From his early days playing hockey at Cook’s Arena on Montreal Street to his final game in the blue and white, Doug Gilmour left his legacy on Kingston’s hockey history.
“Killer” ed the Cornwall Royals of the OHL in 1980 as a 17-year-old. That season the Royals went on to win the Memorial Cup as CHL champions. He went on to play three seasons in Cornwall before the St. Louis Blues selected him 134th overall in the seventh round of the 1983 entry draft.
After five seasons with the Blues, Gilmour was traded to the Calgary Flames, where he won the Stanley Cup in 1989, scoring the game-winning goal.
As a member of a 10-player trade, Gilmour ed the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1991.
He played in both the 1992 and 1993 All-Star games. In 1992 he was awarded the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league’s best defensive forward.
Gilmour was traded to New Jersey in 1997, and played for Chicago, Buffalo, and Montreal before reing the Leafs in 2002 to finish his career.
Gilmour amassed 450 goals and 964 assists in 1474 career NHL games. He currently sits 15th all-time in scoring.
The Journal recently spoke with Gilmour about his memories of Kingston, his NHL career and life after hockey.
The following is an edited version of the interview.
The Journal: What was playing hockey in Kingston like when you were growing up?
Doug Gilmour: Well obviously it was very special. The times have changed a lot since the days that we were playing there. We just had pretty much one all-star team and the rest was house league. I was fortunate as a younger child to have the chance to play all-star, play house-league, and there was another league called the Church Athletic League. So I ended up with my dad taking me to hockey probably about 80 games a year. It was a lot of time put in and I understand what he did now because I’m going through it.
What part of Kingston did you grow up in? Which rinks did you start playing in?
I grew up around Calvin Park and LCVI, so we played out of Cook’s and Harold Harvey—pretty much the main arenas that were around. Here’s a little story for you—when you had a game, especially a house-league game, you never wanted to lose, because at Cook’s arena for example, whoever lost had to shovel the ice and they had two lockers with little miniature Zambonis that they would pull around the ice. So you never wanted to lose. There were probably, I’m guessing, about 15 shovels, so every kid had a shovel, and you’d start from the boards and you’d go pretty much all the way in. They had no Zambonis at that time so they had little pull ones with big water tanks, and they had people that worked there that would do those … but we had to shovel.
You mentioned having your dad taking you to games and playing on the old rinks, but what would you say is your favourite memory from your minor hockey days?
[The owner] of the McDonald’s in Kingston actually sponsored us and we went to the Quebec peewee tournament, and that’s where we lost to a team from Charlesburg, Quebec, on the Friday in the quarter-finals. So that was a tough loss … but there were 10,000 people at the game. We had a fun experience doing that.
When did you start playing hockey competitively, and when did you start realizing that you had the potential to make it to the NHL?
I didn’t know—I was a small guy and a defenceman as well. In minor hockey, I actually played with the [OHA-B] Kingston Voyageurs for about a month, and I wasn’t playing very much so I asked for my release … I went back to midget to practice with them for about two practices, and then Larry Mavety took over the Belleville Bulls tier two [team] and he asked me to come and them. So, instead of going to Junior B I ended up going to tier-two Junior A. And then after that I got drafted [to the OHL Cornwall Royals] in the third round as a defenceman by Gord Woods.
So you started your junior career as a defenceman?
My whole life I played defence until I was 17 years old and I got to Cornwall, and I guess when I jumped on the scale and I was about 5’9” and 145 pounds they said we’ve got to move this guy up. Gord Wood was the one that scouted me and he knew he was going to put me up front. So that’s how it took off, and from there it was just Cornwall and then to St. Louis [in the NHL].
As a member of Cornwall’s OHL team, you won the Memorial Cup. What would you say was your most memorable experience from junior hockey?
