Bruce Landon
Bruce Landon | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born |
London, Ontario, Canada | October 5, 1949||
Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||
Position | Goalie | ||
Played for | New England Whalers | ||
NHL draft | 39th overall, | ||
Playing career | 1969–1978 |
Bruce Landon (born October 5, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey executive and goaltender who was the longtime part-owner, president and general manager of the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League.
Playing career
Following a successful junior career with the
In
He had a second stint with Springfield at the start of the 1977–78 AHL season, but suffered a career-ending knee injury in practice and retired at age 28.
Landon finished his WHA career with 50 wins, 50 losses and 9 ties in 122 games, recording two shutouts and a 3.46 goals against average.
Hockey executive
After his retirement, Landon was hired by the
When the Indians were sold to out-of-town interests in 1994 and moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, Landon put together an investment group to secure an expansion franchise from the AHL, the Springfield Falcons.[8] The league, which is based in Springfield, was keen to maintain a presence in a city that has been hosted a team in the AHL and its predecessors for all but seven years since 1926. Landon was the president and general manager of the Falcons until 2014.
On November 3, 2007, the American Hockey League, in recognition of his years of service to hockey, held a "Bruce Landon Night" in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center.[9]
On February 4, 2014, Landon ended an era, stepping down as president, general manager and co-owner of the Springfield Falcons, and was named director of hockey operations by the team until the spring of 2016, when he retired shortly before the team was relocated to Tucson, Arizona. He was subsequently named a senior consultant by its successor franchise, the Springfield Thunderbirds, until retiring at the end of the 2016–17 AHL season.[10] Landon was honored by the city of Springfield by the renaming of a downtown street "Bruce Landon Way",[11] and was inducted by the AHL into the AHL Hall of Fame in 2016.[12]
His autobiography, The Puck Stops Here: My (Not So) Minor League Life, was published in 2019.[13]
References
- ^ "OHL 1968-1969 Regular Season Goaltending Stats". eliteprospects.com. Elite Prospects. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ^ ""Bruce Landon"". Internet Hockey Database. Ralph Slate. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ^ ""Bruce Landon"". Internet Hockey Database. Ralph Slate. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ^ 2019-20 American Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book. Springfield, MA: American Hockey League. 2019. p. 25.
- ^ 2019-20 American Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book. Springfield, MA: American Hockey League. 2019. p. 24.
- ^ 2019-20 American Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book. Springfield, MA: American Hockey League. 2019. p. 25.
- ^ 2019-20 American Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book. Springfield, MA: American Hockey League. 2019. p. 202.
- ^ Chimelis, Ron (June 13, 2019). "Landon's hockey book is a promise kept". Springfield, MA: Springfield Republican. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ^ The Hockey News, November 20, 2007, page 41
- ^ "After nearly 50 years, Bruce Landon's Springfield hockey career nears its end". masslive.com. February 28, 2017.
- ^ Dillon, Kevin (July 19, 2016). "Bruce Landon Way officially revealed as city honors Springfield's 'Mr. Hockey'". Springfield, MA: Springfield Republican. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ^ 2019-20 American Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book. Springfield, MA: American Hockey League. 2019. p. 39.
- ^ Frenier, Adam (November 27, 2019). "After Decades In Springfield's Pro Hockey Scene, Bruce Landon Tells His Story". NEPM. New England Public Radio. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Springfield Falcons home page