Q: They tell me, Mr. Rush, that you are a rabid hockey fan, so can I assume you are delighted to see the game back on TV?
A: I’m not as rabid as I used to be but I am pleased and I have laid in supplies — potato chips, beer and sunglasses.
Q: Potato chips and beer? I thought you were a non-drinker on a perpetual diet?
A: True enough, but my dogs like chips.
Q: And the beer?
A: The chips make them thirsty.
Q: Of course. And the sunglasses?
A: Don Cherry’s suits.
Q: How did you get through the past winter without hockey?
A: I saw a few movies; Planet of the Apes springs to mind. I watched the weather channel to see if anything would ever happen. I found a channel with Jack Benny and I read a book.
Q: One book?
A: It was thick.
Q: I understand you played hockey.
A: Indeed, I did. I played organized hockey for 30 years.
Q: Did you quit because of age?
A: No. In year 30, while playing in an industrial league in Montreal, I got a goal.
Q: A special goal?
A: Special to me. I mean, 30 years of hockey is a long time to go without a goal.
Q: You mean, that last goal was the only one you ever scored?
A: I might have got another but I was what we called a defensive defenceman. I was excellent at hacking and grabbing and chopping with my stick in our own end. And I could stop play by falling on the puck. But I rarely got to the other end of the rink.
Q: What about playing on the power play?
A: Not for me — my shot floated like a butterfly and, sadly, also stung like a butterfly. It was so slow that you could read the label on the puck as it went by.
Q: But didn’t you have a slap shot?
A: Sure. But the coach wouldn’t let me use it because, while it had some power, it usually rose 10 or 15 feet, and the net wasn’t that high.
Q: In your long career did you play in any famous arenas or with any hockey stars?
A: You bet. I played in the old Maple Leaf Gardens and the Montreal Forum.
Q: Were there crowds?
A: At three in the morning, you only got the cleaning staff and they had seen better players than me.
Q: You played at three in the morning in the Montreal Forum? Why?
A: Because I knew someday someone would ask me if I’d ever played in any well-known arenas. Besides, they wouldn’t rent us the ice any earlier.
Q: That makes some kind of sense. What about famous teammates?
A: One guy I played with went on to a career with the Minnesota Fighting Saints or maybe the Golden Seals, and another guy almost made the Maple Leafs — or perhaps he almost made one of their farm teams. And of course I was on the ice with Frank Mahovlich.
Q: You played with Frank Mahovlich?
A: Picky, picky. I always told my kids I was on the ice with Frank Mahovlich.
Q: Do I sense a fine distinction?
A: Yeah. We went to the same school and he was about 14 and played for the big team and I was 17 and about to be cut — something that happened every year — from a lesser team. But, before my last tryout ended, I jumped on the ice while Frank was skating off.
Q: Because?
A: So someday I could say I was on the ice with him. Even before he was old enough to shave you could see he would be an all-star.
Q: And you wouldn’t be?
A: Absolutely. IE