Biography of Brad Park

He had size and played aggressively, taking care of business in his own zone. Offensively, he was a pinpoint passer and a deceptive stickhandler, abilities which made him a natural and potent power-play threat. He had the skating speed and the instincts to join the rush, providing his team with a fourth attacker. But Park played at the same time as Bobby Orr, the greatest blueliner of any era, and later in his career his stellar achievements were second to Denis Potvin's dominating play with the powerhouse New York Islanders.

Park was the runner-up six times for the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defender and earned a berth on the league's All-Star Team seven times. He was an easy choice for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988. He wasn't very physically strong in his teenage years and, unlike Orr, who was touted as a star from an early age, Park would sneak up on the hockey world rather than define it. One of his schools, the Catholic Neil McNeil high school, furnished the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey Association with many of its young prospects. In 1965 Park and all but three of his teammates were invited to the Marlboros' training camp. Still physically small, Park escaped the notice of the Toronto coaching staff. He was preparing to play in the Junior B ranks when the Detroit Red Wings invited him to a junior camp. The Toronto Maple Leafs organization, which ran the Marlboros, got word of the invitation and put Park on its protected list.

He joined the Marlies for most of the 1965-66 season. Park gained weight, putting just under 200 pounds on his 6' frame, and his skating and puckhandling developed to the point that in the summer of 1966, just before the NHL Amateur Draft, he was considered a sure bet for the professional leagues. Park and his family were more modest and he expressed hopes of ending up with the Maple Leafs. Instead, he was chosen second overall by the New York Rangers. Park stayed with the Marlies for two more seasons, becoming an outstanding defenseman and making the league's All-Star Team in 1968. At his first training camp with New York, he was shy and reluctant to mix openly with the more experienced Rangers. He was assigned to the Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League, where he played 17 games before returning to the NHL to stay. He scored his first goal in a game against the Boston Bruins, though it meant little as New York was already leading 8-0. Park, with his characteristic dry humor, called his first goal the game's "clincher." After a solid rookie season, Park established himself as one of the top defensemen in the league in his second year. He earned the respect of his teammates and the fans in New York, and soon the whole league was talking about his savvy and poised play. Park was named to the NHL's First All-Star Team alongside Orr and placed second to the Bruins star in voting for the Norris Trophy. He was the youngest Ranger ever to earn a place on the league's first team. Park's offensive numbers improved in each of his first four years with the Rangers. He was chosen to play for Canada in the Summit Series in 1972 and was impressive on the blue line for the embattled Canadians, finishing with five points in eight games.

For the next several seasons, Park, whose Rangers had redeveloped into one of the league's better teams, was regularly compared to Orr, who was struggling with knee problems but still revolutionizing the position with his outstanding play. Park was an expert at taking forwards out of the play and away from the middle of the rink. Opponents would feel as though they'd beaten the defender to open ice, only to find they no longer had a good view of the net. Though Park had knee problems of his own, many hockey people predicted his career would stretch further than Orr's. That prediction would come true.