Monday, January 27, 2014

Rick Dorman


rick dorman milwaukee admirals
Rick Dorman was, whether the league liked it or not, what the North American Hockey League was all about. He could score, 17 goals in his lone NAHL season, but it was his league leading 238 penalty minutes in 1976-77 that defined Dorman’s game. A junior with the Flin Flon Bombers, a team that Bobby Clarke made famous, Dorman played pro through the 1984-85 season but got his start in the NAHL.

Rick Dorman – NAHL


Rick played his first pro season, 1976-77, in the NAHL with the Johnstown Jets and Erie Blades. As it was the last season of the league’s existence, it was Dorman’s only year in the NAHL. He started out with the Jets but appeared in just nine games. His offensive numbers were decent with two goals and four assists for six points. Rick sat 44 PIM in those nine games.

Dorman moved on to the Erie Blades and played 52 regular season games with the club. He scored 15 and assisted on eleven for 26 points while sitting 194 minutes in penalties. The Nick Polano coached Blades reached the Lockhart Cup semi-finals before falling in five games to the Syracuse Blazers. In the playoffs, Rick added four assists over nine games and sat an additional 48 minutes in the box. It’s no surprise that he led Erie in PIM for both the regular season and playoffs.

Rick Dorman – WCHL


Dorman played two years in the WCHL (present day WHL), 1974-75 and 1975-76. In his first season, he played exclusively with the Flin Flon Bombers. Over 67 games, he scored 16 and assisted on 23 while sitting a whopping 442 minutes in penalties. He place second in the league to Jerry Rollins, a player that started out the season with the Bombers before moving to Winnipeg.

In his second season, Rick played a combined 60 regular season games with the Bombers and Winnipeg Clubs. He scored 11 and assisted on 23 with a total of 346 PIM. He placed second in the sin department again, this time to Ted Olson, a player that split his year between the Edmonton Oil Kings and Calgary Centennials.

He returned to the league in an executive capacity for a short time, about a decade ago. In August, 2003, Rick was named the General Manager of the Moose Jaw Warriors. However, in October, 2004, before the 2004-05 season started, Dorman was let go by the club.

Rick Dorman – Pro Hockey


Rick played pro hockey from 1976-77 to 1984-85 in the NAHL, USHL, IHL and AHL. However, most of his time was spent in the IHL. In his second pro year and his first in the IHL, Dorman sat 475 PIM over 76 regular season games with the Dayton/Grand Rapids Owls. He finished second, behind Alvin White of the Kalamazoo Wings who amassed 510 penalty minutes.

1979-80 was Rick’s only full year in the American Hockey League and he made his mark. With the Binghamton Dusters, he placed fifth in the league for PIM with 267 over 77 games. The league leader that year was Chris Nilan of the Nova Scotia Voyageurs with 304 PIM.

Two years later, Dorman showed off his offensive abilities a bit with the Flint Generals of the IHL. Sure, he placed fifth in the league with 288 PIM but he also scored 15 and assisted on 42 for 57 points over 77 games.

In his final year of pro hockey, Rick still had it in him. With the Indianapolis Checkers of the IHL, he placed sixth in the league with 263 PIM over a full 80 game schedule.

 

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Nick Polano in the NAHL: End of a Player. Start of a Coach


nick polano philadelphia blazers world hockey association
Nick Polano played just a small amount of games in the North American Hockey League but was a head coach for two full seasons. The man that would become head coach of the Detroit Red Wings for three years in the 1980’s finished his playing career and started his coaching career in the NAHL.

Nick Polano – NAHL


Polano played 19 regular season games for the Cape Cod Cubs during the inaugural 1973-74 NAHL season. The defenseman scored one goal and assisted on five. He also acted as head coach, replacing Bronco Horvath midseason.

In the Lockhart Cup playoffs, Cape Cod was bounced in six by the Long Island Cougars in the semi-finals. Nick played eight playoff games with just an assist to show for his efforts.

After a year away from the league, Polano returned as head coach of the Erie Blades for the 1975-76 NAHL season. The Blades placed third in the five team West Division during the regular season. In the playoffs, Erie fell in the opening round to the Philadelphia Firebirds. The series went the full five games with the Firebirds winning three games to two. At one point, the Blades had a 2-1 series lead.

Polano returned to Erie for 1976-77, the final season of the NAHL. The Blades finished fifth in the eight team league. Erie then advanced to the semi-finals before losing to the Syracuse Blazers, four games to one.

Nick Polano – Pro Hockey



After two years of junior hockey, 1958-59 and 1959-60, with the Hamilton Tiger Cubs of the Ontario Hockey Association (Currently the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League), Polano moved on to a lengthy career in pro hockey. He never played in the National Hockey League but Nick was found everywhere else, including the IHL, EPHL, WHL, AHL, CPHL, WHA and NAHL.

His pro career started in 1959-60 when he split his final year of junior between the Tiger Cubs and the Louisville Rebels of the IHL. It ended with the Cape Cod Cubs in 1973-74.

Never a champion, he came close to Calder Cup victories in the American Hockey League twice. In 1966-67 with the Baltimore Clippers, Polano reached the AHL semi-finals before being ousted by the Rochester Americans. In 1970-71, as a member of the Providence Reds, Nick got a taste of the finals when the Reds faced off against the Springfield Kings for the Calder Cup. Springfield easily handled Providence with a four game sweep.

His only major league action came in 1972-73. As a member of the star-studded and underachieving Philadelphia Blazers of the World Hockey Association, Polano played 17 games on the point, contributing three assists.

Nick Polano – Coach


Polano carried on with the Erie Blades after the NAHL ceased to exist. He coached the Blades in the NEHL and EHL from 1978-79 to 1980-81.

In 1981-82, his NHL career was finally under way. He took an assistant coach job with the Buffalo Sabres under head coach Scotty Bowman. In his only year with the Sabres, Buffalo lost in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, 3-1 to the Boston Bruins.

The following year, he took the head coaching job with the Detroit Red Wings. He remained behind the bench in Detroit for three years from 1982-83 to 1984-85. In the first year, the Wings did not qualify for the post season. In 1983-84, Steve Yzerman’s rookie year with the club, Detroit made the post season but lost in the opening round to the St. Louis Blues, three games to one.

In his final year as a head coach in the National Hockey League, Polano once again led his team into the post season, despite a not so special regular season record. The 1984-85 Red Wings met the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round and were soundly thrashed. In the three game sweep, the Blackhawks outscored the Red Wings 23-8 on victories of 9-5, 6-1 and 8-2.