Discovering Nels Crutchfield

It's been a busy week here at Legends. I've added quite few new profiles, some of which have generated some good conversation.

Firstly I added the long-overdue Paul Coffey to the fold. Boy oh boy, that guy could glide through the neutral zone faster than most could sprint. Then I added Theoren Fleury, another fascinating talent although you never quite knew when he was going to blow.

I added Quakers (Stan Crossett) and Quackers (Bill Quackenbush), Brits (Ken Hodge) and Scots (Tony Hand), a second generation NHLer (Ken Hodge Jr) and hockey's Mr. Clean (Val Fonteyne)

Now you all knew about Coffey and Fleury, and hopefully you at least recognized Quackenbush and one of the two Hodges. I'm very impressed if you knew of Crossett, Hand and even Fonteyne.

I like to tell the stories of the lesser knowns, for often they are most interesting stories of all. And for me, they are often the most fun to research.

Such is the case with today's new biography - Nels Crutchfield.

Since Mr. Crutchfield played hockey in the 1930s, and only made it into 41 undistinguished NHL games, I don't expect most people would have heard of him. I hadn't either, until I noticed the Montreal Canadiens thought so much of him that they traded Lionel Conacher and Herb Cain to acquire him.

That was the starting point of my research - why was he so highly thought of? It turns out he was an established hockey star in Montreal, with the McGill University Redmen before the Habs. The hulking Crutchfield had quite a reputation both for his scoring ability and his rough-housing.

Crutchfield never had a chance to establish his abilities in the NHL. A severe concussion suffered in a car accident robbed him of his career. The Canadiens held a benefit game for him, raising some $7,000 in the years of the Great Depression.

Fortunately for Crutchfield his University education helped him succeed away from the rink. He spent his life working for Alcan and the British American company throughout Quebec before retiring in Shawinnigan, Quebec. Sadly he died in another car accident in 1985, in Huntsville, Ontario.

You can discover Nels Crutchfield yourself by reading his complete biography.