Well, there was one experience that was kind of funny. Cornwall had won the Memorial Cup the year before, and at that time they would send the junior team that won to the world championships. So we ended up going over to as a team and we picked up one [forward] line—so I ended up moving to the fourth line. And in we pretty much played with three lines and it was hilarious. The guys that were on the fourth line were all sitting on the bench with blankets because the rink was pretty much half outdoor and half indoor, so we were freezing out butts off. It was a great experience.
How did the team do in the international tournament?
(Laughs) Not very well. They were the elite of the elite, they were the best players in their country and we didn’t do that at the time. We just sent the team that won the year before.
Did any of your teammates from that Memorial Cup team go on to have careers in the NHL?
Marc Crawford was our captain. Dale Hawerchuck was there. There was a guy named Dan Frolly that played probably about seven or eight years in pros or minors. Scott O’Neill. Fred Arthur was a first-round draft pick I believe to Hartford, then he got traded to Philly. And we also had a first-round draft pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs Fred Boimistruck, and then he actually got hurt and never played. We were pretty good.
How did being skipped over in your first draft year affect your desire to play in the NHL? Did you find that discouraging or did it motivate you?
You know, in my second year I scored somewhere in the 100-point range—I think I was fourth in scoring. And we had some guys on our team that all got drafted in the first round, second round, third round, and it was frustrating to me because they were a lot bigger and in those days that’s what they took. So I ended up having a little chip on my shoulder going into training camp, and it was the best thing that happened to me because … I went into a game and I picked a fight with the wrong guy and I broke my nose and cheek bone—I wore a face mask for about two weeks. It all worked out well though. I went back and put my focus back into the game.
You mentioned that the big obstacle that you had to overcome was your size. But during your time in the NHL you were known for being tenacious, and earned the nickname ‘Killer.’ How did your size affect the way you played the game?
In my first year I was living with a kid from Kingston as well, he was a goalie named Brian Abrams, and Brian went on to RMC and he was an undercover cop and the whole works. He was a Christian guy, and I picking up one of his books, and it had all these quotes in it—and the one quote that I read and never forgot is “a man shows what he is by what he does with what he has.” I’ve lived by that my whole life. Every time someone said “he’s too small, he’s not going to make it”—that’s what fed me the whole time. I was told I wasn’t a big guy, but I didn’t understand. I would go out and do what I had to do to compete and to survive. I wouldn’t put myself into too many bad situations where the guys were, strength-wise, going to move me around. So you had to think a lot while the game was going on, and once you put your helmet on, your eyes change, your focus changes, and you become very competitive.
You and Kirk Muller are Kingston’s best-known hockey players. Did you ever get a chance to play with him?
Well, Kirk’s about five years older than me.
Oh, OK.
(Laughs) No, no, no. I’m three years older than him. I knew all about Kirk, because Kirk was an all-star wherever he played, and then he had an opportunity to play underage in Kingston. But I felt bad for Kirk too, because he got drafted to Guelph in my last year of junior, and in the three games we played against Guelph that year we beat them by a total score of 38-3. Every game he just looked at me and shook his head.
While we’re on the topic of Kingston personalities, what is your relationship with Don Cherry like?
Well, he actually grew up with my mom and dad … . So we’ve been family friends for a long time. He coached my brother. Obviously everybody knows he’s a little biased to the Kingston guys, but he’s a really good family friend and we’ve known each other for a long time.
Perhaps you can help settle some controversy at Queen’s right now. Growing up, who did you cheer for—the Habs or the Leafs?
You know what, I’m on the same boat that I’ve always been. At that time I was a Bobby Orr fan. And growing up in Kingston we also had Wayne Cashman and Rick Smith that were with the Bruins. So I kind of cheered for them. But my brother David played junior in London with [former Toronto Maple Leaf] Darryl Sittler and Dan Maloney. So you kind of take players that you idolize and watch, and to this day I don’t really cheer for anybody. I cheer for my friends. I wore number four in minor hockey, and I thought “number four Bobby Orr, and number four Doug Gilmour”—I thought it rhymed (Laughs).
