Gordon Berenson

Gordon Berenson
Date of birth	December 8, 1939
place of birth	Regina , Saskatchewan , Canada
Nickname	Red
size	183 cm
Weight	86 kg
position	Left wing
Shot hand	Left
Career stations
1956-1958	Regina Pats
1958-1959	Flin Flon Bombers
1959-1962	University of Michigan
1962-1966	Montréal Canadiens
1966-1967	New York Rangers
1967-1971	St. Louis Blues
1971-1974	Detroit Red Wings
1974-1988	St. Louis Blues

Gordon Arthur "Red" Berenson (born December 8, 1939 in Regina , Saskatchewan ) is a former Canadian ice hockey player (center) and coach who worked for the Montréal Canadiens , the New York Rangers , the St. Louis Blues and from 1961 to 1978 the Detroit Red Wings played in the National Hockey League .

Career

As a junior he played for the Regina Pats in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and with the Flin Flon Bombers in the WCJHL. In late 1958 he joined the Belleville McFarlands , who took part as a Canadian team in the 1959 Ice Hockey World Championship and won the gold medal. Berensen shone as a nine-time goalscorer.

Contrary to the advice of the Montréal Canadiens , who had secured the rights to him, he moved to the University of Michigan in 1959 and played there in the NCAA . There, too, he was one of the absolute top scorers.

After the end of the college season, he moved to the end of the 1961/62 season for the Canadiens and brought it in the remaining four games of the regular season and the five games in the playoffs on three goals. He was the first player to make the leap from the US college league to the Canadiens. Another four years he was part of the Canadiens squad. Since the Canadiens in the center position were excellent with Jean Béliveau , Henri Richard and Ralph Backstrom , he often played in one of the farm teams. Initially with the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens in the EPHL, later with the Quebec Aces in the American Hockey League . In 1965 he won the Stanley Cup with Montreal .

For the 1966/67 season he moved to the New York Rangers , but the year and a half there were disappointing and the Rangers gave him together with Barclay Plager to the St. Louis Blues . Here Berensen flourished and, although almost 20 games had been played when he moved, he was still the best scorer in the Blues. His new trainer, Scotty Bowman , made the Red Baron a workhorse. He played on both special teams and was on the ice for between 35 and 40 minutes in each game.

In the following season 1967/68 he brought it to 82 scorer points. A particular highlight were his six goals, which he scored in an 8-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers and it could have been more, because he hit the post four more times in this game. None of his goals in this game was a dust collector or a power player . As the strongest of the new expansion teams, the Blues regularly reached the Stanley Cup finals at the end of the 1960s , but the representative of the Original Six Teams was always an indomitable opponent. Towards the end of the 1970/71 season , the Blues wanted to get Garry Unger from Detroit and gave Berenson to the Detroit Red Wings . He was also a solid scorer in Detroit and was appointed to the Canadian team at the 1972 Summit Series , where he played two games.

After four years, during the 1974/75 season , the Blues brought him back as head of their checking series. He fulfilled this role well and was able to score more than 20 goals in two seasons and was team captain in his final season. After the end of the 1977/78 season he ended his active career and became assistant coach with the Blues.

After 18 months as an assistant, he took over the post of head coach. After an outstanding 1980/81 season , he received the Jack Adams Award for best coach in the league. But since the team could not maintain the high level of the first season, he was fired in 1982. Berenson became the assistant to his former trainer, Scotty Bowman, with the Buffalo Sabers . In 1984 he got an offer to train his former university team at the University of Michigan. He left the NHL and continues to work there as a coach.

In 2006, Berenson received the Lester Patrick Trophy for services related to ice hockey in the United States, before being honored with induction into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018 .

NHL statistics

	Seasons	Games	Gates	Assists	Points	Penalty minutes
Regular season	17th	987	261	397	658	305
Playoffs	11	85	23	14th	37	49

Awards and records

• 1981: Jack Adams Award
• 1982: bronze medal at the world championship
• 2006: Lester Patrick Trophy
• 2018: Induction into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame

• 6 goals in an away game ( 7 November 1968 8-0 at the Philadelphia Flyers )

Web links

• Gordon Berenson at hockeydb.com (English)
• Gordon Berenson at legendsofhockey.net (English)