If ever an injustice was done to a Ranger, that player was Dean Prentice. He belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame and I'm not the only one who thinks so. But it never will happen. It's there in a fine book: "Access Denied – Forgotten & Future Heroes of Hockey's Hall of Fame." Author Kris Kullas made no doubt about left wing Prentice who played a full ten years with the Blueshirts. And The Maven was a witness throughout that decade. Dean was on the port side with his Guelph Biltmore (Memorial Cup 1951) buddy, Andy Bathgate working right wing. Larry Popein and Earl Ingarfield were their most prominent centers. Untitled video - Made with Clipchamp I can tell you that Bathgate never would have made it into Hockey's Pantheon without Prentice doing the dirty corner work and then feeding Andy the puck. "Prentice was a great backchecker, penalty-killer power play specialist and all-round hustler," wrote Kullas. "Many called him the most underrated player of his era. He would log the minutes and get the scoring points." Apart from Bathgate, Dean's Ranger teammates – Bill Gadsby, Harry Howell and Gump Worsley – all made the Hall. How come no Prentice? Among other reasons, Dean needed a prominent hockey figure to lead a campaign for him and that never happened; which is sad. Kullas: "From game one to the end of his career (1,378 regular season games, 54 playoff games) Dean was a coach's dream, the quintessential complete hockey player. "He came from the Original Six era of tough, hard-nosed hockey and ended his career as a role model for the younger players." Bottom Line: Dean Prentice got a bum deal!
