Larry Skinner memoirs

 

 Version française

North American hockey career

Before coming to Paris I played professional hockey in North America in the winter and fastball in the summer

League - WHL Junior (Winnipeg Clubs)

League - OHL Junior (Ottawa 67's) played for the Hall of Fame Legend Brian Kilrea

Inducted into the Nepean Wall of Fame in 1992 for Hockey and Softball (played for Canada in the World Softball Championships in 1985)

Drafted to the NHL Kansas City Scouts 92nd overall in 1976 draft... Later that summer they became the Colorado Rockies.

Scored the first goal in Franchise history for the Colorado Rockies against the Toronto Maple Leafs and won the game 4-2... Scoring in my first game and winning the game: how does it get any better than that for a kid that dreamed of playing in the NHL one day. Being from Canada, and Toronto being the team I watched the most on television as a young teen, it was certainly a thrill to be on the ice with some of the stars I had looked up too all those years. I never did get the puck as they told me it will go into the Hockey Hall of Fame since it was the first goal in franchise history... Not sure it is on display at the HHOF or not but I can always say it is there somewhere possibly in the Archives (anyone wants to make some extra money this is always a good trivia question)... ha ha.

Some of the star players I looked up too and played against over the years: Bobby Orr / Bobby Hull / Phil Esposito / Guy Lafleur / Larry Robinson / Darryl Sittler / Stan Mikita... Unfortunately I only played in the NHL (47) games, scored 10 goals and 22 assists. That being said I would not give those memories up for anything! Proud moments for myself and my family!

Innsbruck

In 1980-81 season I went to the Boston Bruins training camp and ended up playing on the AHL affiliate (Springfield Indians). Had a good year even though I fractured my ankle early in the season. 48 games - 21 goals 40 assists for 61 points. Anything around a point a game was considered good numbers. My track record over the years was always within a point per game.

That being said I was approached by a player agent who was aware my contract was up that year and asked if I would be interested in playing in Innsbruck, Austria. I was really not sure on what my decision would be since I did not have any information on the level of hockey or the way of living over there. Also my dream to play in the NHL on a full-time basis would be over if I decided to go. After weighing the different options with my spouse Laurie we decided to head over with our 4-month-old daughter Lauren to Innsbruck the next season... Each team was allowed 2 imports and I was one and Alain Daigle was the other Canadian import. Alain played for the Chicago Black Hawks for 5 or 6 seasons before that.

As far as living in Innsbruck Austria goes it was one of the best cities I have ever lived in. The ski hills, the small towns, absolutely amazing. The people were just so friendly and helpful getting us Canadians that didn't speak a word of German feeling comfortable. Laurie and I were provided a beautiful apartment up the mountains in a town called Mutters. A skier's paradise 15 minutes up the mountain from Innsbruck. Driving in the winter was a little difficult... Never forget having to put the chains on the tires before heading down to the arena for practice.

The arena was also outstanding...I believe it was built for the Olympics in 1976 or possibly the one before that [for the 1964 Olympics indeed]. They had a huge glass window at the end of the rink you could look out and see the mountains... What a beautiful site to see while playing hockey... When driving home from practice everyday I also passed the Ski Jump that they used in the Olympics. I can't say enough about the opportunity I had to play and live in Innsbruck for 2 seasons.

I almost forgot to tell you about the Austrian Roadling (tobogganing) at night (full moon) down the road you drive to the top of the mountain and come back down on your sleigh (All I can say is CRAZY)... Back in those days when the Canadian skiers (Podborski, Read) were known as the Crazy Canucks they must have thought all Canadians were crazy having us do the Roadling thing.

Thanks to our friends at Café Pichl in Mutters (Sandy, Gurtie, Charlie), the store owner Tony Stauder... They all took great care of us.

The hockey was challenging at first due to the larger rinks that they played on in North America... That took some adjusting too. That being said the expectations of the import players was also very demanding. You were expected to score at a minimum a couple of times a game and take the team to the playoffs (not an easy task, but we did it in 1982/83). Losses were on the Canadians

Travel was easy (only in your own country so really no stay overs which was nice to be home every night for Laurie).

I've got to say as much as I enjoyed the hockey and the people in Austria the highlight of our stay in Austria was the birth of our son (Jordan) on Sept 18, 1982. The medical team at the Innsbruck hospital were excellent and took care of Laurie during her pregnancy and delivery of our son. (Very Proud Parents) Picture of the family on the front page of the Innsbruck newspaper.

Paris and the Français Volants

Such a small world... My father was working for Hockey Canada when this letter came into his office. It was a letter from the Francais Volants Hockey Club asking if knew anyone that might be a good fit for their team in Paris. Timing is everything... Fortunately I did not have a contract in Austria for a third year so things worked out well for me. Again Laurie and I discussed what are next steps would be and decided to take this opportunity in Paris to continue to play hockey and to travel to places we have never been... Just a beautiful thing.

