Dave Balon

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CanadaCanada  Dave Balon Ice hockey player
Dave Balon
Date of birth August 2, 1938
place of birth Wakaw , Saskatchewan , Canada
date of death May 29, 2007
Place of death Prince Albert , Saskatchewan , Canada
size 180 cm
Weight 82 kg
position Left wing
Shot hand Left
Career stations
1955-1958 Prince Albert Mintos
1958-1959 Saskatoon Quakers
1959-1960 Lions de Trois-Rivières
1960-1963 New York Rangers
Kitchener-Waterloo Beavers
1963-1967 Canadiens de Montréal
1967-1968 Minnesota North Stars
1968-1971 New York Rangers
1971-1973 Vancouver Canucks
1973-1974 Nordiques de Québec
Broome Dusters

David Alexander "Dave" Balon (born August 2, 1938 in Wakaw , Saskatchewan , † May 29, 2007 in Prince Albert , Saskatchewan) was a Canadian ice hockey player who, in the course of his active career between 1955 and 1974, among other things, 854 games for the New York Rangers , Canadiens de Montréal , Minnesota North Stars and Vancouver Canucks in the National Hockey League and nine others for the Nordiques de Québec in the World Hockey Association on the position of left winger . The four-time All-Star celebrated his greatest career success in the service of the Canadiens de Montréal by winning the Stanley Cup in 1965 and 1966 .

Career

Balon spent his junior years between 1955 and 1958 with the Prince Albert Mintos in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League . At the end of the 1957/58 season , the striker made his first professional debut for the Vancouver Canucks , which were then playing in the Western Hockey League . He also represented the Regina Pats in the Memorial Cup .

At the beginning of the season 1958/59 the attacker was in the professional squad of the Saskatoon Quakers , which were also based in the WHL. This was followed by a one-year engagement with the Lions de Trois-Rivières in the Eastern Professional Hockey League in the 1959/60 season . In this game year Balon came - in addition to other appearances for the Canucks in the WHL - to his debut in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers . Between 1960 and 1962 the missions of the left winger were divided between the Rangers in the NHL and the Kitchener-Waterloo Beavers in the EPHL. It was not until the 1962/63 season that the Canadian managed to establish himself permanently in the New York Rangers' NHL squad.

The season should initially be his only full in the jersey of the Broadway Blueshirts , as the 24-year-old was part of a seven-player transfer deal between the New York Rangers and Canadiens de Montréal in June 1963 . While Balon moved to the Canadiens with Gump Worsley , Léon Rochefort and Len Ronson , the Rangers secured the services of Phil Goyette , Don Marshall and Jacques Plante in return . In the service of the Habs , the attacker established himself in the NHL and was part of the team's regular squad for the following four seasons. In 1965 and 1966 he celebrated his greatest career success in the Montreal jersey by winning the Stanley Cup . He also took part in the NHL All-Star Game twice, but each time as a member of the reigning Stanley Cup winner.

Although Balon had become a reliable NHL player, he remained unprotected for the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft by the Canadiens and was therefore selected by the newly formed Minnesota North Stars . In the North Stars jersey, left shooters set a new career record with 47 points scorer in the 1967/68 season , which earned him another invitation to the All-Star game. Impressed by the development of Balons, the New York Rangers brought their "prodigal son" back to New York in June 1968, for which they gave Wayne Hillman , Danny Seguin and Joey Johnston to Minnesota. However, it took Balon a full playing time to get used to the New York game system. However, he paid back the trust placed in him in the 1969/70 and 1970/71 seasons with a total of 130 points, including 69 goals. This was New York's top scorer in both years; League-wide, he was one of the ten best scorers in the game year 1969/70 and took part in his fourth all-star game in 1971 . With Walt Tkaczuk and Bill Fairbairn he formed the so-called "Bulldog Line" of the Rangers.

At the beginning of the 1971/72 season , Balons time in New York came to a new end due to another transfer. In November 1971 he was given with Wayne Connelly and Ron Stewart to the Vancouver Canucks, for which he had already accrued at their time in the WHL. As compensation for the donation of the three players, the Rangers received Gary Doak and Jim Wiste . The offensive player ran for Vancouver until the end of the 1972/73 season . His yield decreased drastically in his last NHL season, without the exact reasons for the drop could be determined within such a short time. For the season 1973/74 he still moved to the World Hockey Association for the Nordiques de Québec , for which he also did not complete ten games like the Broome Dusters from the North American Hockey League , before he started his career at the age of 35 from health Reasons for terminated.

