Mr BioFile Interviews by Scoop Malinowski
By Mark ‘Scoop’ Malinowski
Status: President of Hockey Operations for Las Vegas Golden Knights and former General Manager of Washington Capitals. Former NHL forward from 1983-1989 for New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils and Winnipeg Jets. Won Hobey Baker Award as top collegiate player in 1982 at Bowling Green State University.
Ht: 5-9 Wt: 170
DOB: July 2, 1958 In: Guelph, Ontario
First Hockey Memory: “Playing in the backyard rink that my father (George) built for us.”
Hockey Inspiration(s): “Bobby Orr. Probably Bobby Orr.”
Last Book Read: “I’m reading right now – I’m in the middle of a couple of them. Argo. I just read Argo. And I’m reading Fair Game (My Life As a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House) by Valerie Plame.”
First Famous Hockey Player You Met Or Encountered: “Eddie Shack. (Where?) I think I was playing a pee-wee hockey game in Elmira, Ontario and he was there on some promotional thing. And he skated around the ice and walked into our locker room to say hi to us. And we couldn’t believe how big he was.”
Greatest Sports Moment: “First NHL game. (Where?) In Philly. With the New York Rangers (playoff game in 1983).”
Most Painful Moment: “As a player? Not being able to play anymore due to a groin injury that they couldn’t seem to fix at the time. But a few years later doctors started going in and sewing up the abdominal tears that people had. But I had one of those but they weren’t doing it just yet.”
Most Memorable Goal: “First goal. (Against Flyers?) Second game in the playoffs.”
Funniest Players Encountered: “Ron Greschner. Barry Beck.”
Closest Hockey Friend(s): “Brian MacLellan.”
Fiercest Competitiors Encountered: “Terry O’Reilly. Scott Stevens.”
Embarrassing Hockey Memory: “I remember playing Tier 2 hockey. I was a rookie and they shaved the back of my head. I had a big bald spot on the back of my head, that I had to live with for a while.”
Funny Hockey Memory: “Probably one of the best was having President Clinton call Ron Wilson in ’98, right after we lost the Stanley Cup finals to Detroit. Ten minutes after the game we had someone call Ron and he thought it was the President. It wasn’t. But [smiles].”
Favorite Uniforms: “Washington Capitals [smiles]. (Number two?) I’ve always like the Leafs uniforms. And Detroit’s uniforms.”
Favorite Arena(s) To Play: “I liked playing – other than Madison Square Garden – I liked playing in the Philadelphia Spectrum. (Why?) Fans are right on top of you.”
Strangest Game: “Strangest…probably the Winter Classic when it rained. Never played in rain before. Never managed a game in the rain before [smiles].”
Favorite Sport Outside Hockey: “I like watching football. I like playing tennis.”
Three Athlets You Like To Watch & Follow: “I really loved (John) McEnroe. I really loved what he brought to tennis at that time. (Did you ever meet him?) Yes. Heckuva guy. Really a neat guy. That was a treat, after watching him play at Wimbledon, winning it, then a few years later getting to meet him. Other athletes…still like watching Nik Lidstrom play all those years. And Bobby Clarke. Bobby Clarke had something special as an athlete. Never saw anyone compete and work has hard as him.”
Personality Qualities Most Admired: “Well, what I really like most about working at this level, is the character of the people that play at this level. The bad guys get weeded out on their way up. And the guys at this level are, really almost to a man, hockey players are really impressive people, at the NHL level.”
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