Once a Tiger,


always a Tiger: Maxwell made the most of his time as a player and a coach


RYAN MCCRACKEN


rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com Twitter: MHNMcCracken


Once a Tiger, always a Tiger.


It’s a belief shared by every player to pull the snarling Bengal over their shoulders since the Western Hockey League settled in Medicine Hat 50 seasons ago. But few exemplify the mantra better than Bryan Maxwell.


While a number of players have gone to work with the Tigers in various roles over the years, Maxwell is the only one to ever serve as head coach for an entire season — and oh what a season it was.


After taking a 48-19-5 record into the 1987 playoffs, the defenceman-turned-bench- boss led the Tigers all the way into Oshawa, where they etched the city’s name into Canadian hockey history with Medicine Hat’s first Memorial Cup championship.


“It was fantastic to be able to go back to where you played junior to win a Memorial Cup for the first time,” said Maxwell. “It was really nice to deliver that to Medicine Hat. It’s a second home to me and I have a lot of good friends there.”


Born in Ontario, Maxwell moved to Lethbridge at a young age, and in 1972 he made the trip to Medicine Hat hoping to become a forward with the franchise formed just two seasons prior. The only problem, the Tigers already had a wealth of talent up front.


“I was a forward when I came to camp and they were stacked at forward that year,” said Maxwell. “So I registered as a defenceman and ended up making the club. I didn’t think I was good enough.”


Maxwell quickly became friends with the likes of Bob Gassoff, Jim McCrimmon, Randy Aimoe and Murray Worley, and together the group of blueliners helped guide Medicine Hat to its first WHL championship in just its third season on the ice.


“We were tough,” said Maxwell. “I started with Bobby Gassoff, with Jimmy McCrimmon, the other two Gasoff brothers (Ken and Brad) and Barry Dean. It was a tough place to come and play and that’s why we had success.”


Maxwell went on to record 143 points in 163 games over three seasons with the Tigers before going fourth overall to the Minnesota North Stars in the 1975 NHL amateur draft.


14 | MEDICINE HAT TIGERS


He cracked the NHL in 1977 and ended up playing 331 games with the North Stars, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets and Pittsburgh Penguins. Maxwell ended up with 18 goals and 77 assists in his NHL career before opting to try his hand as a coach.


“I was having contract problems with Pittsburgh, so we rectified that at Christmas time and I was helping (coach) Doug Sauter with the (Tigers) at that time. We had a really good year that year. (Medicine Hat) went to the finals that year, I was kind of just helping out,” said Maxwell. “Dougie went to Regina (for the 1986-87 season) and then Russ (Farwell) hired me as the head guy in the Hat. We already had a good team, just needed a little bit of guidance.”


His roster included names like Mark Pederson — who went on to record 102 points under Maxwell — Guy Phillips, Wayne McBean and Trevor Linden, but Maxwell says the way the fans rallied behind the team became just as memorable.


“It was crazy. It was beachball season,” he said. “That was kind of our trademark. As we went right through the Memorial Cup, the beachballs were going through the stands. We got a little bit of heck at the Memorial Cup when it hit the ice so that had to stop. Our fans enjoyed it.”


Maxwell says he only has one regret from that unforgettable season. After going through the rigours of the Western Hockey League playoffs and subsequent Memorial Cup run, Maxwell’s Tigers were bloody and bruised, so he decided to take them on a retreat to Florida before returning home to the Gas City. Of course, there was still a mob of elated fans waiting for them when the bus pulled into Medicine Hat, but Maxwell says it’s something the city deserved to celebrate as soon as possible.


“We made a little bit of a mistake there,” he said. “We should have just come home and enjoyed the win with our fans. We did once we got back from Florida with everybody, we had a heck of a party.


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