Former Philadelphia Flyers Enforcer Dave Schultz Making Strides After Stroke

Dave Schultz, the NHL’s bad boy when he played in the 1970s, hobbled onto the stage with a walker Wednesday night and joined several of his former Philadelphia Flyers teammates at an event in Cherry Hill, N.J.

“I’m baaack,” he told the crowd at the Jewish Community Center.

In his first public appearance since suffering a stroke in late June, Schultz was part of a panel – it included ex-Flyers Jimmy Watson, Bob Kelly, Orest Kindrachuk, Larry “Izzy” Goodnough and Lindy Snider, the daughter of the club’s late owner, Ed – that answered questions following the showing of “Cold War in Philly.” The 80-minute documentary, produced by Joe Amodei, is a behind-the-scenes look at the epic Flyers-Soviets matchup in 1976.

Schultz, who turned 77 Wednesday and was serenaded with “Happy Birthday” by the crowd, has made great strides from his stroke. His memory is intact, and though he has to work hard to get around with a walker or cane, his legs seem to be getting stronger.

“I’m coming around,” Schultz said before the event. “I finally feel better. I’m walking better. I can (sometimes) walk on my own now, where I couldn’t do that before without a walker.”

About a week after he moved into a new apartment in Marlton, N.J., Schultz collapsed while walking out of his bathroom. Fortunately, he was able to make a call, and an ambulance quickly arrived. He was rushed to a hospital and spent a few weeks in rehab.

He was asked if he lost any of his memory from the stroke.

“I never had a memory,” he cracked.

Schultz, who helped the Flyers win Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975, said he was “really fortunate that I didn’t lose a lot of my faculties. I’m not that bad. I’ve been working on getting better.”

When told his speech sounded normal, Schultz smiled.

“Normal doesn’t mean a lot for me,” he said.

At the event in Cherry Hill, Schultz, known as The Hammer, was at ease, joking with his former teammates and busting his good friend Kelly, nicknamed The Hound. Schultz said Kelly was his “partner in crime” when they terrorized the NHL with their fists and physical play. Schultz still holds the NHL’s single-season record for penalty minutes in a season – 472 in 1974-75, the year Philadelphia won its second straight Cup. 

When a spectator asked Schultz and Kelly who the toughest opponent they fought was, Schultz joked that Kelly was “scared” of Boston tough guy Terry O’Reilly. Kelly disagreed. But Schultz insisted that Kelly left it up to him to fight O’Reilly. Kelly then talked about how he and his teammates respected their opponents.

Schultz interrupted him.

“Anyway, I kicked O’Reilly’s ass,” he said, drawing laughs from the crowd. “Thanks for bringing that up.”

On stage, Schultz kidded with Kindrachuk, his center back in the day, saying, “I would have scored 100 points if I had better centermen.”

Schultz turned serious toward the end of the question-and-answer session when the topic shifted to the current Flyers team, which lost its first eight games. He said teams won’t be successful unless they have leadership from the top. The Saskatchewan native referenced Snider, the one-time beloved owner and co-founder, and former captain Bobby Clarke.

“You’re not going to have a great hockey team if you don’t have a great leader,” Schultz said. “Like a Clarkie. Clarkie was a leader. And Mr. Ed Snider was a great, great leader.”

And, in a way, so was Schultz, a player Hall of Fame Flyers coach Fred Shero once said “gave us courage on the road” by the way he stuck up for his teammates.

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