WHAT WOULD'VE BEEN A SPECIAL BIRTHDAY

Today marks the 100th birthday of former Leaf great Wally Stanowski, who passed away on June 28, 2015.

In junior hockey, Stanowski won the Memorial Cup with the St. Boniface Seals in 1938. He joined the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1939 and quickly became known for his skating ability. In an interview with Boston Bruins legend Milt Schmidt, he talked to me about what skills Stanowski brought to the table in terms of Toronto's defencemen. "I would say as far as skating is concerned, Stanowski was the fastest skater."

Due to his talent to effortlessly glide up and down the ice, Stanowski earned the nickname of "The Whirling Dervish."

Conn Smythe described his prized rookie's style as follows:

He plays defence as though he was swivelled at the hips. He skates sweepingly with legs spread out. You can rock him but he is harder to knock down than Joe Lewis.

After winning the Stanley Cup in 1942, Stanowski returned to his hometown of Winnipeg and joined the Air Force. He made a triumphant return to the Leafs in 1944-45 and won his second Stanley Cup. Stanowski would go on to capture two more Cups with Toronto in 1947 and 1948. In 1941, he was named to the NHL First All-Star Team.

I had the great pleasure and honour of meeting Wally at the monthly Original Six Alumni lunch. Later, I interviewed him for several projects, including my book on Bob Goldham. Being the last living teammate of Goldham on the historic 1942 Stanley Cup team, Wally's insights were most valuable. The '42 Leafs are the only NHL club to lose the first three games in the Cup final, then bounce back to win the next four.

The interview was conducted at Wally's home on a cold February afternoon. The image of Wally sitting in his favourite chair wearing a blue plaid shirt with a steady stream of smoke billowing from his pipe, remains with me to this day.