‘‘Living legend’’ drops in to help

Docklands’ ice hockey team the Ice Wolves were honoured last month by a visit from living legend Rick Chartraw.

Rick is a five-times Stanley Cup winner, the pinnacle of North American ice hockey success and is these days based in Australia.

He dropped in to see the young Wolves at the Icehouse on March 22 and, according to Wolves president Emma Poynton, he was a great hit with the team.

“The Wolves were silent,” she said. “They were so nervous and so full of attention and concentration.”

“Their willingness to learn was incredible,” Ms Poynton said.

Ms Poynton said Mr Chartraw showed the Wolves skills and “plays” such as break outs, tips on shooting and talked to the team about power.

“He showed them different styles and new play-making techniques,” she said.

The Wolves play in the Victorian league and are affiliated with Melbourne Ice, which plays in the national ice hockey league.

Mr Chartraw grew up in the US and then moved to Canada to play junior hockey in the Ontario league with the Kitchener Rangers.

His NHL career started in 1974 with the Montreal Canadiens as their first-round draft pick where he played for seven years as a defenceman primarily but also being called upon as a forward.

With the Habs (Montreal Canadiens) Rick dressed with one of the greatest teams of all time and won the Stanley Cup four times consecutively from 1976 to 1979, playing with hall of famers like Guy Lafleur, Jacques Lemaire, Ken Dryden, Guy Lapointe, Serge Savard and Larry Robinson.

Despite such a star studded cast Mr Chartraw put in his best performances there in the late 70s playing more than 60 games per year with five goals 16 points in ‘78-’79.

He then traded to the Kings in 1980 where he played with Marcel Dionne, Rangers in 1982 and finally the Oilers in 1983 where he won the Stanley Cup once more in 1984 in his final NHL season along with Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri and Paul Coffey.

He played five games for Team USA in the first Canada Cup (1976), the first best-of-the-best tournament in hockey history.