The 1961-62 Toronto Maple Leafs, winners of the first of three consecutive Stanley Cup championships. He thought going there was awful but in some little ways it helped his hockey." "He spent part of a year with (coach) Eddie Shore in Springfield (in 1962-63) and I think it was beneficial to him in his passing the puck," said Keon, whose maiden training camp with Toronto in 1960 was Hillman's first season with the team.
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It wasn't easy to crack a Toronto blue line that featured Tim Horton, Bobby Baun, Carl Brewer and Allan Stanley. Hillman would play parts of the next eight seasons with defense-deep Toronto, though with long stretches played with Rochester of the AHL. The Maple Leafs rode to his rescue, in a sense, at the 1960 intra-league draft. He was claimed by the Chicago Black Hawks in the June 1957 intra-league draft but was plucked off pre-season waivers four months later by the Boston Bruins.Ī steady player in 1957-59 for the Bruins, Hillman still found himself the following season with Providence of the American Hockey League, mired again in the minors. Hillman played parts of two seasons with Detroit following the 1955 Stanley Cup win, but ultimately was sent to Edmonton of the Western Hockey League. Maple Leafs' Larry Hillman keeps an eye on New York Rangers forward Ted Hampson in front of goalie Cesare Maniago during a Toronto home-ice victory on March 4, 1961. But that's just a sliver of his remarkable road through hockey.
He played professionally for 15 teams in four leagues between 1955-76, skating in the NHL, WHA and the Western and American leagues. Hillman's career was more colorful than a box of Crayolas. Can you believe I hit a home run in every game? I hit one against Larry, who was pitching for Kirkland Lake. We played three games and I had an exceptional tournament. In 1957, we had a big (softball) tournament up in Kirkland Lake with a half-dozen of the best teams in the area. "He was a great fastball pitcher, he had an underhand whip, like the famous Eddie Feigner of King and his Court. "But my greatest experience with Larry wasn't in hockey," the 'Big M'added. "He let you know he was ready, he was always prepared and that's why a lot of teams like to have him around. "Larry was a good team man, he played a team game," Mahovlich said.
Hall of Famer Frank Mahovlich, who also won four Stanley Cup championships with Hillman in Toronto, remembered a solid presence on the Maple Leafs blue line. He cleared the front of the net and got the puck out."
"He would be our fifth defenseman but he worked really hard, he was always in shape, he always had a great outlook and he was encouraging all the time. "Larry was a great teammate and a great friend," said Dave Keon, the Maple Leafs icon who was Hillman's teammate on all four Cup champions. Often called Morley (his middle name) by teammates, Hillman was a favorite of every goalie in front of whom he played, a rugged 6-foot, 185-pound shot-blocking, crease-clearing defender who was happy to never leave his own zone with NHL teams that also included the Minnesota North Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and Buffalo Sabres. The native of Kirkland Lake, Ontario won the Stanley Cup with the 1954-55 Red Wings, the Maple Leafs in 1961-62, 1962-63, 1963-67, and the 1968-69 Montreal Canadiens. Toronto Maple Leafs defensemen Larry Hillman (left) and Tim Horton support goalie Don Simmons during the 1963 NHL All-Star Game at Maple Leaf Gardens. Hillman, a six-time champion on three of the NHL's so-called Original Six teams whose famous "Hillman Hex" on the Toronto Maple Leafs is or isn't still alive, died late Friday at age 85. Today, a player must be 18 years old at the start of a season to be eligible to play his rookie NHL season. Hillman should hold an NHL record forever, having won the Cup at age 18 years, two months and nine days old with the 1954-55 Detroit Red Wings, the youngest player to ever have his name engraved on the trophy.
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