]

Glennie sustained a mild concussion in the second period of a 7–3 win over the Detroit Red Wings at Maple Leaf Gardens on November 5, 1975 after Dan Maloney attacked him from behind, flattened him with a right‐hand punch, hit him several more times and repeatedly lifted and dropped him to the ice. Maloney had come to the defense of teammate Bryan Hextall who had received a hit from Glennie which was described by The Associated Press as "a clean check." Maloney, who claimed the force of the contact was excessive and that he had no intention of injuring Glennie, was charged with assault by Attorney General of Ontario Roy McMurtry the following day on November 6.[11] The third NHL player to ever be prosecuted by local authorities with a crime resulting from action on the ice, Maloney was acquitted just under eight months later on June 30, 1976.[12]

In 1978, Glennie joined Lanny McDonald in a Swanson Hungry-Man entree commercial in which Glennie rips off the door of the refrigerator.[13] Glennie died in Ottawa at the age of 73 in February 2020 after years of declining health.[14][15]

Honours and awards[]

1967 Memorial Cup (captain)
Bronze medal 1968 Winter Olympics
Inducted Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.[16]

Career statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1964–65 Toronto Marlboros OHA-Jr. 56 2 18 20 84 19 0 9 9 22
1965–66 Toronto Marlboros OHA-Jr. 48 5 18 23 134 14 0 4 4 57
1966–67 Michigan State Spartans WCHA 2 0 0 0 4
1966–67 Toronto Marlboros OHA-Jr. 43 5 39 44 113 17 2 12 14 44
1966–67 Toronto Marlboros MC 9 2 9 11 18
1967–68 Ottawa Nationals OHA-Sr. 30 2 10 12 20
1967–68 Canada Intl 10 2 10 12 20
1968–69 Rochester Americans AHL 15 1 1 2 16
1968–69 Tulsa Oilers CHL 25 4 7 11 40 7 1 3 4 12
1969–70 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 52 1 14 15 50
1970–71 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 54 0 8 8 31 3 0 0 0 0
1971–72 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 61 2 8 10 44 5 0 0 0 25
1972–73 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 44 1 10 11 54
1973–74 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 65 4 18 22 100 3 0 0 0 10
1974–75 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 63 1 7 8 110
1975–76 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 69 0 8 8 75 6 0 1 1 15
1976–77 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 69 1 10 11 73 2 0 0 0 0
1977–78 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 77 2 15 17 62 13 0 0 0 16
1978–79 Los Angeles Kings NHL 18 2 2 4 22
NHL totals 572 14 100 114 621 32 0 1 1 66

International[]

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1968 Canada OLY 7 0 1 1 10

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Profile at Legends of Hockey". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
  2. ^ "Memorial Cup results". Canwest Publishing. Archived from the original on 2012-05-03. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
  3. ^ "Marlie players who played with Leafs". Toronto Marlies. Archived from the original on 2009-04-19. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
  4. ^ "1967-68 Canadian World and Olympic team roster". The Ice Hockey Annual. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
  5. ^ "Glennie Olympic records". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
  6. ^ Leonetti, Mike (2007). Maple Leafs Top 100. Raincoast Books. p. 216. ISBN 978-1-55192-808-1.
  7. ^ Batten, Jack (1999). The Leafs. Key Porter Books. p. 148. ISBN 1-55263-205-9.
  8. ^ Craig, Sam (2008). Ultimate Book of Hockey Lists. Transcontinental Books. ISBN 978-0-9809924-1-0.
  9. ^ "72 Canada vs Sweden game". www.1972summitseries.com. Archived from the original on September 22, 2002. Retrieved 2009-07-12.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. ^ "72 Canada vs Czechoslovakia game". www.1972summitseries.com. Archived from the original on June 1, 2002. Retrieved 2009-07-12.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. ^ "Assault Charged In N.H.L.," The Associated Press (AP), Thursday, November 6, 1975. Retrieved December 23, 2020
  12. ^ "Maloney Of Wings Acquitted," United Press International (UPI), Wednesday, June 30, 1976. Retrieved December 23, 2020
  13. ^ Jason Kay. "Ten Hockey Commercials". Hockey News. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
  14. ^ "Maple Leafs legend Brian Glennie passes away at age 73 - Sportsnet.ca".
  15. ^ "Hard-hitting former Maple Leaf Brian Glennie dies at 73".
  16. ^ "Brian Glennie Canada Sports Hall of Fame page". Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2010-01-17. Retrieved 2009-07-12.

External links[]

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