Dave Semenko on Fighting in Junior Hockey

“I had never had a single hockey fight, never threw a punch, before my first scrimmage in major junior. I was a tall kid, not very heavy. Maybe 185. I was built for speed and finesse back then,” said Semenko.

“They sent out somebody to test me and I did amazingly well, even though I had no idea what I was doing. From that moment on, things changed. I knew that was going to be an element of my game and it served me well. I wouldn’t have made the NHL without that and I got better (as a player) when I got to the NHL. I don’t even know if I’d have stuck around in junior, if I didn’t have that element. It gave me more room to develop. You don’t fight because you think that’s the way to get to the NHL. Fighting regulates the game at any level, if it’s not, there’s going to be things people don’t like. Bad things,” he said.