Steve McLaren

Guys, I think we should start our own Goonblog book club eh? First we have Howard Shapiro’s excellent Hockey Player for Life. Of course there is The Code, and now from my good buddy Ken Babbitt comes The Face of Toughness, a 40 page book told mostly in photos on some of the toughest AHL enforcers from 2001-2006. Kenny was the Lowell Lockmonsters photographer, and had the best seat in the house for the games in the Tsongas Arena perched between the benches on the red line. It gave him an unobstructed view of The Face of Toughness up close and personal. Ken sent me the link, and I think I was the first to buy one. I can’t wait to get my hands on this, as I have seen most of the games and players featured in the book. Trevor Gillies, Brendan Walsh, and Dennis Bonvie have already reached out to Ken to say how much they are looking forward to it, as well as to tell them they are honored to be a part of the project. Just another testament to the character of these players.

I sent Ken some questions I had about the book, and he answered them below. I hope you enjoy our interview and please click the link to buy your very own copy of The Face of Toughness. Ken this is a long time coming. I can’t wait to get mine in the mail!

Why do this book? Why now?
The idea of doing a book, at least in some form, has been in the back of my mind for a few years, but the primary reason for doing it now is that I had a large archive of great photos from my six years in Lowell that had never been seen by anyone other than myself and a few people in the front office, so it was pretty much there’s no time like the present!
How much trash talk is there between the benches?
It would really depend on the teams involved. If Providence was in town there was a good chance that there would be some interesting chatter, and even that would depend on who was with the Lock Monsters. They never had any great bench jockeys that I can recall. The best work always came from the visiting bench.

What is the funniest thing you ever heard?
Wow.do you have a few hours? Just remember that with the crowd (in Lowell, what crowds?) noise, they had to be pretty close to me to hear anything. I always said that they should have had a microphone on Dennis Bonvie and Brendan Walsh every game. It’d be some of the best comedy ever produced. But, if I have to narrow it down to a few, I’d say that one of the funniest things came from Mr. Bonvie. During a shootout during the lockout season of 04-05, with Dennis about two feet away from me, Eric Staal skated by the visiting bench after having his effort denied, and he tells Staal that that was the reason the he only got a bonus of $895K, instead of a millionbecause he couldn’t finish. I almost soaked myself in the box. Walshy was a classic, as well. He started from pre game and didn’t stop until the final horn. It must have been a team thing, but the Lock Monsters were all sporting facial hair, at least the guys that had to shave, and he skates by asking if they were havin’ a 2 for 1 sale on goatees. During his one game as a Lock Monster, he gave Peter Kanko a line about wanting extra lettuce on his taco.

What kind of relationship did you form with these guys over the years?
There were several guys that I got to know a little bit over the years. Trevor Gillies, Brendan Walsh and Jan Vodrazka were the guys that I spent the most time talking with. Either on the ice during pre game or in the hallways there were many of them that I spoke with over the years. I would always joke with the tough guys at center ice during pre game, like joking with Ryan Flinn when he came to the red line to see who he may have to fight that nightI’d tell him not to bother, that there was nobody on that side for him to play with. These guys were all very pleasant to deal with in the short time that I had to talk with them. I’d make it a point to tell Bonvie to stir things up for me, and he’d give me a wink, or he’d come back to the bench telling me that he’d tried!

Who were your all time favorites?
The three guys that I’ve already mentioned were always my favorite players to shoot. Gillies, Walshy and Bonvie. Colton Orr was another guy that you couldn’t take your eyes off of, as well. He seemed to really like to get things going in Lowell. During the later years, towards the end of the Lock Monster run, I really liked shooting, and talking to Mitch Love and Gordie Dwyer.

Were there any you didn’t like?
Of the fighters?? Not one of them. They were all great guys, and the reason that I made sure to get them into the book. There was only one player over the years that I took an instant dislike to, and he was from a town near where I grew up south of Boston.

Were there any guys that didn’t like you?
Thatyou’d have to ask the players, but not to my knowledge. For the most part I was pretty invisible to them once the puck was dropped.

What was the best fight you saw?
The thing about shooting the fights is that one eye is closed so I miss a lot of the action, and only really see it when I’m editing the images following the game. The five on five with Springfield, I want to say that was 03-04, was one of them. There were five fights going on at once. Brennan Evans going with Niko Tselios and Patrick DesRochers pounding on David Leneveu in a great goalie fight. Photos of both are in the book.

Who was the toughest in your opinion?
There were a lot of guys that you could put in that category. Steve McLaren, Jeremy Yablonski, Ryan Flinn, along with Trevor and Bonvie. I could list a number of other guys, but because I shot in Lowell, I never saw some of them fight. These guys are all tough and anyone could beat anyone on a given night. My hometown kid, Mike Hoffman, has also come a long way as a fighter.

Were there a lot of reluctant enforcers?
That’s a good question. I think that there were guys that were forced into the role for one reason or another. I know that Mike Hoffman told me as he was just starting up as a pro, that he knew that he’d have to fight because of his size, but he is a pretty good player. Another thing, especially in Lowell, it seemed like there were guys who may have been a little reluctant because they were the only tough guy on the roster, so they had to carry the whole load themselves. That’d make it tough to show up and fight night after night.

Were there any guys that made you nervous?
There was only one, but his name won’t be mentioned here. He was very polite, a good guy, but just a bit off. When he skated up his wing I made sure that I was up against the glass on the side of the box. It was weird, too, as I had never given it a thought prior to that game, or after.

Were the coaches ever involved with the trash talk between the benches?
I can’t recall anything specific. I know that Tom Rowe got into it on the ice when they were in Norfolk.

Was there any talk that went over the line? (Sisters, mothersthat sort of thing.)
Never, within earshot of me. But I know that it did happen.

I saw Dennis Bonvie bark like a dog during warm ups once. Is that pretty standard behavior?
Standard? I’d say no. I missed that one, but heard plenty about it. It was that incident that made my pre game routine change over the years. There were certain guys that if they were in the building, I was in the box for pre game skate.

How much intimidation happens during those stretches, or is it more cordial, how’s the family stuff?
I’m sure that some guys make it a point to be on the red line to let the boys on the other side know that they’re in the barn, but I also heard plenty of the latter. There wasn’t much that ever happened during pre game, but there was one time that Provi was in town and Tomas Malec made it a point to skate over the red line, and Walshy took a shot at him, saying that he wasn’t mad at him, but to stay on his side. More comedy from # 36.

Who do you think will like this book?
First, I hope that the players and their families like it. The guys that I know that have seen the preview of the first 15 pages have said that it looked good. I tried to show them, not just the fights. Fight photos are great, but I also want to be able to see into the players’ eyes. And there are enough of both to keep everyone happy. I think that people forget that these guys are human beings, and see them just as tough guys.
Naturally, I want the fans of these guys to like the final product, as well, as it’s geared to them, too. I set all of the photos with a black background, so it should look pretty good to the autograph collectors.

What is your position on fighting in hockey?
I’m old school with my views on the subject. I believe that there is, and always will be, a place for fighting in the game. It serves a purpose both on the ice and off. The enforcers make it easier for the first and second line guys know that someone has their backs, mess with them and there’ll be a price to pay. Off the iceit puts butts into the seats!! The NHL could do worse than to have some of these guys marketing the sport. They’re always one of the most popular players on any given team, with the fans.