27 jours avant la soirée d’ouverture : Dennis Kearns (27e meilleur buteur de tous les temps)
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Krapshoot
@Canucks de Vancouver
27 jours avant la soirée d’ouverture : Dennis Kearns (27e meilleur buteur de tous les temps)
—
Krapshoot
4 Comments
27. Dennis Kearns — 677GP | 31G | 290A | 321P | 1972-1981
Dennis Kearns was born on September 27, 1945 in Kingston, Ontario. Kearns grew up playing hockey in Kingston. Kearns was an undersized left-shot defenseman listed at 5 ‘8 and 180-lbs. Kearns never dreamt of making it to the NHL because he never thought he was good enough. Kearns ultimately stuck with hockey out of passion and admiration for the game.
While growing up in Kingston, he only had the opportunity to practice and play in a game once a week during his bantam and peewee days. Kearns development took time and he was never considered a top player throughout his adolescence.
Kearns tried out for two Junior A squads in Niagara and Oshawa, but didn’t make either team. He opted to join the Junior B Kingston Frontenacs and played there for three seasons from 1963-1966.
Kearns referenced getting lots of ice-time in Kingston with defending teammates often in the penalty box. These years were crucial to Kearns’ development and he honed his craft as a smooth-skating puck-moving defenseman. Kearns even had one game in 1964 where he had 7-assists.
Kearns caught a break in 1965 when he was just 18-years old. A scout from the Portland Buckaroos (Western Hockey League) was looking for talent in Eastern Canada when he was there to see Kearns’ teammate Syl Apps Jr. The scout, Gord Fashoway, left the game with more interest in Kearns and his playmaking abilities. Portland tried to sign Kearns, but he initially turned down the offer. The following year, Kearns played for the local senior team, the Kingston Aces and won the All-Ontario Championship. Kearns led the league in scoring amongst defenseman with 17-goals.
Portland Head Coach, Hal Laycoe, once again tried swaying Kearns to join the Buckaroos, but Kearns turned him down once more. Instead, Kearns worked the summer on a surveying crew and returned home to a letter with a plane ticket from Hal & the Buckaroos persuading him to try out for the team. Kearns finally caved and made the team that season.
In his first season with Portland, Kearns had 20-points in 68-games. The following year, he exploded offensively and had 2-goals and 44-points in 74-games. He was named to the WHL’s 2nd All-Star Team that year which was voted on by the players. In his final season with the Buckaroos, Kearns improved to 53-points in 72-games and was named to the WHL’s 1st All-Star Team. Kearns also set a WHL single-game point record for defenseman that season with 2-goals and 5-assists on April Fools, 1970.
The Chicago Blackhawks owned the rights to Kearns at this point in his career. He was invited to training camp for the 1971 season. Although he started strong in camp, he eventually faltered and was demoted to the Dallas Black Hawks of the CHL (Central Professional Hockey League). Kearns had 52-points in 65-games and was named to the CHL’s 1st All-Star Team.
Kearns caught another break in the summer of 1971. Former Buckaroos Head Coach, Hal Laycoe, was the inaugural head coach of the Vancouver Canucks and took advantage of Kearns being exposed in the 1971 Intra-League Draft and selected Kearns 3rd overall.
Although Kearns never dreamed of it, he was at the start of his NHL career at 26-years old. He managed to score 3-goals and 29-points across 73-games in his rookie season. Kearns followed up with a 34-point sophomore season in 72-games. The following two-seasons for Kearns were filled with injuries and he only managed to play in 52- and 49-games.
Kearns really stepped into star status in the 1975-76 season. He stayed healthy and played in 80-games producing a career high 5-goals and 51-points. The following year in 1977 he improved his production again with 60-points across 80-games. He was also selected to represent Canada in the 1977 & 1978 World Championship. Canada finished 4th in 1977, but improved in 1978 to win a Bronze Medal. Kearns had 1-assist in 10-games each year of the tournament.
Kearns at that point had league wide recognition as a terrific passer and was even deemed “The Dennis Potvin of the West” by The Hockey News. He earned tons of praise from some of the world’s best like Phil Esposito who handpicked Kearns to run the power play for Team Canada at the World Championships.
After the 1977-78 season, Kearns played 4 more seasons with Vancouver from 1978-1981. His production declined from his peak in 1977, but he still managed to score 115-points in 271-games across his final 4-seasons. Kearns opted for retirement at the end of the 1981 season due to no longer being considered for a top-spot among the team’s defenders.
Probably my favorite OG Canuck. He was so smooth and steady. Assist machine and an incredible passer.
Kearns did some minor hockey coaching after his playing career. He made hockey so fun for the little guys. One of my favorite people of all time. Awesome family.
Got to meet him at some event hosted by Rogers. Super nice dude. He signed my puck and an autograph card