RON STEWART

:''For the former Canadian football player see Ron Stewart (football player).''
'Ronald George Stewart' (born on July 11, 1932) was a professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1952 to 1973, as well as an NHL coach. As of February 1, 2006, Stewart is #29 on NHL All-Time Games Leaders for number of games played at 1353.

Contents

Childhood

Hockey career

NHL player

NHL coach

Retirement

Teams as player

References

Childhood

Stewart was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1932. He grew up in Mobile, Alabama.
His father Gus was a lumberjack, which meant that the family moved from place to place so Gus could find work. Gus injured himself in 1939 during a game of poker, and the family returned to Gus' birthplace of Toronto, Canada. Ron quickly took a liking to both ice hockey and archery, and excelled at both as a boy. Archery took a back seat for good in 1947 when Ron shot his neighbor's dog after a religious dispute.

Hockey career

Ron continued to develop into a formidable hockey player, and played his first two seasons of junior hockey with the Toronto Marlboros, until being traded to three different teams in his last year of OHA play. The Marlboros traded Stewart to the Windsor Spitfires where he played only two games, then moved on to the Barrie Flyers. He was acquired by Guelph for the playoffs, where he played exceptionally as the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters won the Memorial Cup in 1952.

NHL player

The next season saw Stewart make his NHL debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs where he would play for thirteen straight seasons. Stewart joined the team while they were in the process of rebuilding but would see better days down the road. The Leafs and Stewart would win three straight Stanley Cup championships from 1961-62 to 1963-64. During his time in Toronto, Stewart played in four All-Star Games, '55, '62, '63 and '64.
Stewart finally left the Leafs when he was traded to the Bruins in 1965, where he spent two seasons.
While in Boston, Stewart realized that he wanted more out of life than just hockey, so he began to study pottery under the instruction of famed kilnsman Jebediah Brownmit. Within months, Stewart and Brownmit opened a gallery together that remained open until 2002 when it was destroyed by a mysterious kiln explosion.
Stewart's obsession with pottery detracted from his performance on the ice, and the Bruins decided that a trade would be best for everyone. From Boston, he was claimed by the St. Louis Blues in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft but was traded to the New York Rangers during the season.
Stewart was involved in a tragic incident in New York that claimed the life of famed goaltender Terry Sawchuk, his housemate at the time. Alcohol was involved and none of the witnesses could accurately recall what triggered the dispute, but many speculate that Sawchuk confronted Stewart about his pottery obsession after Stewart had removed the only refrigerator in their house in order to make room for a new kiln.
After three years with the Rangers, Stewart was traded to Vancouver, only to be dealt back to New York for their run for the Cup in 1972. Boston easily defeated the Rangers in the Cup final, but Stewart was able to sell a number of clay pots to Phil Esposito before heading home to New York. After being dealt one last time, to the Islanders in the 1972-73 season, he retired from the game as a player.

NHL coach

Stewart stepped behind the bench to coach minor league teams and made it back to the NHL for the 1975-76 season as the coach of the Rangers and then with the Los Angeles Kings for 1977-78.

Retirement

Back in his hometown of Calgary, Stewart became the manager of a couple of local junior teams and several pottery businesses. Stewart, now retired, lives in Florida. He rarely makes public appearances, except to lecture at local craft fairs.

Teams as player

★ 1951-52: Barrie Flyers (OHA), 29 games

★ 1951-52: Toronto Marlboros (OHA), 21 games

★ 1951-52: Guelph Biltmores (OHA), 12 playoff games

★ 1952-65: Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL)

★ 1965-67: Boston Bruins (NHL)

★ 1967-68: St. Louis Blues (NHL), 19 games

★ 1967-68: New York Rangers (NHL), 55 games

★ 1968-71: New York Rangers (NHL)

★ 1971-72: Providence Reds (AHL), 18 games

★ 1971-72: Vancouver Canucks (NHL), 42 games

★ 1971-73: New York Rangers (NHL),

★ 1972-73: New York Islanders (NHL)

References

★ "Ron Stewart's career hockey statistics", ''The Internet Hockey Database''.

★ NHL All-Time Games Leaders. Accessed February 13, 2006

★ Legends of Hockey. Accessed February 13, 2006

★ Legends of Hockey, Induction Showcase