Victor Zamick (16 August 1926 – 8 October 2007), better known as Chick Zamick, was a Canadian ice hockey player and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

best known for his success as a player at the Nottingham Panthers. He is a member of the

British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame The British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame was founded in 1948 and is the third oldest ice hockey Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark th ...

and the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame.Harvey Rosen (January 10, 2008)
"Prolific scorer ‘Chick’ Zamick starred in England,"
''The Canadian Jewish News''."Chick Zamick; Canadian who played for Nottingham Panthers in the postwar heyday of English ice hockey,"
Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame.

Early life

Zamick was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and was Jewish.Bob Wechsler (2008)
''Day by Day in Jewish Sports History''
/ref> He was one of 10 surviving children (of 13) born to Jewish parents originally from Ukraine.">Full text of "''The Ottawa Jewish Bulletin'', vol. 72 iss. 9"
/ref> The children often went by the nickname "Chick", in reference to the number of pieces in a pack of Chiclets brand chewing gum (10). This nickname stuck to Victor. He began playing ice hockey at the age of 15 and played for the Cleveland Barons in the American Hockey League and St Catherine Teepees in the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey As ...

, and served in the Canadian Army, before his move to Europe.

Nottingham Panthers

In 1947 he was asked by Sandy Archer, who had grown up in Winnipeg, to join the Nottingham Panthers, who were in their second season. Zamick went on to play for the English club for 11 seasons. He won seven scoring titles, and had 778 career goals with the Panthers with 645 assists in 624 games. He finished as the club's top point scorer in every season and only failed to score above 100 points twice. His best season came in 1954-55 when he scored 169 points in 62 games. During the 1955-56 season he coached the Panthers to the

Autumn Cup The Autumn Cup was an ice hockey competition in the United Kingdom between 1946 and 2000. The competition was originally divided into English and Scottish competitions, known as the English Autumn Cup and the Scottish Autumn Cup between 1946 and 195 ...

Ahearne Cup Ahearne Cup or Ahearne Trophy is the name of two ice hockey tournaments, the first played from 1952 to 1977 and the second created in 2001. Both are named after British ice hockey promoter, J. F. "Bunny" Ahearne. The original Ahearne Cup The or ...

and league treble. He was voted on to nine consecutive All-Star teams. Zamick left Nottingham in 1958 to take up a three-year coaching position in Geneva, Switzerland. After returning to the United Kingdom he spent time playing for the Altrincham Aces and Wembley Lions.

Later life and death

After retiring from playing, Zamick opened several business in Nottingham including a dry cleaners, a sauna, and a squash club. Eventually Zamick moved to London. In 2005, a plaque was unveiled at the National Ice Centre commemorating his achievements. Zamick died after a short illness on 8 October 2007 at 81 years of age. He was survived by his wife Vera, four children, and six grandchildren.

Legacy

He scored 1,423 points in 778 appearances and remains one of the Nottingham Panthers' all-time leaders. His scoring records have only been surpassed by

Paul Adey Paul Adey (born August 28, 1963) is a former ice hockey player and coach. Adey enjoyed a notable playing career in British ice hockey, playing 11 seasons for the Nottingham Panthers between 1988 and 1999 and 29 games for the Sheffield Steelers du ...

, who is the only other player to have amassed more than 1,000 points for the club.

References

External links

*
Chick Zamick's biography
a

a
Obituary in ''The Times'', 17 November 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zamick, Chick 1926 births 2007 deaths British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Canadian emigrants to England Canadian people of Russian-Jewish descent Canadian people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Cleveland Barons (1937–1973) players Jewish Canadian sportspeople Nottingham Panthers players Nottingham Panthers coaches Ice hockey people from Winnipeg Wembley Lions players St. Boniface Athletics players British people of Russian-Jewish descent British people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England