The Buds' Greatest Hits

Wham!

Yup, that's the sound you'll be hearing a lot more of if you decide to come back to this page. From here on out this will be the home of the greatest hits generated by the Toronto Maple Leafs each season, sorted by game, for your viewing pleasure.

My favourite Leaf back when I was playing hockey.
With that said, I have multiple "0 Penalty Minutes" pucks... An odd choice eh?
Not to leave out the golden oldies, I'll be posting 'new' classic collisions on here from the Leaf dynasty periodically so be sure to check back in. I should also note that if there's a Leaf hit that I've not yet posted and you'd like to see brought to the page that you can send me an email at fishbowloncemore@hotmail.co.uk and I'll do my best to track it down and get it uploaded or at the very least linked onto this page.

Line'em Up:

Goalies Drop the Gloves:

The first video's a relative classic, from the mid-nineties. I'm putting this up first as a sort of tribute to my dad who played as a hockey goalie for 18 years, and who has always told me how the players I mention to him now are simply "too new", that he just decides it's not worth keeping track of them all. Well, when you've seen (though maybe don't necessarily remember) the Leafs winning their last cup, you've had better names to give a spot in your own mental hall of fame than I have.

So, in the spirit of good hits, great fights, the Toronto Maple Leafs and goaltenders (I REALLY hope someone's clued into what this video's going to be by now) I bring you, "Clark vs. Lacroix and (more notably) Potvin vs. Hextall".

One helluva scrap wouldn't you agree?

Now Potvin, if you can't remember (and I scarcely can) wasn't exactly a 'fire and brimstone' sort of guy. He bailed us out of more than a few jams, was damned decent at his job between the pipes, and didn't even say much in interviews. So you could imagine when Philadelphia wild-man Ron Hextall, who was as good a fighter as he was a goalie, charged down the ice you could only assume we were about to watch our beloved Felix's life (or at least career) get cut short... And then THAT happened, surprising everyone including the Leaf players. The only people that it WOULDN'T have surprised were Potvin's family, and those that knew who his father was... A heavyweight boxer. A little tip to Hextall, the opponent you know the least about is often the most dangerous.

Quite the Comeback:

Toronto's Colton Orr suffered from concussion problems last year, and there was a time where the livelihood of his career was seriously threatened by the injuries he's sustained thus far. He appeared to set all of that behind him however when he fought Buffalo's monstrous John Scott (6'8'' 270lbs) and, with a bit of luck on his side, managed to hold Scott off until her dropped him to a knee.

David v. Goliath anyone?


Now of course most Toronto fans will scream how Orr won the fight, beating down Scott and dropping him with a body shot, but I think if you watch a little closer, and consider Scott's facial expression post-fight, that the more accurate verdict would be that Scott took a hit from Orr and then lost his footing. The game wasn't even 3 minutes old when the fight happened and freshly flooded and cleaned ice stays slick for quite some time.

Regardless, the determination and grit shown by Colton Orr in stepping up to Scott is something to be commended. It takes a lot to get into it with anyone on the ice, much less someone who's big enough to force you to crane your head back to look them in the eye.

Well done Colton!

Ode to Wade:

I won't be featuring a fight for this throwback piece, mainly because of the player in the starlight. Wade Belak was a fan favourite during his time with the Toronto and the circumstances around his passing don't do the man justice. 

If you watched any of his interviews he was a big man with a heart and smile to match. He didn't mind being the butt of a joke, and frequently poked fun at himself while speaking with the media. He had a certain youthful exuberance to him that anyone who was privileged enough to speak with him immediately felt rejuvenated by and he is greatly missed.

Moving on from the sadder side of Wade, he was -as I mentioned- a very big guy and he dished out very big hits. Many of these were with his fists as Toronto's 'star' enforcer but he'd throw his body at you just as quick as he'd drop the gloves. In the spirit of THAT side of Wade Belak the 'Greatest Hit' will be one of his... Just need to decide on which one. Remember, you can always comment with suggestions!!

Tossing The Towel:

That's all for this edition of the Bud's Greatest Hits. I hope you'll come back as I get more videos embedded, mini articles written and so forth.

Enjoy your swim!

Joshua J. Taylor

2 comments:

  1. Awesome job buddy, remember the fight quite well. We both know how difficult that is for a goalie. Exhausting. Only one fight for this goalieeguy. Learned my lesson. Keep up the good work.

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  2. You'll have to tell me the story again lol I've forgotten it. I do remember wanting to bash hell out of the kids who kept pinging lacrosse balls of my mask when my team was doing sweet shit-all on defence lol. Never did go after anyone though... You'd have probably had my head for fighting that young :p

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