John Wensink - the brawler, gouger and biter?

[Schultz]

Here's a story I found in a 1979 Hockey magazine titled: JOHN WENSINK: WIRED FOR ACTION

The Bruins were playing the LA Kings at Boston garden when, as the story goes, a new player skated onto the ice, a heavy-set chap with a mustache and frizzy hairdo.

"Ooh" said one LA defenseman to his partner "see that No 18?" "Yeah". "Stay away from him." "Oh Yeah?" "Yeah, he's the guy who tried to bite the guy's ear off in the American League." "Oh"

This happened late in the 1976-77 season when the 200-pound left-winger was summoned from Boston's AHL affiliate at Rochester,NY.

But Wensink's reputation has preceded himm. Wesink was known as a brawler, a biter, a gouger, a guy who'd go bananas in the middle of a fight. And then who could tell what'd happen? The man, you see, had become a lengend of sorts.

There were the stories from his junior days at Cornwall,Ont, in the Quebec League. There were more tales after the St Louis Blues had taken him in the 7'th round of the 1973 amateur (junior) draft. Wensink had been a low-scoring big penality for the Cornwall Royals.

Blues boss Lynn Patrick claims Wensink "was one of the best hockey fighters I've ever seen." And this, plainly was the main reason he was drafted, strictly as a muscle man.

Wensink couldn't make the Blues so he was shipped to the Rochester Americans where he he somehow accumulated 139 penalty minutes in 36 games during the 1973-74 season. He was under AHL suspension for part of that season.

It should be mentioned too, that Rochester's coach was Don Cherry. It was Cherry, above all, who has played a major role in Wensink's professional hockey career. But that rushes the story.

Suffice to say that Cherry found a useful role fro Wensink - intimidator. Cherry was a tough customer as a player, an enforcer. So he and Wensink was kindred spirits.

In 1974-75, ther's a gap in Wensink's career. He was assigned to the Denver Spurs in the Central League but injured his back and underwent a spinal fusion. Therer was no hockey at all in 1975-76. Wensink spent a good part of his recovery around St Louis where he'd met and married his wife.

And there was more of course, the trips back home to the farm at Corwall,Ont, where Wensink has worked the typical long hard hours of a farmer. "Like you'd expect, I had my chores" recalled Wensink. "Everybody works on a farm."

There wasn't that much time for hockey. Perhaps this is why Wensink never became a ploished skater. But he did hone his biceps. John, if pressured, will admit to one of the legendary stories about himself - how he stood with 2 empty 50 gallon milk cans and held them, fully extended for 20 minutes - to win a $5.00 wager. "It's true. It was kind of a silly thing to do. But I was dared and accepted. I guess the guys wanted to see how strong I was. But I never liked using my strength for stupid things. Now digging postholes for a fence or someting like that, well that was different,"

While Wensink was recovering from his back surgery, St Louis dropped him from its roster. He was unemployed, a free agent with not too many prospects for a job. After all he wasn't a scorer. And he wasn't a playmaker. And his skating was suspect is as kind a word as any.

Just about this time is where Cherry came back into Wensink's life. He always had a fondness for Wensink's toughness. Anyay he petitioned Bruins General Manager Harry Sinden to make a place for Wensink on the Rochester roster. The salary was not forbidding. Wensink was on the payroll however and now Cherry could watch and hear of his progress. The back didn't kick up. And the fight resumed - 145 penalty minutes in 49 games.

Then came the big move. The Bruins found rivals picking on some of their smaller forwards, like Jean Ratelle and Gregg Sheppard. Wensink was summoned to take care of the culprits. And he did.

To backtrack a bit, when Ratelle was with the NY Rangers, rivals knew the way to win was to pound Ratelle. Few of his teammates would come to Ratelle's assistance. And Ratelle, all hockey knows, is not a fighter. He's just one of the classiest playmakers around. Well never know but if we recreated Cherry's first chat with old pal Wensink when he came to the varsity, it probably went something like this: "John, we don't need scoring. What we need is somebody to keep a little order around here." "What we really need John old man, is somebody to pound anybody who even looks cross at Ratelle or Sheppard - or anybody else. What I'm talking about John is we need somebody to set things on course. Understand?"

Wensink needed nobody to draw pictures. Guy Lafleur he's not. But he can fight. Oh can he fight! And it takes all kinds -fighters too - to make a successful hockey team. Show me a team with no "enforcer" and I'll show you a loser.(Oh how true!)

Travel in the NHL of course was better than the AHL. And the meal money was $25.00 a day. It was just a nicer place. Wensink decided to stick around. Than meant he had to intimidate people. Or at least try to put a little tremor or two into their hearts. The reputation helped. But there's always somebody ready to face the man with the six-gun, in hockey as well as in the Western movies.

