Trevor Johansen

You could say Trevor Johansen knew every nook and cranny of old Maple Leaf Gardens.

Like his father before him, Trevor Johansen was a star with the Toronto Marlboros who went on to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Marlies, of course, played at "The Cash Box On Carlton Street" as well as the Leafs. During his junior days Johansen earned a little extra money by working at the arena as a janitor.

Trevor was the son of Norwegian born/Thunder Bay, Ontario raised Bill Johansen. He was perhaps better known by his nickname Red and sometimes known by the last name Johnson. While dad only got into one NHL game in 1950, son Trevor played 286 NHL games. That included his first two NHL seasons played with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Johansen arrived with a bit more fanfare. He was a Memorial Cup champion with the Marlies in 1975 and one of two first round picks of the Leafs in 1977. John Anderson went 11th overall, Johansen 12th overall. Mike Bossy, by the way, was drafted 15th overall.

The short and stocky Johansen showed flashes of brilliance. He broke into the league and played with Ian Turnbull. He was named as Canada's top defenseman at the 1979 World Hockey Championships.

But Johansen's career was disrupted by frequent knee injuries. Johansen, who played with Colorado and Los Angeles as well, would need custom braces on both of his knees by 1982.

"I couldn't turn to my right," he said. "I had to hang on to the boards."

Johansen retired from hockey in 1982. Rather than join his father's sheet-metal business back home in Thunder Bay, Johansen headed south. He originally got into real estate in Denver before settling in Tucson, Arizona where he owned a soil remediation company.