Dipsy Doodle Dandies

Not far from Saskatoon is a tiny town called Delisle. It's farming community centered around a train stop. But it is famous for hockey superstars and hockey's biggest family.

In the 1940s brothers Doug and Max Bentley starred for the Chicago Blackhawks. They toyed with NHL competition much like the Sedin twins do in today's game. Max would later be traded to Toronto where he'd find Stanley Cups and individual glory, with the duo reuniting in New York. They are both forever enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Hockey pundits like to mention their brother Reg. Reg went on to his own standout career in senior hockey in the Canadian prairies. He also played 11 NHL games, all with Chicago and often on the same line as his brothers. In fact, Reg's only goal was assisted by both Doug and Max, making it the first time in NHL history three siblings were all in on the same goal!

Not a lot of people realize how big the Bentley family hockey team was. William Bentley, a one time speedskater turned farmer, had 13 children! And when he wasn't raising cattle, he was raising hockey teams.

All 13 children played hockey from an early age. They would play on frozen sloughs on the farm, or on the packed-down roadways nearby. Scoop Bentley, the third oldest son, said they all became great skaters because they "had to skate around slop piles in the yard." And their trademark heavy wrist shots were credited to their farm chores, most notably milking cows.

Five of the boys graduated to the Canadian junior leagues all at the same time. Doug, Max, Reg, Scoop (real name was Wyatt) and Roy all played for the Drumheller Miners (pictured above) between 1937 and 1939. In that 1939 season the five bros scored 93 of the team's 120 goals! They did all this while running a gas station that the family purchased upon news that their boys were moving to Alberta.

Now those five boys were Western Canadian hockey legends with two of them going on to become amongst the greatest NHL players to ever play the game. And the oldest brother was Jack, who never played at a serious level because, as his father later lamented, he had to help out on the farm too much.

But the brothers were no match for their 7 sisters, who father William said "could beat the blisters off the boys nine times out of ten." That may have been stretching it a little bit, but that's what the proud poppa told Stan Fischler once upon a time. He would always act as the referee for the backyard games between the boys and the sisters - Billie, Mary, Pearl, Ruth, Tannis, Grace and Jane.

And we can't forget to mention the Bettys. The three NHLers - Max, Doug and Reg - all married prairie girls named Betty. They had to be renamed Betty-Max, Betty-Doug and Betty-Reg!

Max Bentley: Dipsy Doodle Dandy

I recently profiled the greatest players in Chicago Blackhawks history. I really struggled with the omission of Max Bentley - the Dipsy Doodle Dandy from Delisle. And I only left him off because half of his brilliant career came in a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey as well as in Chicago.

One of the most exciting players in any era in the history of the National Hockey League was Max Bentley. He was nicknamed "The Dipsy Doodle Dandy" because of the way he zigged and zagged his way through an opposing team "like a scared jackrabbit." Several NHL old timers were quick to compare Wayne Gretzky upon his NHL debut to the electrifying Bentley. Others favor the modern day comparison of Denis Savard or Gilbert Perreault.

Although he was puny at just 5' 8" and 155 pounds, Bentley quickly learned to use his superior skating abilities to survive the rough and tough NHL. He was also brilliant with the puck. He could stickhandle through a maze of players at top speed - a true rarity in any era. He was a deft passer and had a laser like wrist shot.

Max and his brother Doug Bentley grew up on the family farm in Saskatchewan, working hard to complete the daily chores so that they could work even harder at the game they loved. It worked out well as both brothers had Hockey Hall of Fame careers.

Almost from the get-go the Bentley brothers took the Windy City by storm. Originally paired with Bill Thoms, the dynamic duo became the terrific trio once Bill Mosienko joined the Bentleys on the top line. Using their great speed and intricate passing plays, they became known as "The Pony Line." They patterned themselves after their heroes Frank Boucher and Bill and Bun Cook. Both the Pony Line and the Rangers "A Line" have been compared in modern terms to the great Soviet Red Army teams of the 1970s and 1980s.

Not including the two years he missed for military duty, Max enjoyed 5 seasons in Chicago. However it was his two year stint following WWII duties (1945-1947) that Max really asserted himself as one of the game's elite. Nicknamed the "Dipsy Doodle Dandy from Delisle," Max won the Hart Trophy (1945-46), the Art Ross Trophy (1945-46 and 1946-47) and was voted to the first All-Star team (1945-46) and second All Star team (1946-47).

Despite the Pony Line's success, the Black Hawks were never able to acquire enough depth to become true contenders in the competitive 6 team NHL. So on November 4, 1947, they went looking for depth, and sacrificed Max Bentley to get it. In one of the biggest trades in all of hockey history the Hawks sent Bentley to the Toronto Maple Leafs for 5 players - an entire forward unit consisting of Gaye Stewart, Gus Bodnar and Bud Poile, plus defensive pairing Ernie Dickens and Bob Goldham.