After the end of his career, Balon was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis . Its initial symptoms had already shown in the last few years of his professional career and led to the rapid decline in his performance. Nevertheless, he remained loyal to ice hockey for many years and was the head coach of the Humboldt Broncos from the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. In the 1980s and 1990s, the athlete's health deteriorated noticeably. He finally died after more than 30 years of fighting the disease in May 2007 at the age of 68 in his adopted home Prince Albert in the province of Saskatchewan .

Achievements and Awards

Career statistics

Regular season Play-offs
season team league Sp T V Pt SM Sp T V Pt SM
1955/56 Prince Albert Mintos SJHL 14th 5 5 10 14th 12 3 2 5 14th
1956/57 Prince Albert Mintos SJHL 40 29 30th 59 112 13 5 5 10 15th
1957/58 Prince Albert Mintos SJHL 51 35 44 79 113 6th 3 1 4th 10
1957/58 Vancouver Canucks WHL 4th 0 2 2 8th - - - - -
1958 Regina Pats Memorial Cup 16 6th 4th 10 23
1958/59 Saskatoon Quakers WHL 57 12 25th 37 84 - - - - -
1959/60 Lions de Trois-Rivières EPHL 61 28 42 70 104 7th 2 2 4th 19th
1959/60 Vancouver Canucks WHL 3 1 1 2 2 - - - - -
1959/60 New York Rangers NHL 3 0 0 0 0 - - - - -
1960/61 New York Rangers NHL 13 1 2 3 8th - - - - -
1960/61 Kitchener-Waterloo Beavers EPHL 55 16 25th 41 77 7th 1 1 2 12
1961/62 New York Rangers NHL 30th 4th 11 15th 11 6th 2 3 5 2
1961/62 Kitchener-Waterloo Beavers EPHL 37 23 19th 42 87 - - - - -
1962/63 New York Rangers NHL 70 11 13 24 72 - - - - -
1963/64 Canadiens de Montréal NHL 70 24 18th 42 80 7th 1 1 2 25th
1964/65 Canadiens de Montréal NHL 63 18th 23 41 61 10 0 0 0 10
1965/66 Canadiens de Montréal NHL 45 3 7th 10 24 9 2 3 5 8th
1965/66 Houston Apollos CPHL 9 6th 6th 12 0 - - - - -
1966/67 Canadiens de Montréal NHL 48 11 8th 19th 31 9 0 2 2 6th
1967/68 Minnesota North Stars NHL 73 15th 32 47 84 14th 4th 9 13 14th
1968/69 New York Rangers NHL 75 10 21st 31 57 4th 1 0 1 0
1969/70 New York Rangers NHL 76 33 37 70 100 6th 1 1 2 32
1970/71 New York Rangers NHL 78 36 24 60 34 13 3 2 5 4th
1971/72 New York Rangers NHL 16 4th 5 9 2 - - - - -
1971/72 Vancouver Canucks NHL 59 19th 19th 38 21st - - - - -
1972/73 Vancouver Canucks NHL 57 3 2 5 22nd - - - - -
1973/74 Nordiques de Québec WHA 9 0 0 0 2 - - - - -
1973/74 Broome Dusters NEAR 7th 0 1 1 0 - - - - -
SJHL overall 105 69 79 148 239 31 11 8th 19th 39
WHL overall 64 13 28 41 90 - - - - -
EPHL overall 153 66 87 153 268 14th 3 3 6th 31
NHL overall 776 192 222 414 607 78 14th 21st 35 101

( Legend for player statistics: Sp or GP = games played; T or G = goals scored; V or A = assists scored ; Pkt or Pts = scorer points scored ; SM or PIM = penalty minutes received ; +/− = plus / minus balance; PP = overpaid goals scored ; SH = underpaid goals scored ; GW = winning goals scored; 1  play-downs / relegation )

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Balon, Dave
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Balon, David Alexander (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian ice hockey player
DATE OF BIRTH August 2, 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH Wakaw , Saskatchewan
DATE OF DEATH May 29, 2007
Place of death Prince Albert , Saskatchewan