Frank Brown, the Hall of Fame journalist and former NHL executive, always – as a kid – wanted to play goal for the Rangers and eventually got his wish.
No, not in an NHL game, silly, but it was in a practice. In fact many practices. In fact, many, many, many practices.
As beat Rangers writer for the New York Daily News, Fearless Frank was able to cover a Blueshirts practice as a hockey writer and then manage to "sneak" into the crease and face the sizzling shots of practicing Rangers.
Brown told this story to Maven Roundtable VP of Goaltending, George Grimm, in GG's superb netminding gem, "Guardians Of The Goal."
Brown: "The truth is I was an AFTER-practice goalie. On game days – after the starting goalie would leave the morning skate – I would get a wave from the coach to go in and handle the clean-up duties at that end for any of the skaters who were still on the ice.
"The whole experience was a joy. We're talking about the '80's and '90's so I don't have any selfies to provide, but the memories are burned into my brain. The players had enough respect for me being out there that during any breakaway drills they would do what they had to do without showing me up.
What The Rangers Did When Many Of Their Players Left The NHL To Join The Military And Serve In World War II
At the start of the 1945-46 season the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers" target="_blank">Rangers</a> were a wreck.
"Mostly though, the shots I faced were slap shots from the blue line or the tops of the circles. Tomas Sandstrom's shot stands out: I could HEAR it coming, like a major league fastball. His shot would drive my glove backward – when I would catch it – and drive my leg backward when it struck my pad."
Then, a pause: "I wasn't any damn good, but I was out there trying – getting the education of a lifetime. The bumps and bruises were more than worth it, because they meant that even if I was lousy – and I was – at least I stopped a few."
(Editor's Note: The Maven played D in front of Frank and saw him play. HE WAS VERY GOOD. Period!)