The Sports Roundup: A Birthday for a Great One

As any hockey fan, or any Canadian for that matter, can tell you, January 26th is no ordinary day on the calendar. Long celebrated by anybody who follows the game, January 26th has come to be more than a birthday, but also a red-letter date for the game of hockey. Like November 5th is to time-travel, January 26th is to hockey. It is of course, the day Fred Barrett was born.

Barrett's story begins, where he began, in a small Ottawa area hospital, on a snowy morning in January, 1950. At that time, few knew of the significance of the day or the moment. His mother naturally always felt he was special, but even a mother's intuition wasn't prepared for the bright future this little Bytown baby would bring.

Growing up in Ottawa life was fairly normal for Barrett; he went to school, he chewed bubble gum, and played hockey. Of course, he always seemed to have an extra step on the other ten year olds, and when he turned 15, he began playing with his hometown heroes, the famed Ottawa Capitals. After scoring 0 goals and 0 assists in only 2 games, he made the jump to the OHA, when he joined the mighty Toronto Marlboros, where he would enjoy a stellar three-year junior career playing defence.

But of course junior hockey was only the beginning of the Hall of Fame visitor's career. In the 1970 entry draft, the Minnesota North Stars made Barrett the 20th pick overall. After a mediocre (by Barrett's standards) rookie season, playing 57 games with 0 goals, 13 assists and a +2 rating, Fred spent the next season honing his craft with the Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League. Upon returning to the North Stars in 1972, the game of hockey changed forever.

Over the next eleven season in Minnesota, Barrett would play in over half the North Stars' games, notching over 20 goals and nearly a fifth of 600 assists, while patrolling the blue line. Highlights of those years include a -35 season on 0 goals and 15 assists in 1977-78 campaign and a -25 on 2 goals and 9 assists in 75-76. Despite not having much playoff success, the Barrett-led North Stars were one of the most visited teams in the NHL during the 1970's. Known for their outstanding play at home, the North Stars won almost half their games in Minneapolis-St. Paul in that era.

By the 1980's Barrett's role changed from star-defenceman to wily veteran, as he helped a slew of new faces turn the once-struggling team into a bona fide Cup contender, who reached the finals in 1981, only to fall to the mighty New York Islanders in five games. Following the 1983 season, Barrett was traded to the Los Angeles Kings where he would play 15 games, and record 2 goals, both of which we can assume were very important.

But as great as his career was, one can always look at Fred Barrett and wonder what could have been. Had it not been for the multiple injuries, he could have put up numbers that the players of today would only shake their heads at. Despite playing only 46 games in 1972-73 due to a broken hand, he was still able to record 2 goals and 4 assists. Then in 1973-74, after his own slap shot deflected off the boards and into his face, breaking his jaw, he was limited to only 40 games, but was still able tot notch 7 assists and 12 penalty minutes. One always has to wonder, not how great, but how much greater, could ol' Freddy have been?

Tonight, I, like most Canadians, will be raising my glass in a toast to Fred Barrett. Hockey Legend. Canadian Icon.