Max was initially heartbroken about the trade, and NHL insiders didn't understand why the Leafs gave up such a big part of their team to get just the one player - even if it was the great Max Bentley. The trade would quickly backfire on the Hawks instead and stands as one of the most lopsided trades in NHL history. The Hawks floundered without Max, missing the playoffs for the next several years.

Meanwhile in Toronto, Max was a key player in three Stanley Cup championships (1948, 1949 and 1951). Playing on a much deeper team (Max had to share ice time with fellow centers Syl Apps - who retired in 1948 - and Teeder Kennedy), Max never posted the same offensive statistics during the regular season in Toronto. However come playoff time he was unstoppable - twice leading all scorers in assists and once in points.

Here's the full Max Bentley biography

Hockey History Photo of the Day: The Pony Line

Chicago's great "Pony Line." Bill Mosienko with brothers Doug and Max Bentley.

The Bentley Brothers

With Daniel and Henrik Sedin sitting atop the NHL scoring race, much is excitement is being raised in Vancouver about the possibility of back to back scoring championships by brothers. Henrik of course won the Art Ross trophy last year, and Daniel has a real good shot this year (so does Henrik, by the way).

"Never in the history of the game have two brothers both led the league in scoring. Not the Richards. Not the Hulls. Not the Mahovlichs. Daniel and Henrik have the chance to do something real special here, something that has never been done before in the history of the NHL," screamed David Pratt on Team 1040 radio.

Only one problem. It has been done before. (Don't worry, I called the station and corrected him. He/they refuse to credit me).

Meet Doug and Max Bentley. Doug won the NHL scoring title in 1943. Max, so spectacular newspapermen dubbed him Dipsy Doodle Dandy, won the title in 1946 and 1947.

And as prolific author Eric Zweig points out, "note that brothers Charlie (1934,1935) and Roy Conacher (1949) also led the NHL in scoring" and that "the Sedins WOULD be the first to do it back-to-back."

By the way, the Bentley's had another brother, Reg, who played in the NHL, albeit for only 11 games. Reg's only goal was assisted by both Doug and Max - the only time in NHL history that has ever happened.

Normally Doug and Max played with fellow Hall of Famer Bill Mosienko on the Pony Line.

Max was moved to Toronto in 1947 in a whopping 5 players for 1 trade (the Hawks also threw in little known Cy Thomas). Despite Chicago acquiring "The Flying Forts Line" of Gus Bodnar, Gaye Stewart and Bud Poile along with defensemen Ernie Dickens and Bob Goldham, Toronto clearly won this trade. Chicago, by contrast, went into the doldrums shortly thereafter for many, many years.

Brothers: Max, Doug and Reg Bentley

Pictured above are Brothers Max and Doug Bentley, two of the most celebrated players of their day.

Together with Bill Mosienko they formed the "Pony Line," powering the Chicago Black Hawks. All three having scored 200-plus career goals and earning enshrinement into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Max was nicknamed the "Dipsy Doodle Dandy" for his dazzling skating. He won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's MVP in 1946 and won two consecutive Art Ross Trophies as the league's leading scorer. He finished his career with 245 goals and 299 assists.

Doug was a Blackhawk from 1939-52 and like his brother, was an Art Ross Trophy winner (1943). A four-time All-Star, Doug finished his career with 219 goals and 324 assists.

During the Pony Line days Mosienko may have been an honorary brother, but Max and Doug did have another brother who played in the National Hockey League. In fact he played in Chicago for 11 games, scoring 1 goal and 2 assists before returning to Saskatchewan. Meet Reg Bentley.

A History Lesson For Vincent Lecavalier

Here's a gem from a Roy MacGregor column on the weekend:

"Have you heard of Max Bentley?" Lecavalier is asked in a quiet moment after practice.

"What's that?" he responds.

Vinnie, Vinnie, Vinnie! Here you are my favorite player in the league currently, and you could upped your status in my mind to that of living legend if you only knew your hockey history.

I guess today's players are too busy training, playing, traveling, eating, breathing and sleeping hockey to spend spare moments studying the sport's glorious history.

So for the benefit of Vincent Lecavalier and all the fans who were around 61 years ago when Max Bentley was the game's top player but stuck on a last place club, here's a full biography on Max Bentley.

The Lecavalier-Bentley comparison is apt to be sure, as both may be the most exciting player of their generation. Both live up to Bentley's nickname - the Dipsy Doodle Dandy. Bentley mind you was a tiny little guy, much more comparable to Denis Savard. The hulking Lecavalier has been compared to the great Jean Beliveau for some time now.

By the way, MacGregor's column is, as always, a joy to read. But you should also check out Alan Ryder's comparison of Lecavalier vs. Sidney Crosby as the Globe & Mail tries to figure out which of the two phenoms is truly the best player on the planet today.