So Wensink fought. And mostly he won. Some nights Cherry would toss out a line of 200 pounders - Peter McNab centering Wensink on his left flank and tough Terry O'Reilly on the right. Many games that was Boston's starting alignment. It still is.

But the suspicion grew that Wensink's one-dimensional role wouldn't last long. He labored as a skater. And he'd never been a scorer. But what's this? Now he's getting the odd goal? And Cherry boosted him every chance he could.

One of the most amusing tableaus came just a few games after Wensink's arrival. He had to fly back to Rochester to pick up his clothes and other supplies. So here he was, making a quickie flight and some of his new teammates though he was returning to the AHL club. "Where's he going? They aren't sending him back are they?" said one distraught Bruin. "Hey John, what's the story?" Wensink's serious face cracked a smile. "Just going to get my stuff. I'll be back tonight" replied Wensink. A half-dozen Bruins suddenly relaxed.

Wensink, let's be honest, instigated a few fights, just to show he was around. And to convince Cherry - and the upper echelons - that he was needed. Suddenly Ratelle, Sheppard and the others found themselves freer than before, not harassed so much. Not physically tormented.

But even Cherry's close associated found it difficult to accept the coach's contention that Wensink would be a major league hockey player one day. Cherry harped and harped. It sounded like a recorded announcement. But insiders felt it was merely to keep the tough guy on the roster. "I always had a tendency to the tough player" aid Cherry. "Maybe it's because that's the type I was." And there are those who feel Wensink sees Cherry as some type of father image. Wensink's dad died a few years ago. And it's pretty plain when you see the two together that Wensink respects Cherry probably more than any other man.

But he still wasn;t playing like a superstar at this juncture. And the incidents continued - suspensions for brawls etc. There was a wild melee against the North Stars in Nov. 1977. Later in a game at Boston Garden, Wensink - making just like a posturing wrestler - went over and challenged the entire Minnesota bench. He had no takers. Finally, waving his hands downward in disgust, he headed for the Boston drerssing room, ejected from the game.

Still this season when the North Stars wanted some Boston Bruins to promote an upcoming game on TV, it was Cherry, Wensink and Rick Smith who did the filming. NHL watchers have heard the stories of Wensink's biting. He reportedly had bitten Gillies Lupien when the Montreal defenseman toiled at Nova Scotia. Ric Seiling, Buffalo's No 1 draft choice in 1977 became Wensink's first NHL victim, if you believe the evidence. This occured in a pre-season game at Bufalo's Memorial Auditorium on Sept. 28, 1977. You could as they say, look it up. BRUINS PUT THE BITE ON RIC'S DEBUT screamed the headline in the Bufalo Evening News the next day. The story by hockey expert Dick Johnson told of the incident in the 2-2 tie. Johnson told of Seiling's involement in a power play goal and then continued: "That was only the begining for Mr Seiling". "It was his fight in the first period with Bruin ruffian John Wensink that touched off a full-scale brawl in which all the plaers form both teams participated and which resulted in 54 of the games 100 minutes in penalties. "And a bite in the back for Ric". "WE were grappling with each other" Seiling rel;ated, "when the ref said stop. I did. Wensink suckered me with a shot to the side of the head. All i could do was cover myself up the best I could. "Next thing I knew I was at the bottom of about 20 guys. Somebody had hold of my arms and somebody was biting my back. I showed the teeth marks to one linemen, but he said nothing could be done about it because he didn't see it happen." But Wensink, accused of biting, would neither confirm or deny the charge. "No Bruin would do that" said a Boston writer. "It's unhygenic among other things."

As the 1977-78 season progressed, however, Wensink improved. His skating benefited from extra practice. His shot, always strong and on the net, began to connect for goals, 16 in 80 games plus two more in 15 playoff games. And who was one of the NHL's leading goal-getters in early season games? John Wensink that;s who.

Then came a 2 game suspension from the NHL Executive Director Brian O'Neil after a brawl with Harvey Bennett in St Louis."It was just another fight, not worthy of suspension aid Wensink. "It's obvious he(O'Neil) has it in for the Bruins. It was obvious when he suspeneded O'Reilly for 3 games last season. "I don't think it's fair but what can I say" "Whenever Wensink's in an altercation, it's automatically his fault" dais Cherry. "Last year in Minnesota Alex Pirus came off thier bench and broke his stick on John's head and they both got 5 minutes. If it had been the other way around, John would have got a match misconduct. "Here's a guy doing his job and trying to score goals. He can't escape it wherever he goes. "In Toronto, Cherry continued Dave Hutchison says in the newspaper that he's a goon. Of all guys, Hutchison. It's a tough rap to shake."

