I've heard he's a great goalie, but I dont know much about him. If you know anything about him at all please share. My daughter is a goalie and he's been training her, he seems like a very good coach. I heard he was very dirty on the ice too, is this true?
2007-03-28 10:22:31 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Sports ➔ Hockey
He was a great goalie....won 4 Cups! By all accounts he was a very decent man off the ice but on the ice he was...shall we say "territorial". Remember this was the 70's when he got his fame so really he was a product of a very tough brand of hockey that was played at that time (he wasnt the only goalie back then who was known for his abilty to use the lumber for things other than saves). There were plenty of tough and rugged players then and he chose to stand his ground and sometimes deliver a meesage to opposing players who might have purposely tried to get him off his game by either wandering in the crease, jabbing him with their stick (a very common tactic of that day) or just running at the mouth to get a rise out of him. He is best remembered today for his legendary temper and that is too bad....he was one of the best big game goalies of his time. Plain and simple he was a tough goalie, both physically and mentally and has earned his place in hockey history....it is really a shame so many people choose to remember his temper instead of his temperment during clutch times. I think your daughter is very lucky to have a goaltender coach with his vast knowledge I am sure you will agree that he is a class act. I guess I wouldnt brand him so much as a dirty player.....i think he was just a warrior who got the job done back when hockey required a certain element of toughness.
2007-03-28 13:21:09 · answer #1 · answered by viphockey4 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
One of the dirtiest goalies of all time...before Hextall. He was a great goalie when he wasn't slashing opposing players with his stick and should be a good coach for your daughter.
I did have the pleasure of spitting on him at a Devs/Isles rookie game at South Mountain Arena back in the the early 90's.
2007-03-28 23:45:13 · answer #2 · answered by pags68 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
What exactly do you want to know? Are you looking for personal things about him, or about his career? His career was stellar. Any goalie that won four Stanley Cups is definitely more than good enough to coach your kid! He is a Hall of Famer. Yeah, he was a little dirty, but who wasn't, especially in the late 70s and early 80s? I don't think he'll be teaching your daughter the art of drawing penalties or hitting opposing forwards in the crotch with the goalie stick. He WILL teach your kid about winning. That is what he was best at.
2007-03-28 17:32:50 · answer #3 · answered by Mr. Taco 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
William John "Battlin' Billy" Smith (born December 12, 1950, in Perth, Ontario) was a professional ice hockey goaltender and is best known for winning Stanley Cups and being the first goalie to be credited with a goal.
He was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the 5th round of the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft from the Cornwall Royals of the QMJHL. He played two seasons with the Kings' minor league affiliate, the American Hockey League's Springfield Kings, and spent a brief stint with the big-league Kings after winning a Calder Cup for Springfield in 1971.
He was drafted in the 1972 NHL Expansion Draft by the New York Islanders; he was the first player picked by the team. After sharing goaltending duties with Gerry Desjardins for three years, he got the starting job all to himself in 1974 when Desjardins bolted to the World Hockey Association. That season, he led the Islanders to their first playoff appearance.
GO HABS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
2007-03-28 17:30:43 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yeah, he was a little dirty^^^ is an understatement. He was the nastiest goalie I have ever seen. His goalie stick was often compared to a 2x4. Anybody who dared to venture in his crease got the lumber. He is best remembered (in my mind anyway) for this aspect of his game. You hit it on the head with "very dirty" but back then the crease seemed to be more of a protected area where you would be taking your chances, especially with Billy.
2007-03-28 17:51:13 · answer #5 · answered by Bob Loblaw 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well if your daughter runs into the offspring of Dave "Tiger" Williams, things might get ugly...;)
Seriously though, while Smith is, along with Ron Hextall, considered one of the most combative goalies in NHL history, he's was also considered one of the best money netminders in the game during his prime.
2007-03-28 20:10:58 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
he is a great goalie,,but he needs a defense to help him
2007-03-31 11:13:40 · answer #7 · answered by jerry 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