SEPTEMBER 1, 1947
PACKERS LOOK TO BE CLASS OF NAHC
Looking at scouting report ratings alone, it certainly appears the Chicago Packers are poised to lift the Challenge Cup for the first time in their history next April. Preseason action is still a month away so Packers fans should not make plans to attend a Challenge Cup parade in front of the Lakeside Auditorium in the spring just yet, but the club looks loaded with talent and may finally have enough depth to go all the way.
TWIFB asked the league scouting service to rank NAHC players on a 1-5 star basis with five being the very best. Below are the results as we listed each player from the six surviving NAHC teams with at least a 2.5 star rating. The result is no other club can compare to the 16 names the Packers placed on the list.
The Packers have a superstar in two-time McDaniels Trophy winner Tommy Burns, an outstanding goaltender in Norm Hanson and a deep crop to surround them with including 4 newcomers to the organization in defenseman Jesse Santoro and forwards Leon Seguin, Jeremy MacLean and Derek Grubb.
Boston might have a little more high end talent led by veteran forwards Wilbur Chandler and Tommy Hart as well as the return of goaltender Tom Brockers after en exile to the now defunct Brooklyn Eagles, but the Bees may be hard pressed to match the Packers depth. The Montreal Valiants, with ex-Eagle Ian Doyle joining the mix, may also challenge while Toronto looks to have the inside track on the fourth and final playoff spot thanks to a talented pair of pivots in vet Bobbie Sauer and Quinton Pollack, who was named rookie of the year after a 30-goal season in Brooklyn a year ago.
Here is a look at how each club stacks up, according to the scouting service.
AROUND THE NAHC
BEES REFUSE TO DISCUSS RUPP ROW
From Finn LeBec, Boston Globe -- Waldemar Rupp, the Berlin-born long-time Boston Bee, was involved in an unspecified off-ice incident that has apparently upset defenseman Len Bentley. There are no previous documented problems between the two long-time teammates and Boston management is very tight-lipped on what transpired between the two.
In my opinion, the rumors of a rift between Rupp and any of his teammates about the recent war and Naziism is completely unfounded. Rupp moved to Canada as a young boy, in part to flee the Kaiser and was Canadian-trained. Secondly, Rupp, an alternate captain, has been an integral part of the strong nucleus in Boston that has raised the Challenge Cup five times in seven years. Bentley is also part of that nucleus.
It is clear in my recent interactions with Rupp that he is not happy about the club making the decision to sign 1945 first-round draft pick RW Garrett Kauffeldt and being bumped down the depth chart. Rupp is entering the last year of a four-year contract and definitely sees himself as a front-line player. I think Bentley was put-off by Rupp's reaction, as he is in a similar situation with the signing of 1944 third-round pick defenseman Mickey Bedard. Bentley has slipped in the depth chart as well, but he is not whining about it.
DUTTON AND DENMAN WILL NOT RETURN TO MOTORS
From Dan Urbanski, Detroit Times --Veteran defenseman Bernie Dunton and Phil Denman are both still looking for work after the duo elected not to resign with the Detroit Motors. Dutton, 36, has been a key piece on the Detroit blueline for well over a decade and was asked by the club in April to return for another season. He refused, citing concerns over a lack of ice time last year but now after receiving no interest from any of the other five NAHC clubs he has apparently reconsidered and wants to rejoin Detroit. The Motors have not addressed Dutton specifically, but a club spokesman said the team has one open contract left for the upcoming season and it will likely be used on a forward. Dunton had 10 points in 36 games with Detroit a year ago -a career low.
Denman is just 33 and likely miscalculated his value around the league, something that was compounded by the flood of available players with the decision of the Brooklyn Eagles to suspend operations. He tallied 12 points in 36 games for Detroit last season -his first full campaign in the Motor City after winning a pair of Challenge Cups with the Toronto Dukes.
OTHER HEADLINES THIS WEEK
- 3 more homers for Bobby Barrell and the Philadelphia Keystones slugger -who now leads FABL in all three triple crown categories- is just 4 longballs shy of Max Morris' record 60 in a season.
- The Federal Association race is over but the Continental representative for the World Championship Series is very much in doubt with the Philadelphia Sailors in a slump, and their lead on the New York Stars and Cincinnati Cannons shrinks to a game and a half.
- "Not Interested." That was the two-word answer American Football Association President Jack Kristich gave after the Continental Football Conference offered to play a winner-take-all game between the champion of the two loops in December.
- Fight magnate Chester Conley promises a record crowd to see a boxing match when Hector Sawyer faces the west coast's best hope in Dan Miller at Santa Ana Stadium 10 days after the venue hosts the East-West Classic collegiate football game. Conley predicts as many as 80,000 will be in attendance.
- The Atomic Energy Commission says it has 'tamed' the A-bomb and is now preparing to put atomic power to industrial use.
- The United Nations Special Committee on Palestine was reported set to recommend that the British mandate over the Holy Land be ended as soon as possible, with the majority in favour of splitting the country into independent Jewish and Arab nations.
Full national sports coverage is available in this week's edition of
THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL.