Brian Glennie

Brian Glennie (August 29, 1946 – February 7, 2020) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1969 until 1979. Glennie was a master of the hip-check.

Amateur career Glennie was born in Toronto, Ontario. He had an outstanding junior career with the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey Association, eventually captaining the team to the 1967 Memorial Cup. As a PeeWee he was coached by future Toronto Maple Leafs coach Roger Neilson.

After junior Glennie joined the Canadian National Team program run by Father David Bauer for the 1967–68 season. He was a member of the Canadian team in the 1968 Olympics at Grenoble, France which won the bronze medal. This tournament was also representative of the IIHF World Championship.

Pro career As a pro Glennie went on to play 572 career NHL games, all but 18 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, scoring 14 goals and 100 assists for 114 points. Glennie, a defensive, hard-hitting defenceman was often paired with the offensively-skilled defencemen on the Leafs, such as Tim Horton, Börje Salming and more frequently former Marlboro teammate Jim McKenny. Glennie has described his playing style as "a standup guy who would take the guy out" and his partner would then "get the puck and start something happening." In 2008, The Hockey News ranked Glennie #6 on their list of the best all-time body checkers.

He was a member of Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series. While he did not have the opportunity to play against the Soviet Union, Brian played in Canada's three mid-series exhibition games, two against Sweden and one against reigning world champion Czechoslovakia. He counted the experience among the greatest of his life. The third NHL player to ever be prosecuted by local authorities with a crime resulting from action on the ice, Maloney was acquitted just under eight months later on June 30, 1976.

In 1978, Glennie joined Lanny McDonald in a Swanson Hungry-Man entree commercial in which Glennie rips off the door of the refrigerator. Glennie died in Ottawa at the age of 73 in February 2020 after years of declining health.

Honours and awards 1967 Memorial Cup (captain) Bronze medal 1968 Winter Olympics Inducted Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1964–65 Toronto Marlboros OHA 56 2 18 20 84 19 0 9 9 22 1965–66 Toronto Marlboros OHA 48 5 18 23 134 14 0 4 4 57 1966–67 Michigan State University WCHA 2 0 0 0 4 — — — — — 1966–67 Toronto Marlboros OHA 43 5 39 44 113 17 2 12 14 44 1966–67 Toronto Marlboros MC — — — — — 9 2 9 11 18 1967–68 Ottawa Nationals OHA Sr 30 2 10 12 20 — — — — — 1967–68 Canadian National Team Intl 10 2 10 12 20 — — — — — 1968–69 Rochester Americans AHL 15 1 1 2 16 — — — — — 1968–69 Tulsa Oilers CHL 25 4 7 11 40 7 1 3 4 12 1969–70 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 52 1 14 15 50 — — — — — 1970–71 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 54 0 8 8 31 3 0 0 0 0 1971–72 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 61 2 8 10 44 5 0 0 0 25 1972–73 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 44 1 10 11 54 — — — — — 1973–74 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 65 4 18 22 100 3 0 0 0 10 1974–75 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 63 1 7 8 110 — — — — — 1975–76 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 69 0 8 8 75 6 0 1 1 15 1976–77 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 69 1 10 11 73 2 0 0 0 0 1977–78 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 77 2 15 17 62 13 0 0 0 16 1978–79 Los Angeles Kings NHL 18 2 2 4 22 — — — — — NHL totals 572 14 100 114 621 32 0 1 1 66

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1968 Canada OLY 7 0 1 1 10 Senior totals 7 0 1 1 10