Status: GM of the Buffalo Sabres and former NHL defenseman.
Ht: 5-foot-11 Wt: 190 pounds
DOB: Nov. 27, 1956 In: Swift Current, Sask.
Hockey Inspirations: "Probably Al Arbour, because he wore glasses and I wore glasses. I remember, as a kid, you couldn't play hockey if you had a sunken chest, knock knees and you wore glasses. I wore glasses since I was 10. I was just talking about this with James Patrick (Sabres assistant coach). Then I saw those old Esso hockey cards - one was of Al Arbour and he had glasses on. I thought, ‘Oh, I could play hockey.’ It's funny, as it turned out, I later worked with Al Arbour with the Islanders and we have remained friends today."
Early Hockey Memory: "Scoring six goals in a game in pee-wee."
Nicknames: "Reegs, Starsky."
Current Car: "Lexus RX 350."
Favorite Movies: "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and Shawshank Redemption."
Last Book Read: "Tell you in a second (looks at Blackberry)... Beyond Halftime by Bob Buford."
First Job: "Construction."
Favorite Sport Outside Hockey: "Golf and tennis."
Greatest Sports Moment: "Oh I just think any time you go the furthest in the playoffs. Probably Stanley Cup final in '99."
Most Painful Moment: "Probably the Stanley Cup final in '99."
Favorite Uniforms: "Well, I think our third jerseys. I'll go with that one."
Closest NHL Friends: "Probably people like - people I played with? (Yes.) An example is Kevin Devine, our director of amateur scouting."
Funniest Players Encountered: "A guy by the name of 'Swoop.' I probably should leave it at that and not give you his real name. And he was from Roblin, Manitoba - a small town. And there was a rumor that after he retired, his barn burnt down and his whole town was stoned for about three days (smiles)."
Toughest Competitor Encountered: "Oh I played against George McPhee in the minors (Central League). George would have been one of those guys. Just a fierce competitor. Tough player to play against."
Most Memorable Goal: "(Laughs) That's so long ago to remember. Probably the one that was the most fun...I went 100 and some games in the minors without scoring a goal. And my teammates were so happy that they were cheering even though we were losing 6-1. That happened in Fort Worth, Texas."
Embarrassing Hockey Memory: "Scoring on my own goal. Only did it once (smiles)."
Favorite Players To Watch: "Past would have been Bobby Orr. (Current players?) There are a lot of them right now. I like watching some of our own players. An obvious guy is Gretzky."
Personality Qualities Most Admired: "Trustworthiness. They're all kind of combined. Character, integrity, honesty, hard workers."
Mark 'Scoop' Malinowski is the author of "Heavyweight Armageddon: The Tyson-Lewis Championship Battle" and creator of two websites: www.thebiofile.com and www.tennis-prose.com.