Nilan made the record books with what has to be one of the most innovative plays seen this year. After getting a high stick near the eye from Pittsburgh's Paul Baxter. Nilan attacked his assailant, who wisely covered up in a heap on the ice. As he made his way to the penalty box. Nilan heard some remarks from Baxter which he apparently did not care for. Thinking that the moment required some decisive action. Nilan picked up a loose puck and, from the penalty box, winged it across the ice at Baxter, nailing him squarely on the head. The upshot was a three-game suspension and plenty of press.
"I regretted it," says Nilan of the incident. "Well, in a way. I regretted it publicly anyway. You know, guys come after you and you have to do these things sometimes." Nilan adds, however, that he doesn't have a reputation as an enforcer. "I don't know; if I have to help a player out I will. But I'm just going out there to play my game...I've established myself in the league. People know I'm not a goon. But I'm a physical player. I think my playing is opening up some people's eyes," he says speaking figuratively.
Nilan, you might surmise, is tough. Nevertheless, the only people whose eyes he wants to open up right now are in the Montreal management. He hasn't played much since he torpedoed Baxter and is hoping to get back in the lineup. "I've been in and out now for a while. I just want a chance to play regularly and then I think everything will be fine."
There are others, too, who have made the great leap forward. Joe Mullen, for instance, perhaps the greatest player ever to come out of Boston College, recently resurfaced on the St. Louis Blues after a lengthy sojourn in the minors. Only a few weeks ago. Mullen slammed the puck home twice in a mere eight seconds to push the Blues well out in front of Minnesota.
The future looks bright for Mullen, but the rolls are thick with others who have yet to make it. Former Crimson blueliner Jackie Hughes a veteran of three 'Pots is plying his trade in the unlikely locale of Fort Worth for a Colorado Rockies farm club, while one of Mullen's Eagle teammates. 1976 Beanpot MVP Paul Skidmore, is tending net in Salt Lake City for the Blues tranchise there.
And even if they do make it into the limelight, the task is by no means easy. Jim Craig, whose Olympian goaltending needs little introduction, spent much of last year off the ice and in a dispute with his employers, the Boston Bruins. This year, sans dispute. Craig is sidelined with a broken leg. But then, no one ever said pro hockey was a cushy line of business.