Orland Kurtenbach

Orland Kurtenbach
Born	September 7, 1936 (1936-09-07) (age 75) Cudworth, SASK, CAN
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Left
Played for	Vancouver Canucks New York Rangers Toronto Maple Leafs Boston Bruins
Playing career	1954–1974

Orland John Kurtenbach (born September 7, 1936) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. A centre notable for his defensive skill and as one of the toughest fighters in the game, he played for several National Hockey League (NHL) teams during his twenty professional seasons, principally the Vancouver Canucks, with whom he became the NHL franchise's inaugural captain.

Early life

Kurtenbach was born in Cudworth, Saskatchewan. He grew up on a farm until his family moved to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, at age 10.^[1] It was at this time that Kurtenbach began playing organized hockey.^[1] Beginning as a defenceman, he moved to the centre position later in his career.^[1]

Playing career

Kurtenbach played in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) with the Prince Albert Mintos for two seasons, also making brief appearances with the Saskatoon Quakers of the minor professional Western Hockey League (WHL) during that time. In 1957, after Prince Albert was eliminated from the SJHL playoffs, Kurtenbach finished the season with the Flin Flon Bombers, where he helped the team win a Memorial Cup.

Kurtenbach turned professional in 1957–58, signing a C-form with the Vancouver Canucks of the WHL.^[1] He scored 54 points in 52 games en route to earning Rookie of the Year honours. In the playoffs, he helped the Canucks to a President's Cup championship.

The majority of the Kurtenbach's early professional career would be spent in the minors, splitting time between the AHL with the Buffalo Bisons, Springfield Indians and Providence Reds, and the WHL with the San Francisco Seals and the Canucks. His best season in this stretch was 1962–63, when he notched 87 points for the Seals in 70 games and led the team in scoring in the playoffs en route to winning the league championship.

During his time in the minors, Kurtenbach made two brief appearances in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins, totaling eighteen games, but would not play his first full NHL season until 1963–64 with the Bruins. In 1965–66, he became a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he played a primarily defensive role.^[1] Toronto coach Punch Imlach designated Kurtenbach to the bottom two offensive lines, while earning mostly penalty killing time.^[1] The following season, he joined the New York Rangers, where he spent four seasons. In the 1970 off-season, he was told by Rangers management he would be unprotected for the upcoming NHL Expansion Draft to be picked up by either the Buffalo Sabres or the Vancouver Canucks (the franchise left the WHL to join the NHL).^[1]

Kurtenbach's plaque on the Canucks' Ring of Honour in Rogers Arena.

Kurtenbach was obtained by the Canucks and was named the franchise's first NHL captain.^[1] He recorded at an NHL career high point-per-game pace with 53 points in 52 games, despite suffering a serious injury on December 23 that sidelined him until March 3.^[2] The following season, he registered a career-high 61 points in 78 games. Many of Vancouver's players left the club that season, defecting to the World Hockey Association (WHA) for larger salaries.^[3] Kurtenbach himself was offered a $150,000 contract with the Los Angeles Sharks, but he declined.^[3] He often played on a line with Wayne Maki and Murray Hall.^[1] Kurtenbach retired from the NHL after his fourth season with Vancouver.

Kurtenbach finished his NHL career with 119 goals and 213 assists for 332 points in 639 games, adding 628 penalty minutes. On October 26, 2010, Kurtenbach was the first Canucks player inducted into the team's Ring of Honour.^[1] A ceremony was held prior to a Canucks' game against the Colorado Avalanche.^[1]

Coaching career

The season after his NHL retirement, Kurtenbach joined the Seattle Totems of the Central Hockey League, moving behind the bench as head coach. After a losing season with Seattle, he coached two seasons with the Tulsa Oilers of the same league and won a championship in his first season with them, 1975–76, being awarded the Jake Milford Trophy as CHL coach of the year.

