matt_garth
Well-Known Member
The prototypical power forward before the term was coined. Just ask Terry O’Reilly.
RIP Clark Gillies
- Thread starter matt_garth
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How did the left let it get to this?
Is that Bourne's son who is now a broadcaster, by chance?
That 1974 amateur draft was something else for the Islanders. Washington and Kansas City were just coming into the league. The Caps and Scouts took D-man Greg Joly and RW Wilf Paiement 1-2, respectively. California selected D-man Rick Hampton at three; the Isles snared Gillies at No. 4.
In the second round, NY selected Bryan Trottier though he would play another year of junior. In the third, Kansas City chose Bourne, couldn't sign him and traded him to the Islanders and got next to nothing in return. That's 12 Stanley Cup rings among the three.
The Big Ragu
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This one hit me like a ton of bricks. ... I grew up within spitting distance of the Nassau Colliseum during those dynasty years, and I probably wouldn't know or care a thing about hockey today if that team hadn't been so damned good.
That Trio Grande line with Bossy-Trottier-Gillies was as good as any I have seen since. Gillies protected Bossy, but he was a really skilled hockey player too, especially for a grizzly bear of a man, and he was a huge part of the success of the other two.
I fled Long Island for good when I left for college, but Gillies made it his home and stayed a part of that organization for the rest of his life.
I think I posted this once before on here, but one game that just stuck with me for life: it was the early 80s, when the Islanders and Rangers had something going (during the time Herb Brooks took over as coach of the Rangers). Gillies could and would fight anyone in hockey -- even the Dave Schultzs and Terry O'Reillys -- but you really had to **** him off before he fought. It was never a good idea if you did.
Apparently, Ed Hospodar speared Gillies one too many times, and Gillies had had enough of him in this game. Hospodar was a fighter, but Gillies got off four sledgehammer punches before it could even turn into a fight. The last one was an uppercut to the jaw, and it dropped Hospodar like a sack of potatoes. It was so quick, and it was the most brutal thing I had ever seen. Hospodar had a broken jaw, broken cheekbone and he left several teeth behind.
That Trio Grande line with Bossy-Trottier-Gillies was as good as any I have seen since. Gillies protected Bossy, but he was a really skilled hockey player too, especially for a grizzly bear of a man, and he was a huge part of the success of the other two.
I fled Long Island for good when I left for college, but Gillies made it his home and stayed a part of that organization for the rest of his life.
I think I posted this once before on here, but one game that just stuck with me for life: it was the early 80s, when the Islanders and Rangers had something going (during the time Herb Brooks took over as coach of the Rangers). Gillies could and would fight anyone in hockey -- even the Dave Schultzs and Terry O'Reillys -- but you really had to **** him off before he fought. It was never a good idea if you did.
Apparently, Ed Hospodar speared Gillies one too many times, and Gillies had had enough of him in this game. Hospodar was a fighter, but Gillies got off four sledgehammer punches before it could even turn into a fight. The last one was an uppercut to the jaw, and it dropped Hospodar like a sack of potatoes. It was so quick, and it was the most brutal thing I had ever seen. Hospodar had a broken jaw, broken cheekbone and he left several teeth behind.
Last edited:
Jake from State Farm
Well-Known Member
One time Gillies was interviewed and he was asked what nickname to call the line
“How about the Gillies line.”
“How about the Gillies line.”
The Big Ragu
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Thanks for that! So I would have been 12 at the time, and watching the Islanders broadcast with Jiggs McDonald and Eddie Westfall probably. But as much as I loved them, it is probably even better in that Youtube clip with Bill Chadwick: "Eddie Hospodar picked the toughest man in hockey baby."
