Dennis Polonich
Dennis Polonich | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Foam Lake, Saskatchewan , Canada | December 4, 1953||
Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) | ||
Weight | 166 lb (75 kg; 11 st 12 lb) | ||
Position | Centre/Right wing | ||
Shot | Right | ||
Played for | Detroit Red Wings | ||
NHL draft |
118th overall, 1973 Detroit Red Wings | ||
Playing career | 1973–1987 |
Dennis Daniel "Polo" Polonich (born December 4, 1953) is a Canadian former professional
Playing career
Junior hockey
Standing only five feet, six inches, and while playing for the
Professional hockey
In the 1974–75 season, Polonich joined the Virginia Wings of the American Hockey League (AHL). He led the Wings in penalty minutes, and his 34 points helped them reach the playoffs, where he was the team's leading scorer in their short playoff appearance. Towards the end of the regular season, Polonich joined the Red Wings for his first four NHL games, recording no points or penalty minutes. After a quick stint with the Kalamazoo Wings of the International Hockey League (IHL), Polonich became a full-time Red Wing in the 1975–76 NHL season. The Red Wings were retooling, adding toughness and grit to their roster after a few disappointing seasons and Polonich fit the bill. Although small, Polonich brought an instant force to the team. Polonich set a club record on March 24, 1976 by sitting out eight penalties – five minors, a major and a misconduct.[citation needed] Polonich became the first rookie to be penalized more than 300 minutes in one season.[3]
"If I had stayed out of the box a little more, I might have scored 20 or 25 goals, you have to have a mighty long stick to score from the penalty box."
In the 1976–77 NHL season Polonich had a short tenure as captain of the Detroit Red Wings while Danny Grant was injured. He finished second in team scoring with 46 points and led the team (second in the league behind Tiger Williams) in penalty minutes with 274. He again led the team in penalty minutes the following season.
On October 25, 1978, Polonich got under the skin of the
In 1982, Polonich filed a civil suit against Paiement in
Polonich suffered from breathing problems for the remainder of his career. The Detroit Red Wings general ganager Ted Lindsay testified at the trial that Paiement hit Polonich with a baseball-type swing.[1] Wilf Paiement was fined $500 (the maximum permitted under NHL rules) and suspended by the NHL for 15 games,[1] the longest NHL suspension since the beginning of the "Original Six" era.
Polonich's career would taper off following the incident, playing just 109 more NHL games with 4 goals during that time, compared to the 55 goals in his previous 277 NHL games.[2]
After five and a half seasons with the Red Wings, Polonich was sent down to the AHL after the 1980–81 season and, besides 11 games in 1982, remained there. He helped the Adirondack Red Wings reach the playoffs twice, winning the Calder Cup in 1981, in the following four years before jumping to the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the IHL. Polonich retired in 1987 one year after winning the Turner Cup.
Post-playing career
Following his retirement from professional hockey, Polonich was hired as the General Manager and
Polonich became a player agent following his hockey management career.
Polonich played in the 2009 NHL Winter Classic alumni game.[8]
Records
- Red Wings club record: Sitting out eight penalties in one game - five minors, a major and a misconduct. (1976)
Career statistics
Regular season
|
Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
1971–72 | Flin Flon Bombers | WCJHL | 65 | 9 | 21 | 30 | 200 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 41 | ||
1972–73 | Flin Flon Bombers | WCJHL | 68 | 26 | 48 | 74 | 222 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 38 | ||
1973–74 | London Lions | Britain | 67 | 17 | 43 | 60 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1974–75 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1974–75 | Virginia Wings | AHL | 60 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 194 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 30 | ||
1975–76 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 57 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 302 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1975–76 | Kalamazoo Wings | IHL | 5 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1976–77 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 79 | 18 | 28 | 46 | 274 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1977–78 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 79 | 16 | 19 | 35 | 254 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 19 | ||
1978–79 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 62 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 208 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1979–80 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 66 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 127 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1980–81 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 32 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 77 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1980–81 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 40 | 16 | 13 | 29 | 99 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 95 | ||
1981–82 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 80 | 30 | 26 | 56 | 202 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | ||
1982–83 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1982–83 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 61 | 18 | 22 | 40 | 128 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | ||
1983–84 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 66 | 14 | 26 | 40 | 122 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1984–85 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 53 | 18 | 17 | 35 | 133 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1985–86 | Muskegon Lumberjacks
|
IHL | 78 | 32 | 36 | 68 | 222 | 14 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 36 | ||
1986–87 | Muskegon Lumberjacks | IHL | 22 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
NHL totals | 390 | 59 | 82 | 141 | 1242 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 19 | ||||
AHL totals | 360 | 110 | 124 | 234 | 878 | 30 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 135 |
References
- ^ ISBN 9780773731165. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Daniels, Calvin (February 18, 2016). "Reflecting on long career in hockey". Yorkton this Week. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
- ISBN 9781926685427. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
- ^ New York Times. p. B9. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
- ISBN 9780697101471. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
- ^ a b Joyce, Randolph (August 30, 1982). "Another black eye for hockey's image". Maclean's. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
- ^ "Terrier History". yorktonterriers.com. Yorkton Terriers. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
- ^ Campbell, Tim (December 31, 2016). "Kris Draper stirs up Centennial Alumni Game". NHL.com. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Dennis's Bio on Detroit Red Wings.com