Monday, March 23, 2015
Other Reflections on the loss of the Belleville Bulls
Daniel Cleary, Former Bull
“I want you to tell everybody in
Belleville how sorry I am that the Bulls are leaving. I am sure that it must be
devastating for everyone,” he told me. Belleville was Danny’s home for several
years, in his junior Bulls’ days. Without question, Danny Cleary is one of a
small group of people who put Belleville on the hockey map. He brought great
skills to the rink as a youngster from Newfoundland. He refined those skills
under Coach Larry Mavety, and has had a long and distinguished career in the
NHL. And the first Newfie to hoist the Stanley Cup as well, I might add.
One of the young Panther players also
paid tribute to Mavety after the game. Eric Gudbranson is becoming one of the
anchors on the panther defense, along with rookie sensation Aaron Ekblad. He
played his OHL hockey in Kingston. He told me that it upset him when he found
out that the Bulls were leaving. “There was such a great rivalry between the
Bulls and our team. This is crazy.” He said that he wanted me to report that he
owed a great deal to Mavety as his mentor in hockey. “Mav was so important to
me in my career. I still talk to him when I get a chance,” he added.
Another Panther who skated a few
times on the cavernous pad in
Belleville is Aaron Ekblad. Ekblad was also shocked by the news. “I couldn’t
believe it when I heard it. It was so sudden”. Ekblad is having an outstanding
season for the Panthers. He has already broken all of the existing scoring
records for a rookie Panther defenceman, and is in the upper echelon of most
categories for all rookie defenders in the league: blocked shots, assists,
goals, etc. He is closing in on the rookie point total of another pretty good
defenceman, Bobby Orr. Orr had 41 points as a rookie, and no one would be
surprised if Ekblad surpassed that mark. And, by the way, Aaron and I had a
good chuckle about his picture on the cereal box.
Aaron Ekblad, courtesy of the Florida Panthers
With only a dozen games remaining in
the season, the fight for a playoff spot has intensified in the east. The
Bruins have struggled lately, and have allowed the Panthers and the Senators to
close the gap. By next week, the picture will be a little clearer. If you know
how this is going to end, your guess is better than mine! I have not yet
purchased my playoff tickets!
James Hurst
March 24, 2015
# posted by James Hurst @ 1:49 PM 