It was Cherry along with goalie Cheevers who attended John Wensink Day in the little town of Maxville, outside Cornwall last summer. And Wensink appreciated it. "Guys in the NHL can take things for granted" said Wensink. "Some of them think that just because they're here, they can stop working." "But you have to work like hell to stay here. You have to discipline yourself to fit into the system. If you're not willing to work then you're a bad apple in a bushel." "Look, I was always a defensemen as a kid. And I was the sixth or seventh defensemen. When I moved to wing, I was always the 4'th left wing." "So there never was a lot of scoring from me. There was never a lot of ice tiime. You know there was times when I said "hey why keep this up?" But if I wasn't playing hockey, where would I be?"
John Wensink , you see has gained respect as an all-around hockey player, not merely a muscle man. And the proudest man, except of course is his coach Don Cherry. He saw someting long agfo that most others missed.

[Deadman]

Keep those magazine articles coming. Great reading !!!

[EDDIE SHORE]

Thanks for digging up the article Schultz.

Wensink was quite a character and a hell'uva fighter. I had to laugh at the comment from a Boston writer when it was mentioned that Wensink was accused of biting an opponent. "No Bruin would do that, It's unhygenic among other things."

Wensink had always been a hard worker, both on and off the ice. He grew up on a farm in Maxville and helped his father on a daily basis. His parents were Dutch immigrants (George Wensink and Nellie Bleyenberg) and always told him that he has to work hard for everything that he gets.
I know that he worked as a carpenter and was in the construction business around the St.Louis area a few years ago. He also coached a youth team in the area. He's a very nice guy and still fondly remembers his playing days.

[FitzG]

Great article Schultz i'd have loved to see Wensink fight in the NHL without all the back problems. I met him a few years ago and he was still rock solid and would answer any questions you had. If your a Wensink fan Cherry's book "Grapes" is a must.

[brad houghton]

great story Schultz thanks for sharing

[Juan Valdez]

Thanks for posting. I've met John and spent some time with him. He's a true gentleman.

[BENNETTWOLF]

In the only Bennett Wolf during his Nhl days caught on tape (that i've ever heard of), he meets an older Devils version of Wensink. Both men pull hair, then Wolf shoots a cheap left into Wensink's groin. When both straighten up and begin to punch again.............Wensink bites Wolf on the cheek. The clip ends with Bennett skating with hands on knees (in obvious pain).....rubbing his face.

Gross misconducts to both true wildmen and an "edge" to Wensink in the scrap!

[brad houghton]

Originally Posted by BENNETTWOLF

In the only Bennett Wolf during his Nhl days caught on tape (that i've ever heard of), he meets an older Devils version of Wensink. Both men pull hair, then Wolf shoots a cheap left into Wensink's groin. When both straighten up and begin to punch again.............Wensink bites Wolf on the cheek. The clip ends with Bennett skating with hands on knees (in obvious pain).....rubbing his face.

Gross misconducts to both true wildmen and an "edge" to Wensink in the scrap!

Great story a scene out of slapshot if there ever was one...haven't seen a ton of Wensink's fights but the fights he had with Nystrom and Behn Wilson showed me that the guy had a granite chin and didn't bail in a tough fight!!

[Canner]

Wolfy and Wire - vintage.

I saw Wolfie's shot to Wire's nads but missed the retaliatory cheek bite. Sounds like John was more the wolfman of the two, and "his hair was perfect..." to boot. RIP Warren

[Joser Jose]

Great article about one of my all time favorite guys. Anytime I preach on the greatness of hockey fighting to a skeptic I use the old " Wensink vs the Minnesota bench". He is probably Cherry's favorite 20 goal scorer ever.

[mikebflorida]

Great stuff , thank you!

[srehm1]

John Wensink didn't abide by any code except his own!

[bigjack]

Schultz is one of our great posters! A ton of knowledge and also a ton of great history like this article!
Remember when Wensink scored like 20 goals in the first half of 1978/79 and Grapes was giving him crap that John has forgotten who he is and what got him here?
Amazing that Grapes was pis*ed at Wensink!
He finished with 28 goals but only 106 penalty minutes and Grapes was annoyed with him! The next year Grapes was gone and Wensink went to a 4th liner who didn't play a regular shift and his career went downhill!
Grapes reminded me of the Fog with Hound Kelly. Hound Kelly scores 20 goals and Shero say's I am using him the wrong way! We need Hound to sit on the bench for the right moments and I send him out and he flies around looking to cause trouble and the hell with the 20 goals!
Fred the Fog loved the 10 goal Kelly with 238 minutes more than the 22 goal Kelly with 117 minutes or 19 goal Kelly with only 95 minutes!
Grapes and the Fog!