In 1976–77, Kurtenbach returned to the NHL to replace Phil Maloney midway through the season as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks. This would mark the third time in his playing and coaching career that he would represent Vancouver. However, after one and a half seasons and a 36–62–27 record, Kurtenbach was replaced by Harry Neale at the end of the 1977–78 season. Upon his replacement, Kurtenbach would only return to coaching to represent the Springfield Indians of the AHL in 1982 and the Richmond Sockeyes of the BCHL in 1986 before retiring.

Personal life

During his time with the Vancouver Canucks of the WHL, he met his wife, Laurel.^[1] In the 1980s and 1990s he lived in White Rock, BC and operated a south Surrey, BC golf driving range.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1954–55	Saskatoon Quakers	WHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1955–56	Saskatoon Quakers	WHL		3	0	0	0	4		2	0	0	0	0
1957–58	Vancouver Canucks	WHL		52	15	39	54	58		8	3	3	6	8
1958–59	Buffalo Bisons	AHL		70	9	14	23	73		7	0	0	0	0
1959–60	Vancouver Canucks	WHL		42	11	27	38	51		11	1	5	6	11
1959–60	Springfield Indians	AHL		14	0	6	6	17		—	—	—	—	—
1960–61	Vancouver Canucks	WHL		55	20	27	47	31		—	—	—	—	—
1960–61	New York Rangers	NHL		10	0	6	6	2		—	—	—	—	—
1961–62	Boston Bruins	NHL		8	0	0	0	6		—	—	—	—	—
1961–62	Providence Reds	AHL		64	31	33	64	51		3	1	1	2	5
1962–63	San Francisco Seals	WHL		70	30	57	87	94		17	4	13	17	51
1963–64	Boston Bruins	NHL		70	12	25	37	91		—	—	—	—	—
1964–65	Boston Bruins	NHL		64	6	20	26	86		—	—	—	—	—
1965–66	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		70	9	6	15	54		4	0	0	0	20
1966–67	New York Rangers	NHL		60	11	25	36	58		3	0	2	2	0
1967–68	New York Rangers	NHL		73	15	20	35	82		6	1	0	1	26
1968–69	Omaha Knights	CHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1968–69	New York Rangers	NHL		2	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
1969–70	New York Rangers	NHL		53	4	10	14	47		6	1	2	3	24
1969–70	Buffalo Bisons	AHL		6	1	5	6	2		—	—	—	—	—
1970–71	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		52	21	32	53	84		—	—	—	—	—
1971–72	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		78	24	37	61	48		—	—	—	—	—
1972–73	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		47	9	19	28	38		—	—	—	—	—
1973–74	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		52	8	13	21	30		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				639	119	213	332	628		19	2	4	6	70

Awards and achievements

Player

• WHL Rookie of the Year - 1958
• Cyclone Taylor Trophy (Vancouver Canucks' MVP) - 1971, 1972, 1973
• Cyrus H. McLean Trophy (Vancouver Canucks' leading scorer) - 1972 (tied with André Boudrias)

Coach

• Jake Milford Trophy (CHL coach of the year) - 1976

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l} Derek Jory (2010-10-25). "The first". Vancouver Canucks. http://canucks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=541520. Retrieved 2010-10-26. 
2. ^ "1970-71 Canuck Results". The Canuck Library. 2010-08-29. http://www3.telus.net/dmarchak/can1970.htm. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Ring of Hnour for Kurtenbach". Montreal Gazette. 2010-10-25. http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Ring+Honour+Kurtenbach/3721661/story.html. Retrieved 2010-10-26. 

External links

• Orland Kurtenbach's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• http://www.bcsportshalloffame.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?person_id=22&searchall=1
• Orland Kurtenbach's biography at Legends of Hockey

Preceded by Position created

NHL Vancouver Canucks captain 1971–74

Succeeded by Andre Boudrias

Persondata
Name	Kurtenbach, Orland
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 7, 1936
Place of birth	Cudworth, SASK, CAN
Date of death
Place of death