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Rick Kehoe
Former Hamilton Red Wing went on to long career with Pittsburgh Penguins Born in Windsor in 1951, Rick Kehoe started his hockey career playing for the London Knights of the OHA in 1969. After 23 games he went to play with the Hamilton Red Wings the same season as part of a seven-player swap between the two teams, and at first was not getting much ice time in Hamilton. “In most games, I would only get on the ice once,” he said in a December 1970 interview. “I was getting pretty discouraged but I didn’t say anything to the coach (Eddie Bush). I figured if he was going to play me, he would play me. I wanted to play hockey so I just waited for my chance.” The defenseman moved to the Hamilton area, and finished his high schooling at Central. And in his second year with the Red Wings, Kehoe was given his head, scoring 39 goals and 41 assists in the 1970-71 season. His play was noticed by the Toronto Maple Leafs, who took him as its first draft choice in the NHL’s Amateur Draft. He played 38 games with the Leafs, and then went to the Tulsa Oilers of the CHL the same season, picking up 18 goals in 32 games. For the 1972-73 season, he returned to the Leafs, amassing 33 goals in 77 games. At 20 years of age, Kehoe took his duties as a veteran. “You just play, that’s all,” he said in February of 1972 after getting called back to the Leafs. “You’ve got to hustle. You’ve got to be defensive, too. There is more stress on backchecking and positional play. I’ve still got a lot to learn.” After the 1973-74 season, Kehoe was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and remained a player with the team for 11 seasons, and went on to become one of the team’s stars. Between 1974-75 and 1982-83 he scored 25 goals for nine straight years. In the 1980-81 season, he won the Lady Byng Trophy for his 55-goal effort. He retired early in the 1984-85 season due to a serious neck injury, but remained with the Penguins as a scout and assistant coach until part way through 2002, when he took over as bench boss for the team for the 2002-2003 season. He was then head coach for a short time for the Pittsburgh AHL franchise, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the 2005-06 season, and also scouted with the New York Rangers. Kehoe played 906 games in the NHL, scoring 371 goals and 396 assists.
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