Paris was building a new arena and the Français Volants wanted to move up from the 2nd division league so they could play in the new 16,000 seat arena (Bercy) in Division 1 the following season. The winner of division B moves up to division A and last place of division A moves down to division B. That being said that first year was very interesting. Lots of pressure... Before anything they made sure to tell me this was very important to have hockey in France (Paris) being played in the new arena the following season. A must win season. We only played 14 games and practiced once a week at the Colombes arena (other than that it was up to each person to stay fit). The most important thing was to win the Championship so they could move up to the A division... I must say the level of hockey was not the best but the important thing was what the opportunity would be in the future if we could win the championship. It was a season with one goal

When we first arrived in Paris they took good care of us (with an apartment and car) for our family. Laurie just loved going to market every day and shopping when she could (it was absolutely a beautiful city) more window shopping than buying downtown but just so enjoyable.....we would go to shows when we had family and friends visit us...the food was also excellent.

Kader Sadoun took care of the driving in Paris that first season (back & forth to the arena)... Never really seen traffic and driving like that in Canada. I did get used to it after a couple of years. My pal Kader and I did a walk through Bercy which really helped to motivate us to win that season... Pretty amazing if we win the B Division we would be playing there (great incentive for us all).

Kad was also a great player (Defenceman with some great offensive skills), our families really enjoyed each other's time. He did speak English which in turn made me feel a little more comfortable... My bad for not doing very well in speaking French. The team was a very young group and they all spoke a little English that made me feel very welcome and they were willing to learn what they could from me (great group of guys).

As mentioned the management / Director / players had one goal in mind and that was to move into Division A with the big boys from St-Gervais and Megève the next season. Thierry Lacarrière, Patrick Hanna, Pierre Samson and the rest of the management team really believed in me. We can't thank them enough for the generosity and friendships over the years in Paris.

Well we got to the finals and were playing in Anglet for the Championship that year. I really don't recall too much about that game other than I believe they gave me 17 minutes in penalties in the first period and the boys came through killing off all that time shorthanded... Unbelievable! Not too sure but I believe we won 3-2. Too many knocks over the years to go back that far (actually 3-1).

Memories for a life time that first year.

The Bercy Years

We did it and are now moving into Bercy the next year to play and practice everyday in our dream home... Felt like I was back in North America playing professional hockey again (Fantastic)... We even had a practice rink if they were using the big rink for other events (concerts / tennis / etc).

The A Division was much stronger and also had many French Canadians playing on each team as well as players from other countries. Thierry did a good job of recruiting players so we could be successful and people would be excited about hockey in Paris. I believe that first year we probably averaged 7 or 8 thousand a game. We never did get to a championship while I was there.

It started to fall of a bit... When I left in 1987 or 88 they were still playing in the big rink in Bercy but from what I understand it was moved to the small rink the year after and never played in the big arena again.

The travel was easy, either on the TGV or the bus. The TGV was amazing. You really didn't feel like you were on a train that I was used too in Canada.

In 1986 our beautiful daughter Angela was born in Charenton France...n I can remember 3 or 4 guys from the team came with me to the clinic where Laurie was having the baby. They were all out in the hall way waiting to hear the news to see if it was a girl or boy...that is something I will never forget.

The memories we have will last a life time. What a beautiful city Paris is... We were provided some of the nicest living quarters you can find. To be able to walk out your door and be walking distance to many attractions became part of our daily routine. The friendships Laurie and I had were amazing (dinner, parties, etc). Someone was always including us in everything they did.

Life After Hockey

When I retired I got in on the ground floor with a newspaper (Ottawa Sun) that was opening up new and worked in distribution for 10 years. Laurie was a stay at home mom taking care of Jordan and Angela plus other children from the neighbourhood. She also worked at various jobs over the years

During that time I continued to play Senior Men's hockey for 3 or 4 years and in 1992 was lucky enough to attend an NHL training camp again at 36 years old. The Ottawa Senators were a new NHL team that year and since I was with the Ottawa Sun they thought it would be great if I could attend the camp and then write an article everyday when done. It ended up to be a thrill to go back in time and doing what you loved so much (My first NHL training camp was in 1976-77 in Denver, Colorado). I have also been quite involved with the Ottawa Senators Alumni raising money for different charities still playing the game I love.

In 1999 I decided to make one last job change in my life and moved to a different job where I still work today as an Account Executive at Global Knowledge. It is a world wide corporate learning and development organization and my main client is the Federal government.

I coached my son Jordan through his hockey and baseball playing days. He now runs his own business making art out of metal (Murals in Metal). Angela & her husband Hunter have their own business (Almonte Butcher shop). Laurie and I are very proud of both Jordan & Angela (picture) and their families on how well they have done in life.

Son - Jordan 39 / Grandkids - Hayden 15 & Makayla 10

Daughter - Angela 35 / Grandkids - Grace 4 & Ivy 6 months

Angela & Hunter took a vacation to Paris and the South of France a few years ago and hooked up with some of our old friends when I was playing hockey in Paris. They were absolutely amazing, showing them around town and being such wonderful hosts 30 years later. For them to do this was amazing

Again thank you very much to the Francais Volants hockey club for all they did for myself and family! We will never forget... It was the time of our lives.

2021

 

Retour à la liste des mémoires