When did you make the change to number 93?
In Cornwall, my first year, I wore number 19—before the end of that year Bobby Hull Jr. was on the team and he had number 9, and he was let go. So I took number 9. And then when I got to St. Louis I wore number 18, and then when Perry Turnbull got traded I wore number nine after that for four years. And then when I got Calgary there was a bushy-haired guy named Lanny that had number 9—so I wasn’t getting that. And I wanted to keep nine, and three’s always been a lucky number for me so I went to 39. The year after that I played on a summer baseball team, and somebody had number 39 so I went to 93. That year, not long after, I got traded so I changed my number around.
What would you describe as your most memorable season?
Well I think everything is very memorable—from your first game, to your first goal, to winning the Stanley Cup obviously, to my time in Toronto. You know all the teams that I was with, there were very memorable moments that I’ll never forget. But obviously winning the cup has to probably be number one.
Following that, what would you say was the most memorable goal in your career?
Well, I ended up scoring the game winner in ’89 in the finals, and then there is the goal that I scored when I was with Toronto against St. Louis on [Curtis Joseph]. But one of the most memorable times was when my grandparents came up and saw me play in St. Louis, and that was my first three-goal game ever—so I after the game I brought the puck to my grandfather. That was a pretty special time.
Of all the people you played against in your career, which player was the most exciting to play against?
Well it’s kind of full circle in the sense that I was a checking center when I broke in, and I would check against Wayne Gretzky. I’d see him play and try to read the ice like he would see it—and if I was going to watch somebody then I’m always going to watch him.
What was it like to lose to Gretzky’s Kings in game seven of the ’93 Campbell Conference Finals?
Well, obviously it was disappointing, and I ended up playing against him many other times—so there are some good experiences and some bad experiences, but the guy found a way to win and that’s what made him so special.
When you look back at your NHL career, are there any regrets?
Not really, you don’t live in the past that way. You can always look back and think that maybe you could have changed something this way or that way, but I can’t say that now. I had an opportunity to play with some great teams and meet a lot of good people along the way, and obviously different characters, and friends outside of hockey and I enjoyed every part of it so I have no regrets.
Out of all the people that you met along the way … who has been your biggest influence?
Well obviously first it has been my family—they have been the biggest influence. And then the guy that gave me the chance to let me run with it was Gord Woods, from Kingston. He was a scout with Cornwall for years and years. He was the one who gave me that opportunity and let me go.
I’m not sure if you can answer this honestly or not, but of all the teams you have had the chance to play for, which one do you have the fondest memories of?
Well the Calgary team was pretty special. The five years I was in St.Louis we never got to the playoffs. The Calgary team was special because we had a lot of talent on that team. But the ‘93 and ‘94 team in Toronto—I guess we overachieved a little bit—but we had such a great bond, and we all liked each other, got along with each other, we all hung together, and we were just a lunch bucket team. We put our hard hats on and we went to work and we had some great success with it.
What have you been up to since your retirement?
I’m up here in Toronto—we have a company called Monster Mortgage, we’re brokered. We [also] have a company called Monster Leasing—it’s a car leasing company we just opened up as well. I do endorsements for Bell Mobility and S.C Johnson, and I also build one house a year. Actually I’m at the rink every day of my life again [with the family].
In your final season you came back to the Leafs, and you suffered a knee injury which essentially ended your career. What was going through your head at that time?
I look at it two ways. I was proud that I crawled off the ice, and that I had a chance to put the uniform on one last time. I didn’t really make an impact obviously with the five minutes that I played. But I had the opportunity to go back and play somewhere else again, but after a certain amount of time, with the kids getting older and in school, I decided that 20 years would be enough and I didn’t want to move any more. I was blessed to play. I didn’t imagine that I’d ever play 20 years, so I’m not going to sit here and dwell on the fact that I got hurt. You know what, sometimes you do believe in fate—it got me home one last time.
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