Doug Bentley

Douglas Wagner Bentley (September 3, 1916 – November 24, 1972) was a Canadian ice hockey left winger who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Black Hawks and New York Rangers as part of a senior and professional career that lasted from 1933 to 1962.

Bentley was born March 1, 1916, in Delisle, Saskatchewan.

He was the fifth of six boys and one of thirteen children.

His father Bill was a native of Yorkshire, England, who emigrated to the United States as a child and became a speed skating champion in North Dakota before settling in Delisle.

He became mayor and helped build the town's covered skating rink.

All of the Bentley children were athletes, and all six brothers played hockey.

Bill Bentley believed that all six boys could have played in the National Hockey League (NHL), though responsibilities on the family farm resulted in the eldest four boys spending the majority of their careers playing senior hockey on the Canadian Prairies.

Doug was a small, slender player, weighing only 145 lbs at the peak of his career, but he was an exceptionally fast skater and his father taught him to use his speed to avoid larger opponents.

He learned his trade with his brothers as they constantly played street hockey in the summers and on the ice in the winters.

Bentley's father flooded a sheet of ice that was the length of a regulation NHL hockey rink but much narrower, forcing the boys to develop the ability to maintain control of the puck while making fast, hard turns to reach the net.

Bentley's early career was spent with several senior teams throughout Saskatchewan.

He first played in his hometown of Delisle for the Tigers hockey team in 1932–33 before playing a year in Saskatoon, then another in Regina before settling in Moose Jaw for three seasons beginning in 1935–36.

He led the South-Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League in scoring in 1936–37 with 37 points and added another 14 in the playoffs, also leading the league.

In 1937, Bentley, along with future Hall of Famer Elmer Lach attended the Toronto Maple Leafs training camp; both were rejected as too small for the National Hockey League.

According to Lach, Conn Smythe, manager of the Leafs, saw Bentley and Lach and said "They were sending me big guys from the West, but instead they’ve sent me peanuts."

He moved to Alberta with brother Reg, and joined elder brothers Max, Wyatt and Roy with the Drumheller Miners of the Alberta Senior Hockey League (ASHL) for the 1938–39 season.

When not playing hockey, Doug helped run a gas station that the family purchased in Drumheller.

The Chicago Black Hawks signed Bentley to a contract in the fall of 1939.

He had previously been placed on the protected list of the Montreal Canadiens, meaning they were the only NHL team eligible to sign him to a contract.

They subsequently dealt his NHL rights to the Boston Bruins for Vic Myles.

When he and brother Max went to Boston for a tryout camp, Bruins' owner Art Ross declared them "among the worst amateurs to come to my camp".

However, by the time Chicago signed him, Bentley had established himself as one of the top forwards on the prairies.

Bentley appeared in 39 games in his rookie campaign with Chicago, scoring 12 goals and 19 points.

His brother Max joined him early in the 1941–42 season, and the pair were placed on a line together.

He was named to four NHL All-Star teams in his career and was the scoring leader in points and goals in 1942–43 and again in goals in 1943–44.

Bentley was one of six hockey playing brothers and at one point played with four of his brothers with the Drumheller Miners of the Alberta Senior Hockey League.

After two years of development with the Black Hawks, Bentley emerged as the NHL's scoring leader in 1942–43 with 73 points, a total that tied Cooney Weiland's NHL record for points in a season.

He was the first Black Hawks player to finish as the scoring leader, and finished second in voting for the Hart Trophy as most valuable player.

World War II had decimated the rosters of all NHL teams, and with the Black Hawks searching for players, Max and Doug convinced the team to sign their brother Reg.

He made NHL history when he played on the league's first all-brother line with Max and Reg in 1943.

The trio made history on January 1, 1943, when they became the first all-brother line the NHL had seen.

Two nights later, Max and Doug assisted on Reg's first, and only, NHL goal.

It is the only time in league history that a trio of family members recorded the goal and assists on a scoring play.

While Max and Doug were established NHL stars, Reg played only 11 games in his NHL career.

In 1943–44, Bentley again led the NHL in goal scoring with 38, and was named a first team All-Star at left wing for the second consecutive season.

His career was briefly halted in 1944 when, after playing an exhibition game with Chicago in Canada prior to the 1944–45 season, Canadian officials refused to allow him to return to the United States.

He was given permission by military authorities to return to his family farm for the duration of the war, and signed on to play with the Laura Beavers of the Saskatchewan Intermediate Hockey League.

Injuries forced him out of the NHL in 1951, but he returned in 1953–54 to play one last season for the Rangers with Max.

He spent several seasons as a player-coach for the Saskatoon Quakers, leading the team to the Pacific Coast Hockey League championship in 1952.

Bentley was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1964.