Former Hershey Bear Dennis Bonvie has officially been hired as a pro scout by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Bonvie, while never a part of the Washington Capitals organization, spent part of the 1998-99 with the Portland Pirates, the farm team that the Capitals shared that season with the Chicago Blackhawks.
After finishing out his pro career last season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the AHL’s all-time PIM leader was considered a strong candidate for the vacant assistant coach position with the Penguins. However, he recently withdrew his name from consideration for the job.
With the Bonvie hiring and former NHL enforcer Dave Brown continuing in his position as a scout with the New York Rangers, one thing is for certain, press boxes around North America will be well protected should any trouble ensue. Here is the link to the press release.
An enforcer as a scout? I guess it takes a keen eye for talent to determine which of your opponents’ players to thump.
4493 minutes in 871 games – MORE than a major per game average (5.16 minutes).
Almost 5 THOUSAND penalty minutes in the AHL… the guy deserves to sit in a press box for a while.
Good gig being with the Leafs too, we don’t expect the organization to be able to find any talent anyway.
Actually, there are numerous former enforcers who have gone on to become scouts. Archie Henderson, who played for the Caps and Hershey, was a scout for the Caps for a number of years and currently scouts for the Ottawa Senators.
Henderson and former Cap Gary Rissling tied for the Hershey team lead in PIM’s in the 1978-1979 season with 337 minutes each, and former Caps Nelson Burton and Blair Stewart skated alongside the much detained duo at the HERSHEYPARK Arena that season.
A pair of Wayne Gretzky’s former bodyguards, Warren Rychel and Dave Semenko have also gone on to NHL scouting jobs. Rychel, who protected Gretzky when they skated together for the Los Angeles Kings, scouted for Gretzky’s Phoenix Coyotes for a couple of years before moving into an ownership role with the Windsor Spiters of the OHL. Semenko, who ensured that Gretzky went untouched while racking up record point numbers with the Edmonton Oilers, still scouts for the club.
Dave Brown, a former Philadelphia Flyer, scouted for the Flyers for years before moving on to another scouting position with the New York Rangers.
My theory on enforcers being scouts is they must be smarter than most people think they are to be able to make a career out of pro hockey, despite possessing minimal hockey skills.