The New Kid In Town: Gene Carr And The Eagles

It's training camp and the NHL pre-season. In pretty much every hockey market right now fans are excited. In each city there is a lot of hubbub about the big off-season acquisition. Or perhaps the new top prospect. Or an unexpected rookie making a big splash.

Yes, in every NHL city there is a new kid in town.

Which reminds me, of course, of The Eagles, and their epic hit, The New Kid In Town. Everyone knows that song. But did you know that song was written about a hockey player from Nanaimo, British Columbia?

Gene Carr was a blazing hot shot who joined the Los Angeles Kings in 1974 after playing in New York for several seasons. Soon he was hobnobbing with some of Hollywood's finest, most notably Glenn Frey of The Eagles.

Frey, who occasionally would wear Carr's #12 jersey on stage, called him Hockey Hollywood. Carr talks about life in Hollywood and the song in a recent interview with the Nanaimo Daily News.

Carr is being inducted into the Nanaimo Sports Hall of Fame, proudly joining his father Red Carr. Here's more on the life and career of Gene Carr.