AHL Rochester Americans

Amerks To Induct Larry Hillman Into Team's Hall Of Fame

Published on March 4, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


(Rochester, NY)... The Rochester Americans announced today that Larry Hillman will become the 45th member of the Amerks Hall of Fame on Friday, March 27th at The Blue Cross Arena. The Amerks will take on the Lake Erie Monsters that night at 7:35 p.m. at The Blue Cross Arena.

"It is thrilling. We had an excellent team when I was there. It is always a team effort," said Hillman about the Calder Cup team. "I was the captain there that year and hopefully I helped us win the Cup."

Hillman, 72, played in six seasons (1961-62, 1963-68) with the Amerks, scoring 14 goals, 108 assists for a total of 122 points in 169 games played. He still ranks 12th on the team's all-time points list for defensemen. Hillman also helped the Amerks win their first Calder Cup in 1964-65 as the team's captain. In addition, he earned First Team AHL All-Star honors that season.

"It was big for everyone involved and for the city," said Hillman about Rochester's first Calder Cup championship.

That championship was the second of 10 he would be a part of in his 24 years in professional hockey, 22 as a player and two as a head coach. To go along with the one Calder Cup, he won six Stanley Cups (1955, 1962-64, 1967 and 1969), two Avco Cups (1977-78) and was part of a third Western Hockey Association title (1979). He also holds two places in Stanley Cup history, as the youngest player to be engraved on the Cup (18 years, two months and nine days) and the first player to win Cups with three different organizations.

He won his first Cup in 1955 with the Detroit Red Wings just after his 18th birthday. Hillman joined the Red Wings from the Hamilton Tiger Cubs of the Ontario Hockey Association. Thus, he established a record that can never be broken because of current National Hockey League rules. The rule states that a player must be 18 by September 15th to be eligible to play in NHL that season. Hillman won his last Cup with the 1969 Montreal Canadiens.

The 1967 Cup was the most thrilling for Hillman, as Toronto defeated Montreal and Chicago each in six games. That playoff, defensemen Marcel Pronovost and Hillman did not allow an even strength goal throughout the playoffs. The Cup was also the last for the Leafs and the last before the NHL expanded to 12 teams.

It was the biggest thrill of all of the Stanley Cups. It was the year before expansion and the best the NHL was with talent," said Hillman. "After we got beat 6-2 in Game One by Chicago we went with only four defensemen: (Allan) Stanley, (Tim) Horton, Pronovost and me. We (Pronovost and I) started every game and I got the most ice time of any Maple Leaf."

In his career, the Kirkland Lake, Ontario, native played in 791 NHL games with teams in Detroit, Boston, Toronto, Minnesota, Montreal, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Buffalo. During his tour in the NHL, he scored 36 goals and added 196 assists for 232 points. Hillman also appeared in 74 NHL postseason games, tallying two goals and nine assists for 11 points.

He also spent 319 games in the AHL, appearing in games with the Rochester Americans, Buffalo Bisons, Providence Reds and Springfield Indians. In 1959-60 with Providence, he won the league's Eddie Shore Award as the top defenseman and was a First Team All-Star.

Hillman ended his career with a three-year stint in the World Hockey Association. He played with the Cleveland Crusaders from 1973-75 and was a member of the Avco Trophy champion Winnipeg Jets in 1975-76. He ended his WHL career with six goals and 49 assists in 192 games. Hillman also won an Avco Cup the next year as the team's head coach and was the coach at the start of the Jets' 1978-79 championship season.

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