Bruce Greig (May 9, 1953 – May 24, 2008) was a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

winger who played nine games for the

California Golden Seals The California Golden Seals were a professional ice hockey club that competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1967–68 NHL season, 1967 to 1975–76 NHL season, 1976. Based in Oakland, California, they played their home games at the Oa ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

and 60 games for the

Calgary Cowboys The Calgary Cowboys were an ice hockey team that played two seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1975 to 1977. The Cowboys played at the Stampede Corral in Calgary. The franchise was founded in 1972 as the Miami Screaming Eagles ...

Cincinnati Stingers The Cincinnati Stingers were an ice hockey team based in Cincinnati that played in the World Hockey Association from 1975 to 1979 and in the Central Hockey League during the 1979–80 season. Their home arena was Riverfront Coliseum. They are th ...

and

Indianapolis Racers The Indianapolis Racers were a major league ice hockey team that played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1974 to 1978. They competed in four full seasons before folding 25 games into the 1978–79 season. They played at Market Square ...

of the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

Playing career

Greig played 41 total games in major junior hockey with the

Medicine Hat Tigers The Medicine Hat Tigers are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) based in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Established in 1970, the team is tied with the Kamloops Blazers for the most Ed Chynoweth Cups as league cha ...

and the

Vancouver Nats The Vancouver Nats were a major junior ice hockey team based in Vancouver, British Columbia that played two seasons in the Western Canada Hockey League from 1971 to 1973. The team relocated in 1973 to Kamloops to become the Kamloops Chiefs before ...

in the WCHL in the 1971–72 and 1972-73 seasons, respectively. Although he was a fairly skilled player, he was relegated to the role of an enforcer, primarily due to his weight and size, something which was coveted by professional teams during this era of the "Big Bad Bruins" and the "Broad Street Bullies". However, there were many young enforcers coming up through the junior ranks during this period, and as a result Greig was selected 114th overall (8th round) of the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft by the California Golden Seals, and 111th overall in round #9 in the 1973 WHA Amateur Draft by the upstart

Cleveland Crusaders The Cleveland Crusaders were a professional ice hockey team from Cleveland. They played in the World Hockey Association from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1975–76 WHA season, 1976. Their home ice was the Cleveland Arena from 1972 to 1974, and t ...

, both, not overly high draft placings. After being cut from the Seals 1973 training camp, Greig chose to quit hockey and focus on other pursuits. However, he was called by the Seals organization during the mid 1973-74 season, and surprisingly was asked if he would report back to the Seals for a roster position for the remainder of the year. At the time, the Seals did not have a dedicated "enforcer", with the exception of skilled younger players such as Seals' rookie defenseman George Pesut who would occasionally step up and fill the role and protect teammates when necessary. However, for the skilled players, it was not deemed to be their role, and injuries were imminent. Consequently, the Seals were in need of a player with Greig's credentials and size. Greig accepted the Seals' offer and contract and joined the team in his new role. However, due to his lack of game shape at the time, he only played one game in the NHL for California in the '73-'74 season. On a conditioning stint, Greig then spent the remainder of the season (13 games) with the Seals' minor league team, the

Salt Lake Golden Eagles The Salt Lake Golden Eagles were a minor professional hockey team based in Salt Lake City from 1969 to 1994. History They played in the Western Hockey League from 1969 to 1974, the Central Hockey League from 1974 to 1984 and the International H ...

. The following season in 1974-'75, Greig played a total of 8 games for the Seals, accumulating 1 point, and 42 minutes in penalties, before being benched and sitting out the remainder of the season. The following year seemed to signal his decline in pro hockey, as he managed 10 games with the lowly

Flint Generals The Flint Generals were a minor professional ice hockey team based in Flint, Michigan. They were a member of the International Hockey League and played their home games at the Industrial Mutual Association (IMA) Sports Arena. The Generals won ...

in the International Hockey League and 1 game with the Seals main farm team, the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in the '75-'76 season. He recorded 5 assists and 88 minutes in penalties while playing in the minors. However, in the '76-'77 season, interest was rekindled in the form of the World Hockey Association's

, who signed Greig for his fighting prowess. He played in 7 games for the Cowboys, and split the season playing for their minor league affiliate the

Greensboro Generals The Greensboro Generals were an East Coast Hockey League team based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and played at the Greensboro Coliseum from 1999 to 2004. The name was originally used by the Greensboro Generals in the Eastern Hockey League. Th ...

. Following two seasons saw Greig traded to the

and

which had the likes of eventual superstar

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

and high scoring

Blaine Stoughton Blaine A. Stoughton (born March 13, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played twelve professional seasons. Stoughton played nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple L ...

on the roster. Greig played in another 53 games in the WHA, and in the years to follow, Greig played in numerous leagues and for a variety of semi-pro teams before deciding in 1985 that his hockey career had come to an end. After retiring from hockey Greig turned his exploits to

powerlifting Powerlifting is a competitive strength athletics, strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: Squat (exercise), squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athle ...

. He holds several Canadian powerlifting records, and eventually became president of the Canadian Powerlifting Council. He owned and operated a

gym A gym, short for gymnasium (: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learn ...

Okotoks Okotoks ( , originally ) is a town in the Calgary Metropolitan Region, Calgary Region of Alberta, Canada. It is on the Sheep River, approximately south of Downtown Calgary. Okotoks has emerged as a bedroom community of Calgary. According to t ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

with his wife, Wendy. He was the brother of NHL hockey player

Mark Greig William Mark Greig (born January 25, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Hartford Whalers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers ...

and the uncle of NHL prospect

Ridly Greig Ridly Greig (born August 8, 2002) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Senators in the first round of the 2020 NHL entry draft with the 28th overall p ...

Death

In 2008, Greig was involved in a single-car collision which claimed his life.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Greig, Bruce 1953 births 2008 deaths Calgary Cowboys players California Golden Seals draft picks California Golden Seals players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey left wingers Carolina Thunderbirds players Cincinnati Stingers players Cleveland Crusaders draft picks Dallas Black Hawks players Dayton Gems players Drumheller Falcons players Flint Generals players Greensboro Generals (SHL) players Indianapolis Racers players Medicine Hat Tigers players Mohawk Valley Comets players People from High River Salem Raiders players Salt Lake Golden Eagles (CHL) players Salt Lake Golden Eagles (WHL) players Tidewater Sharks players Toledo Goaldiggers players Vancouver Nats players