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Kirkland Lake has produced some of the finest hockey players to have ever skated, and has been called "the town that made the NHL famous" by Foster Hewitt, a CBC sports announcer. Although there are 42 NHL players who have called Kirkland Lake their hometown, but only a few of these players will be highlighted in vignettes in this chapter. To learn more about the individual players from Kirkland Lake, visit www.hockeyheritagenorth.ca

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Many players from Kirkland Lake had their first taste of competitive hockey at the grade school level, playing in the Playground Leagues and inter-school competition. Dick Duff was a talented skater in Kirkland Lake, and was a proficient scorer even at young age when he played for his school teams. Duff is seated in the first row, far right of the following image of the "Hub of the North" team.

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"Hub of the North" hockey team
Circa 1940's
Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Hockey Heritage North Archives

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To pursue both an education and to continue his hockey career, Dick moved to Toronto on his own at the age of 16, and attended his first year at St. Michael's College School in 1952-53. The school was known for its athletics program, including hockey, and he didn't let them down. After a season with the St. Mike's Buzzers he played for several years with the St. Mike's Majors, a junior team that benefited from his speed and scoring abilities.

The St. Mike's Majors were one of the Toronto Maple Leafs several junior squads, and Dick played his first full season with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1955-56. He was only 19 years old at the time. He stayed with the Leafs for nine seasons and secured two Stanley Cup wins with them before being traded to the New York Rangers in the 1963-64 season. He was a consistent scorer during his time with the Montreal Canadiens from 1964 to early 1970. In Montreal, Duff was part of a Stanley Cup winning team, for four years out of six.

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Brothers Dick and Les Duff
1952-1955
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Hockey Heritage North Archives

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He was sold to the Los Angeles Kings for a few seasons, then sent to the Buffalo Sabres, where he stayed for less than two years. After retiring as a player, he joined the Toronto Maple Leafs once again in 1979-80, this time as a scout and assistant coach. The following season he helped coach the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Of his many accomplishments, Dick Duff scored 651 points in his professional hockey career, and he played in seven NHL All-Star Games.

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Dick Duff Painting
Circa 2005
Joe Mavrinac Community Complex, Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Joe Mavrinac Community Complex
Original artwork by Mark Didine

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The World Hockey Association was a professional hockey league created in North America in 1972, and was in direct competition with the NHL for skilled hockey players. For most of its existence, the NHL only had six teams, known as the "Original Six". The league was expanded to include more teams starting in the 1960's. Both the WHA and the expansion teams of the NHL allowed more players to enter professional hockey, and many Northern players took advantage of the opportunity, and Jim Watson was one of them.

Although he was playing for the NHL prior to the expansion of the professional leagues, it gave him the chance to play for several different teams during the 1960's and 70's, including the Los Angles Sharks and the Chicago Cougars of the now defunct WHA. His experiences growing up in Kirkland Lake and playing hockey prepared him well for the very physical game that was common in both of these leagues.

Jim Watson went on to play in several leagues, including the NHL, the CHL, and the AHL.

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Jim Watson Painting
Circa 2005
Joe Mavrinac Community Complex, Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Joe Mavrinac Community Complex
Original artwork by Mark Didine

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Jim Watson - Hockey as His Favourite Sport
5 January 2010
Hockey Heritage North, Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Jim Watson Interview
Hockey Heritage North Archives

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Hockey was a family tradition in the Redmond family. Eddie Redmond had played semi-professional hockey, and his sons Mickey and Dick Redmond were taught from an early age the finer points of playing hockey and scoring on goal. Both Mickey and Dick practiced on the same outdoor rinks, like so many other kids in Kirkland Lake.

And like other boys who had dreams of making it to higher levels of hockey, the Redmond's left Kirkland Lake, while Mickey was 14 and Dick was 12. They made a name for themselves in Peterborough with the Petes, a junior hockey team with the Ontario Hockey League.
With four seasons under his belt in the OHA, Mickey spent two years with the Houston Apollos team of the CPHL, then went into the NHL for the remainder of the 1967-68 season. After almost 4 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Frank Mahovlich, who would later be his teammate with Team Canada during the 1972 Summit Series - a series that would go on to define hockey as Canada's game.

Dick Redmond spent three years in the OHA and soon made the move to the NHL where he played for six NHL teams, including the California Golden Seals, the Chicago Blackhawks, and the Boston Bruins.

Mickey retired from professional hockey in 1976, and Dick retired in 1981 after 14 seasons in the NHL.

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Mickey Redmond Painting
Circa 2005
Joe Mavrinac Community Complex, Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Joe Mavrinac Community Complex
Original artwork by Mark Didine

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Dick Redmond Painting
Circa 2005
Joe Mavrinac Community Complex, Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Joe Mavrinac Community Complex
Original artwork by Mark Didine

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Known for their rough and rowdy behavior on and off the ice, the Plager Brothers made a name for themselves long before they left Kirkland Lake. Barclay (the eldest), Bob (the middle), and Bill (the youngest) were taught the basics by their father, Gus Plager. Gus had a promising hockey career until an injury forced him from the game - but he continued on with the sport as a referee. Billy Plager, in a 2009 interview, commented that his father was "tough, but fair" when it came to his refereeing.

The brothers were known as much for their entertainment value on the ice as their powerful skating and scoring record. All three brothers made it to the NHL, and all three skated together for the St. Louis Blues between 1968-71. Bob and Barclay would continue on with the Blues while Bill would go on to play in several different leagues. All three brothers left the NHL as players at around the same time - Barclay and Bill retired after the 1976-77 season, and Bob stayed on with the St. Louis Blues for part of the following season.

Barclay went on to a coaching assistant career with the St. Louis Blues until 1988. He was to participate as an honourary coach at the All-Star Game February 9, 1988, but passed away several days before the Game took place.