Hockey passion lands Allison in hall

Mike Allison was no taller than the rink boards when he started to dream about making it to the NHL.
“I think it began when I was when I was seven years old, thinking I was all the NHL superstars while playing hockey down in the basement,” said the Fort Frances native, who was named last Thursday as one of this year’s inductees into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in Thunder Bay.
“I remember watching Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday nights, back when hockey wasn’t on TV every night,” he noted. “I used to see the games, and sit and dream about playing there some day.”
Dreams can come true, but the road to entering the ranks of hockey’s elite league was paved with hard work, practice, and more hard work for the 11-year NHL forward.
Allison, 42, came up through the Fort Frances Minor Hockey Association before eventually becoming a standout player with the Muskies in the mid-1970s under head coach Doug McCaig.
Along with McCaig, Allison credited former coaches Gus Lindberg and current Muskie assistant coach Ken Christiansen as positive influences during his younger playing days here.
But it’s his father, Bill, whom Allison pointed to as the linchpin of all his eventual hockey achievements.
“He was the most instrumental person in my hockey career,” Allison stressed. “He helped keep me pretty level-headed and made [hockey] fun.
“It was important to him that if we were going to play, we had to make a commitment and had to stick to it,” he added.
Another important family member in Allison’s development was his older brother Dave, the current head coach of the local Borderland Thunder, who managed to make it to the NHL for three games with the Montreal Canadiens during the 1983-84 season.
“It helped that Dave went through the experience ahead of me,” said Mike. “I had a better idea what to expect after watching him.”
For his part, big brother is thrilled his younger sibling is getting his due.
“It’s a credit to his passion for the game and his perseverance to keep getting better,” Dave Allison remarked. “I don’t know of too many other players who wanted to use every second and every opportunity to get better more than him.
“He could switch from summer hockey to Bantam ‘B’ to an outdoor rink, and it would still be the same.”
After stints at the junior level with the Kenora Thistles, New Westminster Bruins, and Sudbury Wolves, Allison was drafted in the second round (35th overall) of the 1980 NHL entry draft by the New York Rangers.
He wasted little time making an impression as a 19-year-old rookie with the Broadway Blueshirts, scoring on his first shot on goal on his first NHL shift—with a little help from a legend.
“We were in the Boston Garden, facing the Bruins,” recalled Allison. “Phil Esposito was centering our line and he won a face-off back to me. I let go a feeble backhand from the top of the circle and it went in.
“It was exciting to get my first goal.
“Then three nights later, we were in Toronto against the Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada,” he continued. “I had Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg on my line, and they knew I was from Ontario and wanted to make me look good.
“I ended up with a hat trick that night. In fact, it seemed like the first 10 games, everything I touched went in.”
It was an auspicious freshman campaign for Allison, who finished the year with 26 goals and 38 assists for 64 points in just 75 games. Unfortunately for him, he would never experience that kind of offensive success again during his pro career.
The following season, he scored only seven times in 48 games, and only 30 in 143 contests the following four years.
His home arena switched from Madison Square Garden to Maple Leaf Gardens for the 1986-87 campaign after being traded to Toronto—ironic for someone who grew up rooting for the rival Canadiens.
“Being traded wasn’t something I was looking for, but I had some good moments there,” Allison said about his time in Toronto.
“Of course, there were also times where it would be very quiet in the Gardens, because the Leafs weren’t too good at that time, and I would hear someone yell out, “Allison, you’re a bum!”
“Of course, I probably played like I was,” he grinned.
Allison’s ice time dropped significantly during his time with the Leafs as compared to when he was in the Big Apple. Yet he still was taken aback by his trade to the L.A. Kings 15 games into the 1987-88 season.
“I didn’t want to get traded, but it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me,” Allison said about joining the Kings, creating a curious reunion of sorts with the victim of his first NHL tally—Rogie Vachon—who was now L.A.’s general manager.
He rediscovered his scoring touch with the Kings, scoring 30 goals in two seasons, while experiencing first-hand the resurgence of hockey in the U.S. which came with the Edmonton Oilers trading the NHL’s biggest superstar to the Kings.
“When Wayne Gretzky came for the 1988-89 season, it sure opened up southern parts of the U.S. to hockey,” noted Allison.
“The rink in L.A. was a real place to be, with all the Hollywood celebrities coming to the games,” he added. “I was pretty immune to being starstruck, but I did get to meet people like John Candy, who was quite charming, as well as Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, and Goldie Hawn.”
Allison hung up the blades after the 1989-90 season, finishing with 102 goals and 268 points in 499 career games. He went on to coach in the Ontario Hockey League and at Bemidji State University in Minnesota, as well as doing some radio broadcast work for the Kings.
His interests turned to teaching others about the sport when he became co-director of the Kings’ youth hockey camp. That job laid the foundation for him to create the A&A Hockey Camps, which he’s operated annually here since 1999 with his brother, Dave.
“You want to share some of your experiences and hopefully make it a positive experience for the young players,” Allison explained about why he dedicates his time at the amateur level.
“It’s great when you connect with the kids and see them smiling,” he added. “And it’s not really about the hockey itself, but about enjoying the off-ice activities even more.”
As for him taking his place alongside the greatest athletes ever from this region, Allison was hard-pressed to find the words.
“I was shocked and surprised. When they called me and told me earlier this year that I was nominated, it was exciting to finally hear that it might be coming through.
“I really don’t know what to say.”
When it comes to how he’d like people to look back on his career, Allison’s response is a mixture of comedy and contemplation.
“I’d like to be remembered as the best player ever to put on skates, but I know that’s not going to happen,” he chuckled, before adding, “I would hope they considered me an honest player with integrity, somebody who played hard but stayed within the boundaries.
“I had a journeyman career, but it was a good way to make a living.”
Allison will be officially enshrined during the Hall of Fame’s annual induction dinner Sept. 27 at the Valhalla Inn in Thunder Bay. Tickets cost $60 each ($30 of which is tax deductible), which can be ordered by calling 1-807-622-2852.
The other athletes being inducted this year are former NHL’er Norm Maciver, CIAU swimming standout Liz McKinnon, and Olympic wrestler George Saunders.
Being inducted in the “Builder” category is George Walters, who is being honoured for his more than 30 years of involvement as a dedicated volunteer and highly-respected track and field official.
And the 1974 Fort William National-Internationals Senior Little League Team, which claimed the Canadian Senior Little League title that year and represented Canada at the World Series, is being inducted in the “Team” category.
(Fort Frances Times)